Fear of Germs | Part 1

Life can be messy.

The fear of germs greatly impacts those affected by OCD. Listen to today’s episode to hear about a celebrity who struggles with Germophobia.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a condition that affects millions of people worldwide, yet many still struggle to seek help due to stigma, lack of awareness, or financial constraints. One well-known figure who has been candid about his battles with OCD is Howie Mandel. Despite his success as a television personality, Howie has been open about the challenges he faces on a daily basis due to his OCD. His fear of germs and extreme safety behaviors have had a significant impact on his life, leading to avoidance behaviors and rituals that have interfered with his daily life.

Howie's experience with OCD highlights the importance of seeking proper treatment and support. Exposure response prevention therapy, a common treatment for OCD, can help individuals like Howie manage their symptoms and break free from the cycle of obsessions and compulsions. It is essential for individuals with OCD to recognize the signs and symptoms of the disorder and seek evidence-based treatment to regain control over their lives.

In addition to Howie's struggles with OCD, he has also experienced relationship OCD, which involves intrusive thoughts about loved ones. Mindfulness practices can be beneficial for those struggling with relationship OCD, helping them navigate the challenges and uncertainties that come with the disorder.

It is important to remember that OCD is a chronic condition and effective treatment is necessary for managing symptoms. Seeking help from a qualified therapist or healthcare professional is crucial for individuals struggling with OCD. By addressing accommodating behaviors and implementing proper treatment strategies, individuals can find relief and improve their quality of life.

As we wrap up, let's remember that OCD is more than what is portrayed in the media. It can manifest in various forms, such as germophobia, relationship OCD, and more. It is essential to recognize the signs and symptoms of OCD and seek help from qualified professionals.

Partnerships like the one with NoCD are vital in raising awareness about OCD and providing effective treatment options for individuals struggling with the disorder. By spreading awareness and sharing experiences like Howie Mandel's, we can help break the stigma surrounding OCD and encourage others to seek help and support.

Remember, you are not alone in your struggles with OCD. It is okay to seek help and talk about your experiences. By bossing up and overcoming OCD, you can reclaim control over your life and live more fully. Thank you for tuning in to Bossing Up Overcoming OCD. Be sure to check out NoCD.com for more information on effective treatment options and resources for OCD. Keep bossing up, stay resilient, and remember that you have the power to overcome OCD.

Fear of Germs Part I - Transcript

[00:00:00]

 Okay, welcome back to another episode of Bossing Up Overcoming OCD. It's another Friday and lots has happened over the week. NC State got knocked out of the whole men's college basketball tournament. Quite a bummer, but go Wolfpack. And in watching the girls college basketball game, I'm so excited for the women's game.

Hi, I'm Erin, Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor and OCD Specialist. I'm also a Christian, wife, mom to three, and small business owner, helping those who are overwhelmed by stress to climb out of that valley and enjoy the view. Reheat your coffee and pop in your AirPods to learn how to boss up to OCD.

It's so nice to see more of women's sports televised and just to see the awesome things that other ladies are doing on and off the [00:01:00] court. But good job to Iowa and Caitlin Clark for going as far as they did in their season. And congrats to South Carolina. I loved, I don't know if y'all saw the after game interview, but I loved hearing from South Carolina's coach about just, she was sobbing and it was endearing talking about how God is so good and God can surprise you.

And I agree, God can do wonderful and amazing things. And it's nice to hear a coach be appreciative of their higher power. So anyway, getting out of my fields now. So today we're going to be talking about a celebrity and their type of OCD. So let me give you a few clues before we get into That part of the show.

This. Celebrity is 67 years old. Their net worth is around 60 million and let's see, what [00:02:00] other clue do I want to give you? They have a wife and three kids. There we go. All right. So I want you to be guessing who that might be. All right, now here's another fun fact that actually our preacher said today and I was like, are you for real?

And, Can y'all believe that back in 2022, the industry of fortune telling brought in a revenue of almost 2. 2 billion dollars, billion with a B, yes. And the industry of fortune telling is projected to grow 2. 3 billion in this year, in 2024.

So in hearing that, I went to Google, of course. Why not? And I mean it, there are several articles referencing how fortune tellers, psychics, astronomers, all the things in that industry of fortune telling. They're [00:03:00] bringing in the money and. It just reminded me of OCD and how people who suffer from OCD, it's like the OCD is the fortune teller and it's the fortune teller of doom, and it's oh, if you don't do these things and this other bad thing will happen It's interesting to think how we are all so fascinated with knowing the future. How many of you, when you were young, I know I did this when I was young, watching all of these movies or just imagining that I had a crystal ball and I could tell the future and so many times I would think. Oh, do I need to turn left or turn right?

Or, do I need to make this decision or that decision for my future? And that is a very challenging part, right? Whenever you are trying to make a decision that could potentially impact your entire future. Now, and that's The one thing about mindfulness, it's not about the past.

It's not about the future. It's about the here and [00:04:00] now, because that is the truth of what we have. And mindfulness is beautiful in that sense, because we can be free. Truly free in that moment where we're not wrapped up in anything else, but what is actually happening in the present. And there's no time like the present.

So

in speaking of mindfulness, as you all know, I have a private podcast coming out in summer of this year. I'm very excited about it. I've already got a few episodes recorded and I've got some folks on the wait list. And grab your spot on the wait list, now here is the other cool part I want to throw out to you all.

As my audience, I want you to get first dibs on these private podcast episodes. So in the private podcast, you're going to be learning about mindfulness, as well as how to use mindfulness in practical everyday situations. I think you can sense by now that I'm all about being practical and efficient, and I'm [00:05:00] not about wasting time.

So that's why with the mindfulness, it's going to be some key things to help you feel grounded. In the moment and really learn how to use mindfulness, because that is a key part of helping you through not only OCD, but other anxiety disorders, depression, panic attacks, you name it, like mindfulness. Or, honestly, disorders or mental health things aside, it's just nice.

If you've ever been caught up in a lot of worry or apprehension or thoughts about the past or the future mindfulness is a great place to land to help you really be in the present. Okay. As my audience, I'm going to be offering you guys the opportunity to buy the private podcast for a year at a pre sale discounted price.

Alright, so what I'm planning to do whenever I launch the podcast, the private [00:06:00] podcast, is going to be offered at a monthly price and an annual price. And what I'm going to do for my pre sale audience is I'm going to offer it to you guys at a disc, a special discounted price. And you can find that price on my website.

You can find that special price on my website by going to Value Driven Therapy dot com slash shop because in my shop, you're going to see all my products and you're also going to see the opportunity to have the pre sale option for the private podcast.

 whenever you buy the private podcast at this special discounted price, you will have access to that private podcast for a year. And I will send you the link in order for you to have access to the podcast once it is available. And what I'm planning to do with this private podcast is

 have 17 to 20 episodes for your enjoyment that you can listen to for a year. And once you join that private [00:07:00] podcast pre sale, you will,

you will be in the queue to be the first to know whenever more episodes are released. And when the podcast is launched. So be sure to check that out. Again, it's going to be on my website in the shop section of my website, and that is value driven therapy. com slash shop. So be sure to sign up and buy your special discounted yearly access to my private podcast on mindfulness today.

And anyway Getting back to the fortune telling OCD is that fortune teller of doom, and

I'm just curious and you can put this on the feedback Q& A thing that I have in the show notes. I'm just curious, like, how many of y'all have done a tarot card reading, or a psychic reading, or, and I know astronomy, astrology, I think, but Astrology is the better word here because astronomy is the study of stars and astrology is [00:08:00] more of how like your birth sign and whatnot influences your personality, so Anyway,

and of course, I'm sure there's some of you out there who are like big skeptics of psychics, right? So Let's say you're struggling with OCD but you don't believe in psychics. Can't you see the controversy there? Your OCD is not a fortune teller. And neither is this other random person who hangs a sign.

Puts on their shingle and says hey, pay me some money and I'll tell you the future. Okay I'll be respectful if you believe in that and you think that's legitimate. But really, y'all do you think someone can actually tell the future? Now, oh, you know what? That reminds me of a time in One of my college psychology classes, how we talked about the psychology of using general statements whenever you're trying to [00:09:00] persuade an audience.

And so it's.

It makes me wonder if there's just a lot of psycho, psychological tricks that some of these psychics use and some of them are better at it than others. Just saying.

Alright, now getting back to that celebrity,

who was your guess on the celebrity with OCD?

If you were guessing Howie Mandel, you are correct. And Howie partners with My podcast sponsor NoCD and Howie loves to be in the media and advocating for Getting treatment not only getting treatment But the right kind of treatment for OCD and also just spreading awareness about what OCD is So in preparing for today's episode, I did my own research into Howie's story and It wasn't as simple and straightforward as I anticipated, but it was very interesting.

So I'm going to be sharing with you my thoughts and observations with Howie's OCD.

Okay. [00:10:00] In researching Howie, I'm going to YouTube and I'm reading about him on other blogs and different things, but here's the interesting part. So Howie suffers from OCD in the form of having an intense fear of germs, and he does a lot of rituals for his germophobia. So let's just call it germophobia throughout today's episode.

Now,

in the interviews of Howie, he has had OCD what he feels like most of his life, like going all the way back to six years old. He did not want to tie his shoes because the shoestrings Touch the floor And the floor is dirty and therefore his shoestrings are dirty. And that was the, from what it sounded like in his interviews, that was the pervasive theme of his fears and his OCD.

He was very terrified of Germs

and it wasn't until he was in his [00:11:00] forties y'all so from the age of six He was suffering from the fear of germs and doing rituals in not having germs So from the age of six all the way until his forties was when he went to treatment So get this like,

He got married and who is Howie Mandel's wife and his wife is Terry Very beautiful looking lady, and they have three kids together They have two daughters Jackie and Riley and a son Alex now in one of the interviews Howie's daughter Jackie also has OCD and her OCD is similar with germs, but I think It sounds like there's some other variations of like depression and hers is not as persistent as Howie's OCD is.

Anyway, and we've talked about how sometimes family members can accidentally be accommodating and enabling the OCD and that sounds like what Exactly what was [00:12:00] happening for Howie

Alright, so in looking at Howie's family situation, it wasn't until his wife gave him an ultimatum when he was in his forties that he went to therapy. She said, look, you need to get some help. Either a psychiatrist, therapist, whatever. You need to get help. And getting that help, he did, and it sounds like he did both. He went to a psychiatrist and a therapist, and there was an interview done by 2020, back in 2006, where he's talking about,

 it wasn't until he was in his forties that he went and sought help, and that's when he got diagnosed with OCD. And another interesting fact is that for obsessive compulsive disorder, it used to not be reimbursable by insurance. And it baffles me because obviously this is a very debilitating condition and insurance is like just now reimbursing for it.

So what that [00:13:00] means is used to, if you were going to see a therapist and you were diagnosed with OCD, insurance would not pay for your care. Thank you. Take care. Because they didn't recognize that as a medical necessity, basically. It was like, you went to get care on a private pay rate for OCD. But things have changed now.

Goodness.

Anyway, in one of the interviews I watched of Howie this was filmed back in 2006, and he was talking about how he would go through his day to day of literally not touching things He just absolutely had to, but even then, it sent him into a panic attack. Or he went on to that full avoidance thing.

And y'all know if you have OCD, you have your rituals and your compulsions and the things you do in order to avoid dealing with that feared outcome. So for Howie, he doesn't want to deal with [00:14:00] germs, so anything that touches the floor or He wouldn't very often accept things that were handed to him.

And now, for Howie Mandel, you may know his face from America's Got Talent. And he does a good job on America's Got Talent. I haven't noticed any signs of OCD for him. And because what he said in a recent interview now is that he's quote unquote mostly good.

And we're going to hear more about how he still struggles with OCD. But anyway, whenever he was doing that show deal or no deal, do y'all remember that show? Like at first he didn't think that show was going to be worth anything. Like he didn't think it was going to be a good idea, but his wife told him to take it and.

I guess good for him that he did because the deal or no deal was very popular and in deal or no deal. And I had no idea, like I, I remember watching that show and being fascinated by the show. And the models, of course, they were all [00:15:00] dressed to the nines and people were, Taking all kinds of risk and doing the banker calls and the different things, and that show's just not the same without Howie being the host of it.

Whenever Howie was hosting that show, did y'all ever realize that he fist bumped everybody? I didn't. I totally did not pick up on it, but in the behind the scenes footage, all of the crew knew that Howie did not shake hands, and so they would even tell the audience, Don't shake Howie's hand. And I'm like, oh my gosh.

As an OCD specialist watching this, I'm thinking, You're just accommodating like that only makes it worse and then on top of that y'all In the back room where they're doing the hair and makeup and all the things Howie, first of all, he shaves his head to have that clean look and therefore he doesn't have germs in his hair.

The other part [00:16:00] that they accommodate is for his makeup, they give him brand new, out of the wrapper makeup every single time. Oh my goodness that is full on accommodation because, in the hair and makeup dressing room some people are just reusing. Now, of course, I'm sure they have their sanitation protocols, and I'm thinking of nail salons, right?

Like, when we go to a nail salon, they have steam cleaned and I mean you hope anyway, but they have cleaned all of these materials and spaces and they're essentially reusing the tools But for someone like Howie, he had them go the extra mile of having brand new brushes Packs, sponges, make up, all the things.

and the other thing he did whenever he was coming on set, or even getting meals backstage, never ever did he touch door [00:17:00] handles. He would love to wear long sleeves, or have a cloth in his pocket, and, get this, he had rubber gloves that he carried with him everywhere. No joke. And he had so much personal protective equipment, the PPE, even back then, like a face mask too at times, like if his kids were sick, he didn't even want their germs.

Oh my goodness. He had so much PPE that his kids asked him if he was a surgeon. He had these rubber gloves in his pockets, which, It seems like that was a catch 22 for him because that was a safety behavior that helped him not touch things, and so he used that mostly for going to the restroom.

He also used the gloves in his first Stand up comedy act, and it was like a hit. So if you ever watch Howie Mandel's first stand up [00:18:00] comedy skit, It's very funny. He puts that rubber glove over his face and blows up the glove until it like pops off his head, and it's just silly. It's good clean humor, and so that's what helped Really propel his comedy career like he had no intentions It didn't sound like any way of having a comedy career up until he took a dare on Going on stage at a nightclub at a comedy nightclub zone Anyway, and then full circle for him having that stand up comedy was the Like his mindfulness activity, because he describes being on stage and doing his stand up comedy as his moment of light.

And that was that first skit he did. He remembers that being like the first time he wasn't, thinking about anything else other than just trying to make the audience laugh. And so it's a,

so anyway, it's another [00:19:00] reminder of how mindfulness can be a key component in helping you with your OCD

or your loved one's OCD. And so far, some of the feedback I've gotten from the show is coming from loved ones who've said Oh, my daughter, this, my mom, that, thank you so much for the things you're sharing on the show. And you may be that family member who's listening in because you love and care about your person, and I want you to know that there is help available, and I know it's hard to see your loved one with OCD suffer,

and it's hard to understand what they're going through too.

in watching all of these interviews,

they also did clips from kids who Were suffering from OCD and had the similar theme of having the fear of germs And so they were like staying in the shower for hours on end and scalding hot water

Now [00:20:00] scratch all that

scratch all that

and so if you're that loved one listening in and you're concerned about your person who has OCD, I want you to come back next week and hear our More examples of how, like the fear of germs or the germophobia can show up and how it can be treated. So that way, it's and again, whenever you're in treatment, and I'll talk about this more next week, is about how we scale that up in an accomplishable way for your loved one.

To feel successful and start to overcome. The OCD. So the part with Howie, so he's not touching handrails, he's not touching doors or any kind of handles of any kind, and everyone around him accommodates him. So you want to guess how his OCD came out to the world? Yeah, it was on accident. And it's interesting because with OCD, [00:21:00] you're And there was a moment in Howie's life where he unknowingly did not have control over what was happening.

So Howie was on the Howard Stern Show, and if y'all have heard of Howard Stern, he had his own radio show and it had some very crude content at times. A lot of the time. So he was on the Howard Stern Show, and there was another guest on Howard's radio show. And this radio guest gets up, and Howie watches him leave, and Howie sees that This person opened the door, of course, with their hand and, turn the knob on the door.

So it was time for Howie's

part of the radio show to be done. So he is trying to exit the studio and he doesn't have his gloves. He doesn't have anything [00:22:00] with him. And so he's standing at the door and I was like, hey, can somebody open the door? And like the people in the studio I thought it was all funny. They're like, just open the door, man.

And He tries to get a tissue to open the door and somebody takes the tissue from him and they thought that was funny and Then he's he turns to Howard and he's hey man so I have Obsessive compulsive disorder. Can you open the door? Like I have a fear of germs. Please just open the door somebody opens the door for him, and this whole time, he thought they were on commercial.

But no. That all went live out on Howard Stern's radio. And Howie. Just sank. He talks about how he sank into one of the most empty places he's ever been in his life. He thought everything was over for him. He thought his family out in California was going to be highly embarrassed and ridiculed and then he [00:23:00] thought his comedy career was over because he felt like who would hire somebody who's mentally ill and so he thought And, trigger alert, but he rode down the elevator and contemplated just walking out into the street.

And walking in front of a car. Cause he felt like that was the end. That was it. He was mortified. And, I don't know if Howie is a God believer, but he walked out of the building and in that moment, and I believe this to be a God thing, but in that moment, as Howie is thinking about walking out into traffic, someone comes up to him and says, Hey, are you Howie Mandel?

He's yeah, andThey then said to Howie, me too, and he turns to him and he's what do you mean me too? And they said I just heard you on Howard's show and how you said you have OCD and me too Isn't that incredible?

And that was a time [00:24:00] when Howie felt like, Oh, there are more people out there. And that started to bring him some validation. And it wasn't long after that, that he started getting letters in the mail, all sorts of people saying, Me too. And that really opened his eyes into seeing how there could be a greater mission out here to spread more awareness about OCD and

So in getting the right kind of treatment, if someone like Howie Mandel can do it, And listen, he's got A net worth of 60 million dollars, and he still has OCD. So OCD does not discriminate on who it impacts. Now, was Howie's OCD probably worsened by all the accommodating? Yeah! And that accommodating, doesn't matter if you have money or not.

You and your OCD, you will find ways to get accommodations so you can feel safe. And [00:25:00] whenever you're doing OCD treatment, you will find and learn how you can handle these things and how much peace that brings you and how you can get your life back. So before I close, I want to share with you some of those other accommodations and safety behaviors that Howie did that was like, blew my mind.

So if his kids were sick, Rarely would he be in the same room with them. He would not sleep in the same room with his wife if she were sick. In fact, he probably wouldn't even eat at the same dinner table as them. And when their children were little, he would remove their toysif their toys fell to the floor.

And there were also times when they would be going on vacation. And there was one time in particular where Howie's wife was talking about, They were heading to the airport and one of the kids. shoes, like she accidentally touched the bottom of her shoe on his leg and he like [00:26:00] had a meltdown and was like, Oh, I need to go back.

I need to go wash. And so Howie also talks about how he may have something touch his hands and he will go to the bathroom and wash his hands in a ritualistic way, come out of the bathroom and feel like he didn't wash them good enough. And so then he'd go and back and forth he went and he would do that so much so that he would even miss Appointments.

And his daughter, Jackie felt like she had very similar things going on with her. And the part I disagree with Jackie, whenever she's doing her interview about her OCD is how she, yes, she's describing how it's out of control at times. Like the OCD is out of control and how She was saying like she couldn't help herself as if she's describing like the OCD like she can't control her behaviors and Okay, let's pause that for a second Yes, the OCD can feel [00:27:00] intense and you can feel strong urges But I'm here to tell you, you can control your behaviors.

Now, we all experience intrusive thoughts, and some of us experience thoughts that hang around longer than others, or thoughts that make us feel uncomfortable, unsettled, etc. But that doesn't mean that we can't control our behaviors.

Alright, so here's the big kicker for Howie's accommodations. I still can't get over it. Howie had A separate second house in his backyard, just so he could get away and avoid his family's germs. Oh my goodness. Talk about safety behavior.

Talk about safety behavior on steroids. And I mean that only in the lightest sense of this is Big [00:28:00] time safety behavior. I cannot even imagine going to the extent of having a second house just for

someone's own isolation from germs.

But they say more money, more problems. Oh me. And anyway, yeah. So how he says he's mostly good now and there's not a day that goes by that he doesn't have a moment with his OCD. And that's very true. OCD is a chronic condition and We'll talk more next week about how we can lessen the burden, but also understanding more about the germophobia and some of the common things that happen whenever you're struggling with the fear of germs.

Okay, in wrapping up, be sure to go to my website at value driven therapy. com slash shop so that you can buy the pre sale of a year's worth of my private podcast. And once that [00:29:00] private podcast is published, you'll be the first to have access to the episodes, and you're going to have access to the episodes at a special discounted price.

So check out my website for that discounted price, and we'll be back next week.

And remember, if you or your loved one are struggling with OCD,Today is the day to get the right kind of treatment.

And mindfulness is a great first step in helping you on that journey. So if you want to buy this private podcast for you or your loved one, go for it. Because this specially discounted price is only going to be available until that first official launch date of the private podcast. So that's going to be coming up this summer of 2024. And as it gets closer, I'll put out some more hard and fast dates.

But you know what? With OCD, like I'm not a fortune teller either. I'm just giving you some estimates and OCD. [00:30:00] Let's live in the uncertainty a little bit. So

fortune telling aside, that's the best guess for my future launch date of the private podcast. All right.

I hope everyone has a great and safe weekend, and I'll see you back here next week as we talk more about germaphobia.

Thank you for listening to another episode of Bossing Up Overcoming OCD. This information is intended to be helpful and not a substitute for professional counseling. If you're struggling with any mental health challenges, I encourage you to seek help from a qualified therapist or health care professional.

If you enjoyed today's episode, please take a moment to rate and review the show. Your feedback helps us reach more listeners and don't forget to check out the affiliate links in the show notes for free. For hand picked recommendations that can brighten your day. Your support through these links helps keep the show running and provide valuable content.

You're not alone in your journey. Stay strong, stay resilient, and keep bossing up. See you next [00:31:00] time.