Country music star Luke Combs is opening up about his struggle with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), which he has described as "particularly wicked."
During an appearance on "60 Minutes Australia," Combs said that his experience with OCD differs from the common perception, which often involves visible compulsions like repeatedly flicking light switches. Instead, his condition, purely obsessional OCD, manifests through constant internal anxiety and unwanted intrusive thoughts, without outward compulsive behaviors.
"Probably the worst flare-up of it I've had in, I would say three or four years, started about two days before this trip," Combs told the program, according to Billboard.
"It's something that in some way I at least think about every day. There's some tinge of it to some extent every day … The craziness of the particular disorder that I have, it's the way to get out of it," he continued.
"There's no outward manifestation of it, right? Like you're talking about the flicking of a light switch, but for me, it's all going on in here," Combs explained, adding. "When someone else flicks a light switch, you can see it happening. But for someone like myself, you wouldn't even know what's going on — it could be happening right now, and you wouldn't even realize it."
He said that it's a cycle of unwanted thoughts that cause stress, which in turn leads to more intrusive thoughts. Trying to get rid of them only worsens the situation, leaving him confused and overwhelmed.
"I'm lucky to be an expert in how to get out of it now … I'm probably 90% out of my flare-up now … and in the midst of doing a world tour, right?"
Combs said that his recent anxiety flare-ups were among the worst he's experienced in years, with obsessive thoughts dominating his mind for "45 seconds of every minute for weeks." These intrusive thoughts varied from disturbing violent images to deep existential questions about his identity.
The musician acknowledged that his OCD has had a major impact on his life, saying, "It held me back so many times when I was trying to accomplish something, doing really well, and then a flare-up would occur, completely derailing everything for six months."
However, Combs has gradually found ways to manage his OCD more effectively by confronting the intrusive thoughts.
"When it happens now, I'm not afraid of it because I don't think, 'What if this lasts forever?' I know it won't last forever anymore."
Combs previously spoke about first experiencing OCD-related anxiety during middle school in a 2021 interview on AXS TV's "The Big Interview." He compared his obsessive thoughts to tasks like "fixing the blinds or straightening the carpet" but emphasized that these actions were all happening in his mind.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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