Howie Mandel's book

[java]

He's been doing the talk show circuit. Yesterday on a radio show he mentioned that he built a house behind his house- that only he goes into. No germs from anyone else. it's the one place he can relax.

I just thought it is all so sad. I can't imagine having my mind work like that. It must be so painful all the time.

 

[legalsea]

He's been doing the talk show circuit. Yesterday on a radio show he mentioned that he built a house behind his house- that only he goes into. No germs from anyone else. it's the one place he can relax.

I just thought it is all so sad. I can't imagine having my mind work like that. It must be so painful all the time.

Yes, I heard part of Howie's interview with Howard Stern. It was funny how they tried to outdo each other on who had the worse obsessive-compulsive disorder. Howie won when he talked about building that second house to go to when his family gets sick (he said that was an earlier home; the house he lives in now is so large that he can escape to another section when a child gets the sniffles).

 

[PrincessKsMom]

I love Howie and have loved him for years and years. Actually saw him in his comedy days at Radio City in NYC. This makes me so sad for him, although from all outward appearances, it doesn't seem to hold him back as much as I would think. He did do "Deal or No Deal" and he is out at book signing and promotions and I've seen him walking on the streets of LA on TMZ. At least he's not barricaded in his house and refusing to see anyone.

 

[hrh_disney_queen]

Kind of makes me wonder how he managed to make children at all!

 

[VillageMama]

Kind of makes me wonder how he managed to make children at all!

He addresses this in his book.

He said something about wearing gloves and face masks but I don't know if he was serious or not!

I read an excerpt somewhere and it was very sad/admirable. He fights his demons every day but thank goodness he fights them. It breaks my heart that such a sweet, funny man is so frequently unhappy.

 

[HM]

Is he getting worse over time?

 

[diputs]

Is he getting worse over time?

I am about half way through his book, so I am not sure of his experience, but I can tell you mine.

It's not that you get worse over time, but you come up with methods of handling certain situations. And none of them are logical to an outsider. So what might be viewed as worse is actually a method of coping than enables "better" results.

For example, Howie cannot shake hands, but he can do a fist bump.

The problem is that it is almost impossible to get past the thoughts. For example, I have a panic attack every day when I go to work that I am going to need to use the bathroom and I am not going to make it. This happens to me every day, and I know it is completely illogical, but once I have the first thought of needing a bathroom, I cannot stop thinking about it. When I get to work, I do not even have to go, but now I know where one is when I need it. For example, the first thing I do when I go anywhere is find a bathroom. Not to go, but just to know where it is. And until I do, I cannot stop thinking about it.

So how do I cope, I only go to places that I know, so that I can minimize my panic attacks. It seems worse from the outside, but it is better on the inside.

It is not logical, so it is hard to explain.

 

[DVCLiz]

I just downloaded this to my Kindle so I will enjoy reading it this weekend. I wonder if he has tried medication and if it worked for him - it seems that many cases of OCD can be helped enormously with depression meds.

Remember Mark Summers from the Nickelodeon Channel? He did that show where they dumped the green goo on people's heads? Now I think he does Unwrapped on the Travel Channel/Food Network. Anyway, he had an extreme case of OCD as well. I saw a documentary he did once and he had a compulsion to go into each room in his house and "straighten". They showed him doing it when his teen daughter had some friends over - she handled it gracefully but I know it must have been hard on her to have her dad behave that way in front of friends. I think he had a good result from medication as well.

So fascinating - and so sad. I am currently watching the second season of "Hoarders" and the other show "Obsessed" was also great in a fascinating glad not to be them kind of way. All of those disorders must be hell to live with or have a family member live with.

 

[Lachesis00]

How sad I just can't imagine. Is he anti-drug? There are medications that can help with OCD.

 

[DVCLiz]

I am about half way through his book, so I am not sure of his experience, but I can tell you mine.

It's not that you get worse over time, but you come up with methods of handling certain situations. And none of them are logical to an outsider. So what might be viewed as worse is actually a method of coping than enables "better" results.

For example, Howie cannot shake hands, but he can do a fist bump.

The problem is that it is almost impossible to get past the thoughts. For example, I have a panic attack every day when I go to work that I am going to need to use the bathroom and I am not going to make it. This happens to me every day, and I know it is completely illogical, but once I have the first thought of needing a bathroom, I cannot stop thinking about it. When I get to work, I do not even have to go, but now I know where one is when I need it. For example, the first thing I do when I go anywhere is find a bathroom. Not to go, but just to know where it is. And until I do, I cannot stop thinking about it.

So how do I cope, I only go to places that I know, so that I can minimize my panic attacks. It seems worse from the outside, but it is better on the inside.

It is not logical, so it is hard to explain.

diputs, I am so sorry you have to deal with that.

Have you done any research on cognitive behavior therapy? It is the technique that worked for so many people on the show Obsessed that was on last season. It was basically an immersion into the illogical fear so that the person could gradually understand the fear and replace it with a healthy behavior.

It seemed like extremely hard work that would require courageous decision making on the part of someone suffering, but most of the people were able to overcome the obsession and get relief.

I hope you have found ways to manage and I wish you the best.

 

[minkydog]

So fascinating - and so sad. I am currently watching the second season of "Hoarders" and the other show "Obsessed" was also great in a fascinating glad not to be them kind of way. All of those disorders must be hell to live with or have a family member live with.

I watch "Hoarders" also--it's like watching a train wreck, you can't not look. My mother is a hoarder, though not quite to the extent of having dead cats under the piles. But she has piles and piles and piles of stuff she can't bear to get rid of. Its so bad she has made little rabbit trails through various rooms. Fortunately, the hall and kitchen floors are still clear. But I'm just waiting for hte day that she trips on her junk and breaks a hip. As a daughter, I can't do much about it. She likes her stuff, even though she is highly embarrassed about the mess. Rather than deal with the clutter she chooses to not have friends over. It's gotten so bad that i can't let the kids sleep over--it's not safe for Christian. He could kill himself tripping on her stuff!

I think I heard Howie Mandel say that he does take meds. I imagine it helps him a lot, concidering how overwhelming his OCD is. I have a friend who has OCD and it really impacts his life. He takes meds, which help a lot, and he goes to therapy, which keeps him centered. But I don't think he'll ever be cured. He says that when one behavior becomes controlled another one pops up, just as bad as the first one. It's always something.

 

[joyjoy]

What hell it must be to live with these types of disorders. I feel for everyone afflicted.

My supervisor says all the time "Oh, you know me. I have to get it perfectly right, I'm so OCD.". I find it incredibly disrespectful that she uses this "backdoor brag", telling people how amazing she is. She doesn't have OCD at all, and it's all I can do to keep from telling her, "You do realize that OCD is a debilitating mental illness that millions of people would LOVE not to have, right?". But I don't.

 

[ChrisAlli]

Is OCD a chemical imbalance?? How or why do people have it? I watch Hoarders and it seems they all have some reason they are holding onto things, curious about the OCD

 

[minkydog]

Is OCD a chemical imbalance?? How or why do people have it? I watch Hoarders and it seems they all have some reason they are holding onto things, curious about the OCD

I have read that OCD is a type of personality disorder. It responds to medication and therapy. Personality disorders have a bad rap. People think, "Oh, it's your personality, you can stop doing (whatever it is)" A personality is the deeply ingrained essense of a person. they can no more change it overnight than you could change your birthdate. Other types of personality disorders include borderline personality disorder(looks a lot like bipolar, but itn't the same) and eating disorders. Anyone who knows someone with an eating disorder will tell you, they are the nicest people in the world. They have good personalities. But they have this damaged place inside which causes them to rationalize their behavior away. OCD is similar.

People who have OCD have elaborate rituals that they use to control their anxiety. The anxiety that occurs if they DON"T perform the ritual is just excruciating. They are *compelled* by something inside them that, if not satisfied, will make them feel, literally, like they are about to die. It's very hard to manage this without the support of a therapist to help you understand that what your brain is telling you is not reality. Because it *feels* so disorienting and painful, it's easy to believe that what you're feeling is an appropriate perception of the world around you.

 

[Magix]

Oddly, I was thinking about Howie and his germaphobia recently. I'd heard about his issues a number of years ago. I was remembering back in the 80's, my high school drama class went to a taping of the Alan Thicke show and Howie was a guest. He did a bit on the show, coming out carrying a big chandelier. He told Alan he'd broken his arm, but told the doctor he didn't want to have a cast on his arm, so the doctor told him he could just carry around the chandelier instead (it was funny at the time). My friend, sitting next to me in the audience, had a cast on his arm and, after the show, Howie came up and signed it for him ("Next time, get a chandelier!") and gave me an autograph, too. I was thinking back on that and wondering if Howie had the germaphobia back then (there was no sign of any oddity or reluctance) or if it developed later in life for him.

What an awful thing to have to deal with. I watched him on "Deal or No Deal" sometimes and wondered what steps he had to take to deal with the people and activities on the show without showing any issues. I've enjoyed Howie for a very long time, as a comedian and actor, and I hate to see that he still has to deal with these overwhelming compulsions. But, it sounds like he's handling it well, since he's able to talk about it and put it out there for everyone to read.

 

[missypie]

It's really amazing that he's been able to have the kind of career he's had while dealing with these issues. I can imagine that early in his career, he must have done stand up in some pretty unsavory places and certainly did not have control over his environment.

There's a non-fiction book called Home Town by Tracy Kidder that features a very OCD lawyer. It's fascinating because the guy is so smart and self-aware that he has come up with all kinds of ways to deal with his serious disablity.

I agree that it's an insult to those with real OCD for so many of us to describe our mild perfectionist tendencies as being "so OCD."

 

[Allison]

He does take medication, at least for anxiety. I just saw a tv interview with him and they were at one of his shows. He dropped his pill on the floor and had only brought one with him so he was going to have to do without it that night.