Howie Mandel revealed that his struggles with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) during the COVID-19 pandemic led him to self-medicate to a dangerous extent, resulting in a period where he "almost died."
Mandel, 70, shared his experience on Hoda Kotb’s “Joy 101” podcast, detailing how the outbreak exacerbated his anxieties. He explained that his OCD and germaphobia, which already made him cautious, were intensified by the real-world pandemic.
"I wasn’t strong enough to handle it, and I couldn’t sleep, so I started taking gummies," Mandel told Kotb. As the gummies became insufficient for sleep, he escalated to smoking and drinking, seeking to "escape and make [himself] unconscious."
He recounted instances where his wife, Terry, struggled to wake him and feared she might need to take him to the hospital. "It wasn’t healthy and it wasn’t good, and it’s not an excuse, but it was really bad," he said.
Mandel's wife ultimately urged him to seek professional help, an intervention he described as crucial. "My wife just went, ‘I can’t do this. This is really tiring. Go talk to somebody,'" he recalled.
Mandel stated that he is now sober and actively manages his mental health through medication and therapy. He described his current approach as trying to balance his mental state and stay "in the moment" to manage the "dark, reoccurring thoughts" that he identifies as his "mind’s resting place."
In early 2020, during the initial spread of the pandemic, Mandel had already garnered attention for his preparedness. He was seen on the set of "America's Got Talent" wearing a hazmat suit, gas mask, and gloves, humorously suggesting he felt partly responsible for hoarding personal protective equipment over the years. At that time, he told Page Six he was on medication and utilizing therapy, joking that he was moving his therapist into a "whole new tax bracket on the phone."