In a recent interview with 60 Minutes Australia, Luke Combs addressed his “particularly wicked” battle with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) also known as Pure O, a form of obsessive compulsion that manifests itself internally with intrusive thoughts rather than outward rituals.
Talking about his challenge, the country musician said “It’s thoughts, essentially, that you don’t want to have.” “And then they cause you stress, and then you’re stressed out, and then the stress causes you to have more of the thoughts, and then you don’t understand why you’re having them, and you’re trying to get rid of them, but trying to get rid of them makes you have more of them.”
Now 35-years-old, the superstar singer/songwriter said that he started experiencing symptoms when he was around 12 years old, and his obsessive thoughts ranged from disturbing violent images to existential concerns about his identity, adding:
“It held me back so many times in my life, where you’re trying to accomplish something, you’re doing really great and then you have a flare-up and it just ruins your whole life for six months… and then you’re back to where you started.”
Suffering from a particularly difficult flare-up in January, Combs is now better at coping with the symptoms.
“I just have to accept that they’re happening and then just go, ‘Whatever, dude. It’s happening. It’s whatever.’ It’s weird, sucks, hate it, drives me crazy, but… the less that you worry about why you’re having the thoughts, eventually they go away,” said the North Carolina-born native.
By sharing his truth, Luke hopes his story will help others with the mental health condition to realize that “it’s possible to continue to live your life, and be really successful, and have a great family, and achieve your dreams”.
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Author: Saul Goode
Photo: David Bergman