Luke Combs opens up about living with a ‘particularly wicked' form of OCD

Miami Herald

16-03-2025

Luke Combs is opening up about his experience with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and anxiety.
In a recent interview with '60 Minutes Australia,' published Feb. 9, the 35-year-old country music star revealed that he has been living with a 'particularly wicked' form of OCD for more than 20 years.
The 'obscure' form, as Combs describes it, is known as pure obsessional OCD, or pure O, NBC News reports.
'It's thoughts, essentially, that you don't want to have,' Combs explains. 'And then they cause you stress, and then you're stressed out, and then the stress causes you to have more of the thoughts.'
'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,' he continues.
According to NOCD, an online treatment provider, pure O is a 'subtype of OCD where compulsions happen mentally instead of physically.'
'When it hits, man, it can be all-consuming,' Combs said. 'If you have a flare-up of it ... you could think about it 45 seconds of every minute for weeks.'
His most recent flare-up — which he describes as one of the worst he has had in years — occurred two days before kicking off his Australia-New Zealand tour in January and February.
'I just have to accept that they're happening and then just go, 'Whatever, dude. It's happening. It's whatever,'' the singer said.
'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,' he added, per NBC.
Combs said that he does 'really well' with his flare-ups and has learned how to manage the condition — even while performing — but says it hasn't always been that way.
'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 ruins your life for six months,' he revealed.
Combs now considers himself an 'expert' at getting out of a flare-up and hopes to use his experience to help to others.
'If there's someone out there that's struggling with it, it's possible to continue to live your life, and be really successful, and have a great family, and achieve your dreams,' he said in the interview, per NBC News.
The 'Forever After All' singer also says he has plans to help others understand the symptoms and learn how to manage the condition.