AMERICANALMANAC (Ken Jacobs) - Howie Mandel says pandemic self-medication nearly killed him
Howie Mandel, the 70-year-old comedian and "America's Got Talent" host, says his lifelong battle with OCD and germaphobia drove him to self-medicate with gummies, smoking, and alcohol during the COVID-19 pandemic, a spiral he says nearly cost him his life. Mandel made the disclosure on Hoda Kotb's "Joy 101" podcast, describing in plain terms how […] The post Howie Mandel says pandemic self-medication nearly killed him appeared first on American Almanac .
Howie Mandel, the 70-year-old comedian and "America's Got Talent" host, says his lifelong battle with OCD and germaphobia drove him to self-medicate with gummies, smoking, and alcohol during the COVID-19 pandemic, a spiral he says nearly cost him his life. Mandel made the disclosure on Hoda Kotb's "Joy 101" podcast, describing in plain terms how the collision of a real-world pandemic with his pre-existing mental health conditions left him unable to sleep and desperate for any way to shut his mind off. The comedian, who has spoken publicly about his OCD and ADHD for years, said the pandemic turned his long-running anxieties from a punchline into a crisis. His wife Terry, he said, found him unresponsive on multiple occasions and considered…Open