Celebrities With Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Smile For The Camera!
March 1, 2008 by Alicia Sparks, Mental Health Notes
Filed under Diseases & Conditions
I Must Shave My Legs: The OCD Miniseries – Part 8
Woohoo! We’ve come to the end of the OCD miniseries here at Mental Health Notes and, as promised, I have a list of celebrities with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Oooh, it’s not very often we get some juice here at Mental Health Notes, is it? 
Note that in order for a celebrity to be considered as having any kind of mental health disorder, s/he must have publicly stated it, written about it, or some other reliable source must have announced it. I don’t just go around diagnosing people with OCD.
With that, take the following information with a grain of salt.
Celebrities with OCD:
- Cameron Diaz
- Jessica Alba
- Billy Bob Thornton
- David Beckham
- Alec Baldwin
- Jennifer Love Hewitt
- Donald Trump
- Leonardo DiCaprio
- Harrison Ford
- Howard Stern
- Howie Mandel
- Roseanne Barr
- Fred Durst
- Dan Ackroyd
- Rose McGowan
- Michael Jackson
- Joey Ramone
- Kathie Lee Gifford
Historic figures thought to have OCD:
- Michelangelo
- Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Albert Einstein
- Charles Darwin
Is your favorite famous face up there? Know of any more? Feel free to share a name or three in the comments! And, if you need to catch up with I Must Shave My Legs: The OCD Miniseries, each part is listed in the initial post.
Disclaimer: Acknowledging another person’s mental illness doesn’t contribute to stigma. If anything, it helps spread awareness about mental health.
i hate ocd.i have too.
It can definitely be aggravating, annoying, stressful, saddening, and a whole other slew of adjectives, can’t it? If I may ask, what do you do to manage your OCD? I’m always open to good tips and suggestions here at MHN!
Thank you for your posting. I have many compulsive OCD tendencies. I hide it as my own secret. I am thirty-eight. For many years I’ve never shared it and it feels so good to begin to at least do that and meet other people in person or online (non-threatening) who are living full lives.
@ Catrice – No problem
While everyone’s mental health situations are their own business, I am always pleased when someone famous does come forward for just the reason you stated – it helps other people see them leading full lives, and realize that we can all lead full lives. I hope you continue to meet others and share – it can be very therapeutic!
Dicky Barrett of the Mighty Mighty BossTones has stated that he has ocd.
I noticed something was going on with me when I was seven years old. I’m a hoarder, like my mother. It’s impossible to explain the pain it causes to people who don’t have it. The TV show “Monk” has made it the popular thing to have, and it makes me sick when a normal person says they have it because of some small habit.
Does anyone else have the slasher obsession where you’re constantly afraid of being hacked up, or that you might suddenly “lose it” and kill someone? I wouldn’t hurt anyone. It’s very unnerving.
I am 37. When I was in my early twenties I had OCD, body dysmorphic disorder, which is related to OCD. I washed my hands and feet over twenty times a day because of dirt or contamination. I dealt with OCD for over 7 years and I tried of many medications. I took Paxil for 8 months and my OCD was pretty much gone. In fact I even improved more after I stopped taking it. I also read the book “Brain Lock” which was pretty helpful in rationalizing with your compulsions. Hope that helps someone.
yea i have ocd too. i have it like hardcore. and im glad to see that im not alone…
and im an aspiring actor so if i become famous i will make sure that the word gets out.
I would say OCD is the most frustrating disease imaginable, or at least it is with me. It’s good that people speak out and talk about their disease. The worst part about OCD is not necessarily the disease itself, it’s all the insensitive and intolerant people who discriminate against you because you have an illness, that’s the real problem. People should definitely talk about it more often, because I really hate being discriminated against and seeing other people with mental illnesses get discriminated against. That’s the real problem that us as Americans should be willing to try and solve. God bless those celebrities who are truly afflicted with OCD for the guts to try and raise awareness about it. Keep on fighting, God bless.
I have a 14 yr old son who might have it. How long does it take for a psychiatrist to make a diagnosis. I haven’t mentioned it to my son because I want him to have an unbiased diagnosis but I also want to let him know that it is not him, as his deals with sin. We are Christians and on a bad day he can pray bw ten and thirty times. How many sessions can I expect before we can get a diagnosis and how do I know whether or not this Dr can help. I am really worried so any information or advice will would be greatly appreciated. Thank you and God Bless You.
I’m sorry if i may have read this wrong, but from my interpretion you have indicated to your son that his ocd relates to his sins? Thats first of all is false in terms of scientifical facts about ocd. It’s related to the chemicals in his brain and his overall make up as a human being. Making him feel like he’s done something wrong to deserve it is cruel and unmotherly! What ifyou had cronic pain syndrome as a child or teen your mother told you your sins cause the pain.. how would u feel? OCD is overwhelming as it is he doesn’t need burden of thinking it’s his fault. God is good.. and if your taking the the perspective you’ve built up from the bible and putting it into language with your son think about this logic; The bible wasn’t handed to god in heaven and then brought back down with his words so think rationally for a sec about that and maybe you’ll come up with some of your own lovable beliefs
I think she was indicating that his obsession/compulsion centers around religiosity. He’ll feel like he has to pray constantly, that he’s constantly sinning, has to rid himself of the wrong, the imperfection. It’s not so different than compulsive handwashing: He’s feeling he has contaminated his soul and has to cleanse it. I did this a bit as a teen. It was worse for having grown up with a fundamentalist Christian belief system, but not all fundies end up with OCD. It can just be a really bad combination if you have OCD and are born into a fundie home.
@ ali – Good luck to you!
@ Christopher –
The worst part about OCD is not necessarily the disease itself, it’s all the insensitive and intolerant people who discriminate against you because you have an illness, that’s the real problem.
I think you’re right, and I think the same can be said about all mental health issues.
@ Beth – I honestly have no idea what the “protocol” is regarding how long it takes to diagnose someone with OCD. I do know that normally, doctors will talk with the patients about both their obsessions and compulsions in depth. Given what you said about your son and sin, I also think you should check out an article I wrote a while back called Of Disloyal House Elves And Guilt-Stricken Humans. It refers to an ABC report about scrupulosity (called “When People Can’t Stop Praying”), which is a form of OCD (to my understanding).
Don’t forget to add Nikola Tesla. He was one of the greatest inventors/physicist/engineer that ever lived and he is the reason we are even looking at a computer screen, (AC electrical power). His life with OCD is well documented also. He was truly a genius.
i have ocd and ive struggled with it since i was as young as 5. I always just thought that it was normal, but when i finally talked to my doctor about it, i broke down and all the emotions about it i’d been holding in for so long came out.
I’m now on zoloft & it’s really worked wonders on me. All i had to do was talk to my doctor and it was that simple. and i hope people with ocd come out about it and realize they’re really not so different after all. I appreciate celebrities coming out about these things and hope others can do the same.
Howard Hughes compulsively dictated the same phrases over and over again. Under stress he developed an obsessive fear of germs. He became reclusive and insisted his assistants carry out elaborate hand washing rituals and wear white gloves when handling any document he would later touch. He ordered tape around doors and windows and forbade his staff to touch or even look at him. He wanted to live longer than his parents. He worsened as he got older.
(David G. Myers, Psychology 7th edition chapter 16 pg 629)
All my friends and family say i have OCD. Please can I have your opinion? I’ll think you’ll know better than them.
I’ve put ll the Books, Dvds, CD’s etc in my house in alphabetical order. I’ve sorted the cupboards so they are all in groups and the fridge so that there is no chance of anything getting contaminated. I’ve also but my wardrobe into orders from most casual to least casual. However, I don’t think anything bad will happen if i don’t do these things, I just do them without thinking.
Any ideas?
hi
i am also a sufferer of ocd. i am in orkut. you can fimd me through pramit mishra, raigarh. we can form a community. we’ll share our experiences and feel comfortable. i m undergoing treatment in nagpur, india. i hav recovered a lot. thax to the doctor n my family members who r very cooperative.
David Beckham is another celebrity who has OCD.
Hey, Thanks For Posting This It Really Helped For My Project!<3