How Howie Mandel turned a panic attack into a mental health movement and helped build a company now worth hundreds of millions

Howie Headshot1 26 (Credit: Brian Smith.)

The first time Howie Mandel told the world he had OCD, he didn’t mean to.

He was on The Howard Stern Show, spiraling into a panic attack because he didn’t want to open the door. He just couldn’t get past touching the doorknob and leaving the studio, and what he didn’t realize is he no longer was thinking that: the words came out before he could stop them. It was aired on Stern’s show, Mandel left the studio, and found himself contemplating his career and life on the busy New York City street. His thoughts and anxiety getting the best of him, the train of thought broke finally when a stranger walked up and said: “I just heard you on Stern. Me too.”