Waking Up Repeatedly At Night, Eddie Murphy Tells You Experience With OCD

Eddie Murphy (Photo: Instagram/@eddyy_murphyy)

JAKARTA - Actor and comedian Eddie Murphy shared a story about his experience in living with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Murphy, who once imitated James Brown on stage with his own legend, revealed a habit that used to be an ordinary considered habit, but turned out to be a sign of a more serious condition.

In his latest documentary titled Being Eddie which airs on Netflix, the 64-year-old star said he had been aware of OCD symptoms since he was a child. OCD is a mental health condition that is often misunderstood.

Patients are usually encouraged to take an act repeatedly and experience unwanted or disturbing thoughts that can cause severe stress.

This compulsive behavior is usually done to relieve anxiety due to the intrusive thoughts that arise. Murphy recalls a habit that he thought was just his own strange attitude.

"When I was little, I had an OCD. But I don't know what it was," he said, quoted from the Unilad page.

"I always check the stove in the kitchen, making sure the gas is completely dead," he continued.

He said that every night he repeatedly wakes up just to check the stove.

"I'll lie down for five minutes, then wake up again to check the stove. Then go back to bed, wait for about five or ten minutes, wake up again to check. As soon as possible for an hour. I do that every night," he explained.

According to Murphy, no one at home realizes that this habit is a symptom of certain mental conditions.

"Every night. I just think, 'Yes, this is just my strange habit.' My mother didn't even know I was doing that," he said.

Just after he saw news on television about OCD, he realized that the symptoms described were very similar to what he was experiencing.

"When I watched it, I immediately thought, 'Oh, that's what I've been doing so far.' When I found out it had something to do with mental illness, I forced myself to stop," he explained.

Murphy admitted that he refused the label and finally stopped his compulsive habit by force.

"I think I'm just weird. I don't know if it has anything to do with mental illness and I don't want to accept it. So I forced myself to stop." he added.