1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:04,275 NARRATOR: Howie Mandel is battling a crippling disorder. 2 00:00:04,275 --> 00:00:08,400 Obsessive-compulsive disorder nearly cost him his career 3 00:00:08,400 --> 00:00:11,175 and made him shave his hair. 4 00:00:11,175 --> 00:00:15,180 HOWIE MANDEL: OCD are these intrusive thoughts that keep coming in 5 00:00:15,180 --> 00:00:17,760 so much that you have no control, and you can't stop. 6 00:00:17,760 --> 00:00:20,760 Those thoughts are so strong that it stops your life. 7 00:00:20,760 --> 00:00:25,185 NARRATOR: For Howie, his fear of germs has been a living nightmare, 8 00:00:25,185 --> 00:00:28,980 not just for him but for his loved ones as well. 9 00:00:28,980 --> 00:00:31,520 HOWIE MANDEL: In my mind, this is a Petri dish. 10 00:00:31,520 --> 00:00:33,800 Otherwise, I would spend a day as I have in the past 11 00:00:33,800 --> 00:00:35,945 in my life in a men's room, 12 00:00:35,945 --> 00:00:39,062 rubbing and scrubbing and scalding. 13 00:00:39,062 --> 00:00:42,950 NARRATOR: His phobia nearly made him an absent father. 14 00:00:42,950 --> 00:00:48,130 It was so bad he couldn't bear touching his own children's hands. 15 00:00:48,130 --> 00:00:50,510 HOWIE MANDEL'S WIFE: The kids, when they're crawling on the floor, 16 00:00:50,510 --> 00:00:52,565 everything, it was so hard for him. 17 00:00:52,565 --> 00:00:54,200 NARRATOR: When his kids were growing up, 18 00:00:54,200 --> 00:00:57,335 he had a second house built in their backyard. 19 00:00:57,335 --> 00:01:02,435 Mandel would go here to escape the germs of his own family. 20 00:01:02,435 --> 00:01:06,880 He managed to keep his obsession hidden from colleagues and fans. 21 00:01:06,880 --> 00:01:11,895 His way of greeting his audience with a fist bump became his trademark. 22 00:01:11,895 --> 00:01:13,350 Until one day, 23 00:01:13,350 --> 00:01:17,400 when he spilled his secret to Howard Stern by accident. 24 00:01:17,400 --> 00:01:19,175 HOWIE MANDEL: I was incredibly embarrassed, 25 00:01:19,175 --> 00:01:21,595 and I thought I had humiliated my family. 26 00:01:21,595 --> 00:01:23,950 I thought that this is going to be the end of my career because 27 00:01:23,950 --> 00:01:26,260 people are going to know that I do have mental health issues. 28 00:01:26,260 --> 00:01:28,300 NARRATOR: After this shocking revelation, 29 00:01:28,300 --> 00:01:32,285 the comedian shared how OCD nearly ended his career. 30 00:01:32,285 --> 00:01:34,840 HOWIE MANDEL: There were many times when I wanted to back out. 31 00:01:34,840 --> 00:01:38,900 I'm not somebody who sits down with strangers as I sit here. 32 00:01:38,900 --> 00:01:40,870 NARRATOR: He even wrote a book called 33 00:01:40,870 --> 00:01:43,435 Here's the Deal, Don't Touch Me, 34 00:01:43,435 --> 00:01:46,240 which set him free from his fears and 35 00:01:46,240 --> 00:01:50,600 inspired millions of people who also battle OCD. 36 00:01:50,600 --> 00:01:54,175 Yet Howie's fight is far from over. 37 00:01:54,175 --> 00:01:58,240 He is still in therapy and on medication for the anxiety 38 00:01:58,240 --> 00:02:00,770 that goes along with this disorder. 39 00:02:00,770 --> 00:02:04,080 Therapies also would save Charlize Theron 40 00:02:04,080 --> 00:02:07,015 from becoming her own worst enemy. 41 00:02:07,015 --> 00:02:08,380 For this actress, 42 00:02:08,380 --> 00:02:12,990 it's not germs but messy cabinets that steal her sleep. 43 00:02:12,990 --> 00:02:15,630 "I will lie in my bed and not be able to sleep 44 00:02:15,630 --> 00:02:17,100 because I'll say to myself, 45 00:02:17,100 --> 00:02:19,590 I think I saw something in that cabinet 46 00:02:19,590 --> 00:02:21,720 that just shouldn't be there." 47 00:02:21,720 --> 00:02:24,390 Charlize faced the hardest challenge ever 48 00:02:24,390 --> 00:02:26,265 when she became a mom. 49 00:02:26,265 --> 00:02:29,265 She was used to a neat and tidy house, 50 00:02:29,265 --> 00:02:32,385 yet motherhood made her life chaotic. 51 00:02:32,385 --> 00:02:35,205 Whenever her kids leave the house in a mess, 52 00:02:35,205 --> 00:02:37,620 it causes her agony. 53 00:02:37,620 --> 00:02:39,090 CHARLIZE THERON: There's a lot of times 54 00:02:39,090 --> 00:02:40,170 where I'm walking through my house 55 00:02:40,170 --> 00:02:41,460 thinking I'm going senile 56 00:02:41,460 --> 00:02:43,020 because I have a little OCD thing, 57 00:02:43,020 --> 00:02:45,750 and I'm, like, where is this glare coming from? 58 00:02:45,750 --> 00:02:48,140 NARRATOR: Charlize got her life back together 59 00:02:48,140 --> 00:02:50,155 with the help of a therapist. 60 00:02:50,155 --> 00:02:53,325 Her children also lightened her load. 61 00:02:53,325 --> 00:02:55,140 CHARLIZE THERON: I've gotten a little bit better. 62 00:02:55,140 --> 00:02:57,950 My kids definitely helped me be less anxious 63 00:02:57,950 --> 00:02:59,440 about a lot of that stuff. 64 00:02:59,440 --> 00:03:01,985 NARRATOR: Her condition could have harmed her career, 65 00:03:01,985 --> 00:03:04,445 but instead, it gave her an edge. 66 00:03:04,445 --> 00:03:08,750 She channeled her OCD into many of her biggest roles, 67 00:03:08,750 --> 00:03:12,805 like in Atomic Blonde, Mad Max, and Monster. 68 00:03:12,805 --> 00:03:16,605 David Beckham's OCD took another shape. 69 00:03:16,605 --> 00:03:20,310 He says he needs to have everything in a straight line, 70 00:03:20,310 --> 00:03:22,680 or everything has to be in pairs. 71 00:03:22,680 --> 00:03:26,085 He's literally obsessed with symmetry. 72 00:03:26,085 --> 00:03:28,080 When David walks to the fridge, 73 00:03:28,080 --> 00:03:31,635 simply getting a drink can quickly become an ordeal. 74 00:03:31,635 --> 00:03:36,300 His drink labels must be lined up in a certain way. 75 00:03:36,300 --> 00:03:41,290 DAVID BECKHAM: If there's two bottles of water and two bottles of Coke 76 00:03:41,290 --> 00:03:43,420 and two bottles of Sprite, 77 00:03:43,420 --> 00:03:45,100 if there's an extra can, 78 00:03:45,100 --> 00:03:48,230 then I'd take it out and put it in the cupboard and hide it. 79 00:03:48,230 --> 00:03:52,030 NARRATOR: David's disorder made him buy three fridges, 80 00:03:52,030 --> 00:03:54,760 one for drinks, one for salads, 81 00:03:54,760 --> 00:03:57,100 and one for other food. 82 00:03:57,100 --> 00:04:00,710 Of course, all three perfectly organized. 83 00:04:00,710 --> 00:04:03,940 Beckham also admitted that he's addicted to 84 00:04:03,940 --> 00:04:08,425 rearranging hotel rooms to make everything perfect. 85 00:04:08,425 --> 00:04:10,690 Like other OCD sufferers, 86 00:04:10,690 --> 00:04:14,870 David didn't want his diagnosis to influence his career, 87 00:04:14,870 --> 00:04:17,950 so he only opened up about it later. 88 00:04:17,950 --> 00:04:20,560 His Manchester United teammates 89 00:04:20,560 --> 00:04:23,440 used this information to annoy him. 90 00:04:23,440 --> 00:04:27,325 They reordered his clothes and other stuff in hotel rooms, 91 00:04:27,325 --> 00:04:29,510 and it drove him mad. 92 00:04:29,510 --> 00:04:31,930 Although Beckham wished and tried 93 00:04:31,930 --> 00:04:35,645 to stop his obsessive behavior, he couldn't. 94 00:04:35,645 --> 00:04:40,470 Of course, his habits also complicate the lives of his family, 95 00:04:40,470 --> 00:04:42,855 but with their love and support, 96 00:04:42,855 --> 00:04:45,453 David leads a pretty normal life. 97 00:04:45,453 --> 00:04:47,610 Mandel, Theron, and Beckham 98 00:04:47,610 --> 00:04:50,910 are all living their own brand of nightmare, 99 00:04:50,910 --> 00:04:55,590 but all three of them had the courage to break the silence. 100 00:04:55,590 --> 00:05:00,825 So don't forget, whatever battle you're in, you're not alone. 101 00:05:00,825 --> 00:05:05,710 Face your fears. Speak your truth.