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Topics: Celebrity, Leonardo DiCaprio, Mental Health, Health
Ellie Kemp
Topics: Celebrity, Leonardo DiCaprio, Mental Health, Health
Leonardo DiCaprio revealed his five-word response to a mental health condition he's had most of his adult life.
The actor, now 50, has been gracing our screens for more than 35 years, making his TV show debut in 1989's The New Lassie.
The Titanic star has gone on to become a Hollywood legend, earning numerous award nods and finally securing his long-waited Best Actor Oscar for 2015's The Revenant.
But the star has faced plenty of hardships behind the glitz and glamor of his career.
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This includes a common mental health condition that he says caused disruption on the set of his movies.
DiCaprio first addressed his condition while filming The Aviator back in 2004.
The biopic follows aircraft designer Howard Hughes, who 'suffers from germophobia and psychological illness', but ends up taking off as a filmmaker.
DiCaprio himself revealed some of the struggles he's faced with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD).
One in 40 adults in the US will develop the disorder at some point in their lives, according to recent data.
According to the National Institution of Mental Health, OCD is a long-lasting disorder in which 'a person experiences uncontrollable and recurring thoughts (obsessions), engages in repetitive behaviors (compulsions), or both'.
People with OCD have 'time-consuming symptoms that can cause significant distress or interfere with daily life'.
And this certainly was the case with DiCaprio, who previously explained how he would compulsively step on every chewing gum stain he walked by, which caused major delays on set.
Back in 2005, he said: “My thing was not stepping on cracks, or not stepping on certain things. Sometimes it took me 10 minutes to get to the set because I’d be pacing back and forth, stepping on gum stains.”
The star also revealed that he often fought the urge to walk through a doorway several times, adamant that he didn't want the condition to take over his life.
It was reportedly a combination of medication and therapy which helped DiCaprio manage his OCD symptoms.
As per Rolling Stone, he explained his five-word response to the condition: "I have a well-organised life and I’ve put a lot of thought into the things that I do, and then… I’ll just be sitting there, totally anxious about something ridiculous. You have to stop yourself during the say and say: ‘It’s just not worth it’."
Obviously, this isn't meant to diminish his own - or anybody else's - struggles with the condition.
And it's likely it took a lot of hard work for DiCaprio to reach that point, which should provide some hope to those with OCD.
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available through Mental Health America. Call or text 988 to reach a 24-hour crisis center or you can webchat at 988lifeline.org. You can also reach the Crisis Text Line by texting MHA to 741741.