Ep. 58 | Howie Mandel: OCD, Addiction, and the Nine-Year Gap
When Howie Mandel was a guest on the Howard Stern Show, he had a panic attack triggered by a door handle. He couldn’t bring himself to touch it. He tried to get someone else to open it — and when no one would, the OCD diagnosis he’d kept secret for decades slipped out on live radio, in front of millions of listeners.
He thought he was off the air. He wasn’t.
What happened next surprised him. A stranger stopped him on the street and said two words: I suffer from it too. That moment — realizing he wasn’t alone — changed his life.
In this episode, clinical psychologist and addiction scientist Dr. Suzette Glasner use Mandel’s story as a window into what OCD actually is, why it takes an average of nine years to get the right help, and a connection that rarely gets named: the overlap between OCD and addiction.
You can watch the full episode here:
The OCD-Addiction Connection
Alcohol. Cannabis. Whatever creates temporary relief from a brain that won’t stop. That is self-medication — and it is one of the most underrecognized consequences of untreated OCD.
Mandel has spoken openly about his own use of alcohol and cannabis to cope, including during the COVID pandemic, when contamination-based OCD became almost unbearable. He is not an outlier. Twenty-five to forty percent of people with OCD misuse substances at some point in their lives — three to six times the general population’s risk.
There’s one more piece of this that rarely makes it into the conversation: the role of family. Around 90 percent of families living with OCD accommodate it daily — repeating reassurances, spraying objects before they enter the house. Every act is driven by love. The research is consistent: the more accommodation, the more severe the OCD. Mandel’s wife Terry lived this for decades before drawing a clear, firm, loving line. The parallel to addiction enabling is direct — in both cases, absorbing the consequences of the condition delays the pressure that might otherwise drive someone toward help.
The good news is that OCD is treatable. With ERP — Exposure and Response Prevention — 60 to 80 percent of people respond. People in recovery from OCD describe it the same way people in recovery from addiction do: not the absence of the thought, but the absence of its power.
The nine-year gap doesn’t have to be your story.
🔍 Episode Breakdown
00:00 – Howie Mandel’s live-radio moment — and the stranger who changed everything
01:59 – Other public figures who’ve spoken out: Billy Bob Thornton, DiCaprio, Timberlake, Radcliffe
03:21 – What OCD actually is (and what it isn’t)
07:10 – The nine-year treatment gap - and why it exists
08:49 – The OCD-addiction connection: the self-medication loop
10:44 – Family accommodation and why love can prolong suffering
14:54 – What actually works: ERP, medication, and NOCD
18:10 – Three things to take with you
🧠 Key Takeaways
* OCD is a neurobiological condition driven by intrusive thoughts and compulsive relief behaviors.
* On average, nine years pass between onset and appropriate treatment, due to shame, misdiagnosis, and access barriers.
* 25–40% of people with OCD misuse or are addicted to substances — self-medication that provides brief relief and worsens the cycle long-term.
* Both conditions can and should be treated simultaneously — addressing one without the other significantly raises the risk of relapse.
* ERP (Exposure and Response Prevention) produces a 60–80% response rate. Combined with medication, it’s the gold standard.
Listen to Episode 58 now to hear Howie Mandel’s story.
📩 Questions or topic suggestions? Email AskDrGlasner@gmail.com
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