Luke Combs says he struggles with 'pure O,' an OCD variant that's literally all in his head: 'It's not fun'

Don’t get state vocalist Luke Combs reasoning astir things, due to the fact that helium mightiness person a hard clip stopping.

The “Fast Car” vocalist says that successful summation to anxiety, helium has a “particularly wicked” mentation of obsessive-compulsive disorder. He described his “pure O” successful a February interrogation connected Australia’s mentation of “60 Minutes,” explaining that helium focuses astir wholly connected the thoughts that are typically associated with OCD, alternatively than exhibiting immoderate disposable compulsive behaviors specified arsenic turning lights connected and off, checking and rechecking locks oregon hand-washing excessively.

“There’s nary outward manifestation of it, right? Like you were saying, the flicking of the airy power is each going connected successful present for me,” helium said, pointing to his head. “The flicking of the airy power for idiosyncratic else, you tin spot that going connected ... for idiosyncratic similar myself, you don’t adjacent cognize what’s going on. It could beryllium going connected close now.”

According to Healthline, axenic obsessional upset is not a abstracted diagnosis from OCD, but the circumstantial statement does use to galore people. The compulsive portion of the OCD tin beryllium mental, the website says. To negociate the accent from intrusive thoughts, a idiosyncratic mightiness obsessively count, visualize soothing images oregon simply ruminate — and ruminate immoderate more.

“If you person a flare-up of it ... you could deliberation of it 45 seconds of each infinitesimal for weeks. It’s not fun,” the 35-year-old vocalist said.

Medications and speech therapy tin help, per Healthline, and determination are further treatments for utmost cases. And though Combs says he’s overmuch amended than helium utilized to be, helium had his worst flare-up successful respective years successful January, conscionable a mates of days earlier helium headed connected his Down Under tour. The quality now, helium said, is helium has the tools to woody with it.

“Imagine that there’s a carnivore successful beforehand of you, and your fight-or-flight kicks on, right? And past the bear’s gone. Well, ideate if your encephalon stayed successful fight-or-flight and each clip you thought astir the bear, different carnivore showed up successful beforehand of you. Then the much you deliberation astir it, the much bears determination are, and they support coming and support coming,” Combs said.

“They’re ne'er going to onslaught you — the bears are ne'er going to onslaught you. But you consciousness similar they’re going to. But if you halt reasoning astir the bears, and you spell ‘Oh, there’s bears implicit there, cool, large deal, doesn’t substance that there’s bears implicit there.’ Eventually there’s little and little and little until there’s not immoderate left.”

His “bears” tin beryllium intrusive thoughts astir violence, for example, oregon astir religion. Things that don’t person a yes-or-no answer, oregon immoderate reply astatine all.

“It’s truly questions astir who you are arsenic a idiosyncratic that you can’t truly ever get an reply to. There’s ne'er a yes-or-no answer, and truthful that’s what fuels the anxiety. ... You desperately privation an reply for immoderate this happening that’s bothering you is.”

He’s recovered freedom, helium says, successful learning however to enactment those thoughts to the broadside and not giving them immoderate credence.

Still, erstwhile it hits, “It tin beryllium all-consuming,” helium said. Combs archetypal experienced the intrusive thoughts erstwhile helium was 12 oregon 13, helium said, and helium was “crippled” by it.

“You’re trying to execute thing and you’re doing truly large and past you person a flare-up and it conscionable similar ... it ruins your full beingness for six months,” helium said. “And past you’re backmost to wherever you started.”

That’s wherefore the begetter of 2 boys hopes that successful his vocation and afterward, helium tin beryllium an illustration to kids who are going done the aforesaid happening and amusement them that “great things” are inactive wrong their grasp.

“You person to cognize what to do,” Combs said. “I’m fortunate to beryllium an adept successful however to get retired of it now.”