1
00:00:07,416 --> 00:00:08,797
Well I don't remember a time that

2
00:00:08,797 --> 00:00:10,487
I didn't feel it was an issue but

3
00:00:10,487 --> 00:00:13,371
I, it wasn't diagnosed until adulthood.

4
00:00:13,371 --> 00:00:13,811
(Mmhmm).

5
00:00:19,009 --> 00:00:20,407
You know, we take care of our dental health.

6
00:00:20,407 --> 00:00:21,619
We don't take care of our mental health.

7
00:00:21,619 --> 00:00:22,898
People go get their teeth checked.

8
00:00:22,960 --> 00:00:23,899
(And it rhymes too).

9
00:00:24,250 --> 00:00:25,628
It does. That's why I say it.

10
00:00:25,884 --> 00:00:27,933
And when I was growing up. You know.

11
00:00:28,124 --> 00:00:29,336
I mean I'm in my mid-50s. 


12
00:00:29,336 --> 00:00:32,336
Even ADHD was not an issue in school.

13
00:00:32,336 --> 00:00:33,417
I mean nobody talked about it.

14
00:00:33,417 --> 00:00:34,614
Seems prevalent now.

15
00:00:34,831 --> 00:00:37,088
But I would imagine there's 
just as many kids now

16
00:00:37,266 --> 00:00:39,446
That have it as had it when I was a kid.

17
00:00:39,446 --> 00:00:41,536
It just wasn't identified 
when I was a kid.

18
00:00:41,904 --> 00:00:43,043
So I was troubled.

19
00:00:43,043 --> 00:00:44,759
And I was outrageous you know?

20
00:00:44,934 --> 00:00:46,698
I wasn't. I wasn't just the kid

21
00:00:46,698 --> 00:00:48,413
The class clown that had, you know, 


22
00:00:48,413 --> 00:00:50,777
a funny quip from the back of the class.

23
00:00:50,995 --> 00:00:52,087
I mean, I was outrageous.

24
00:00:52,276 --> 00:00:53,502
I would, you know.
(right).

25
00:00:53,758 --> 00:00:55,941
I'd call the yellow pages and

26
00:00:55,941 --> 00:00:58,304
hired companies to bid on an

27
00:00:58,304 --> 00:00:59,888
addition to the library.

28
00:00:59,949 --> 00:01:02,009
So there would be uh people.

29
00:01:02,053 --> 00:01:04,944
There would be people outside measuring

30
00:01:05,734 --> 00:01:06,487
and the principal would go outside

31
00:01:08,009 --> 00:01:08,432
and say, "What are you doing?"

32
00:01:08,432 --> 00:01:09,698
and they'd say "We're from so-and-so 
construction company and we're gonna"

33
00:01:09,698 --> 00:01:10,287
"bid on the addition".

34
00:01:10,287 --> 00:01:12,270
And he'd say, "Who authorized the addition?"

35
00:01:13,873 --> 00:01:14,943
And they would say, "Howie Mandel"

36
00:01:15,165 --> 00:01:15,787
I gave them my name.

37
00:01:15,944 --> 00:01:17,414
(Laughter)

38
00:01:17,669 --> 00:01:17,958
Yeah.

39
00:01:18,566 --> 00:01:19,976
The only way I could talk to girls

40
00:01:20,230 --> 00:01:21,078
is I would go into the girl's restroom

41
00:01:21,235 --> 00:01:22,363
cause I didn't look like a boy.

42
00:01:22,536 --> 00:01:24,116
And brush my hair in the mirror.

43
00:01:24,337 --> 00:01:26,113
And talk to girls who came in.

44
00:01:26,338 --> 00:01:27,293
(Did you really?)

45
00:01:27,462 --> 00:01:27,847
Yeah.

46
00:01:28,074 --> 00:01:28,874
(You must be joking).

47
00:01:29,130 --> 00:01:29,765
(Laughter).

48
00:01:29,965 --> 00:01:30,438
No I'm not.

49
00:01:30,667 --> 00:01:31,145
That's where my wife met me.

50
00:01:32,012 --> 00:01:33,192
I didn't finish. 
I didn't finish high school.

51
00:01:33,448 --> 00:01:33,996
I don't have a GED.

52
00:01:34,409 --> 00:01:36,613
Can I still be in ABILITY?

53
00:01:37,120 --> 00:01:37,660
(Yes. Laughter).

54
00:01:37,968 --> 00:01:38,811
(What about your wife?)

55
00:01:40,330 --> 00:01:41,843
She is not in school anymore.

56
00:01:42,132 --> 00:01:42,738
(Laughter).

57
00:01:43,187 --> 00:01:43,924
(She's off to a cabin?)

58
00:01:44,195 --> 00:01:48,292
She is. We've been together over 30 years.

59
00:01:48,385 --> 00:01:49,929
We celebrated our 31st anniversary.

60
00:01:50,134 --> 00:01:52,008
When we got married I was doing 
stand-up comedy.

61
00:01:52,147 --> 00:01:52,947
The next night I was playing Yuk Yuk's.

62
00:01:53,171 --> 00:01:56,406
So I uh, invited her on the stage.

63
00:01:56,682 --> 00:01:58,873
She sat in a stool on the stage

64
00:01:59,318 --> 00:02:01,210
and I was doing stand-up.

65
00:02:01,501 --> 00:02:02,658
Cause that's how I got my tickets.

66
00:02:03,010 --> 00:02:05,506
They flew me back up there 
cause I got a gig.

67
00:02:06,024 --> 00:02:07,212
And that's how I afforded to go to

68
00:02:07,532 --> 00:02:07,883
my own wedding.

69
00:02:08,235 --> 00:02:10,488
And then she. The next night 
Terry was sitting.

70
00:02:10,665 --> 00:02:13,813
And I said, you know, regardless 
of how the show goes.

71
00:02:14,002 --> 00:02:17,804
I just want to welcome everybody 
to my honeymoon.

72
00:02:17,927 --> 00:02:18,248
(Laughter).

73
00:02:18,248 --> 00:02:19,291
This is it.

74
00:02:19,291 --> 00:02:19,895
So that was our honeymoon.

75
00:02:20,602 --> 00:02:21,067
We didn't go anywhere. 


76
00:02:21,256 --> 00:02:21,782
She just sat on stage.

77
00:02:22,002 --> 00:02:23,475
at the comedy club in Toronto.

78
00:02:23,731 --> 00:02:24,274
(wow).

79
00:02:24,444 --> 00:02:25,379
For three, four nights straight.

80
00:02:25,534 --> 00:02:26,812
(electronic music)

81
00:02:27,228 --> 00:02:29,576
I, I masked it for many many many years.

82
00:02:29,769 --> 00:02:30,773
Where I'd, you know,

83
00:02:30,993 --> 00:02:31,412
and I shook hands.

84
00:02:31,591 --> 00:02:33,473
You see me shaking hands in old videos.

85
00:02:33,642 --> 00:02:37,440
And my uhm, you know, 
even right up to my talk show.

86
00:02:37,673 --> 00:02:39,274
I'd shake everybody's hands.

87
00:02:39,388 --> 00:02:41,445
So I was living, you know,

88
00:02:41,574 --> 00:02:42,473
and I hid a lot of it.

89
00:02:42,663 --> 00:02:44,304
You know, I didn't, she was not in the,

90
00:02:44,465 --> 00:02:46,705
in the, in the bathroom with me

91
00:02:46,875 --> 00:02:48,464
as I was scalding my hands, and so,

92
00:02:48,668 --> 00:02:51,397
so I didn't really let her in on that, but

93
00:02:51,559 --> 00:02:54,634
she knew that I was, like, obsessed,

94
00:02:54,853 --> 00:02:56,304
with, you know, washing my hands.

95
00:02:56,464 --> 00:02:57,140
(mmhm).

96
00:02:57,299 --> 00:02:58,387
Also, you know, I could also,

97
00:02:58,551 --> 00:02:59,611
I could also cover it with logic, you know?

98
00:03:00,105 --> 00:03:02,323
Let's make a path of towels in this hotel

99
00:03:02,514 --> 00:03:04,224
room. Cause you don't know what's

100
00:03:04,930 --> 00:03:05,921
dripped all over this carpet.

101
00:03:07,167 --> 00:03:09,010
So she would walk along my path.

102
00:03:09,527 --> 00:03:10,165
(Laughter).

103
00:03:11,480 --> 00:03:12,897
Let's take the comforter off the bed

104
00:03:13,098 --> 00:03:13,899
with the salad tongs,

105
00:03:14,112 --> 00:03:14,924
Cause you don't know what's on the

106
00:03:15,115 --> 00:03:16,760
(I agree) (Laughter)

107
00:03:16,919 --> 00:03:18,847
you know, and she thought I was like a,

108
00:03:19,456 --> 00:03:21,492
I think the blacklight bothered her.

109
00:03:21,514 --> 00:03:23,151
(Laughter)

110
00:03:23,316 --> 00:03:25,232
I went and spoke up in Capitol Hill.

111
00:03:25,787 --> 00:03:29,764
and uhh. I tried to, that's where I lend

112
00:03:29,935 --> 00:03:33,595
my time and uh that's what I support.

113
00:03:33,852 --> 00:03:35,164
and I uh, I mean,

114
00:03:35,379 --> 00:03:37,275
mostly it's just about trying to

115
00:03:37,439 --> 00:03:39,231
remove the stigma. Because I think there's

116
00:03:39,440 --> 00:03:42,564
a lot of help out there and I think a lot

117
00:03:42,950 --> 00:03:43,812
of people could use the help and uh

118
00:03:44,133 --> 00:03:46,649
as I said before, you know,

119
00:03:46,777 --> 00:03:48,276
my whole thing is that, I don't think

120
00:03:48,601 --> 00:03:49,508
there's anybody alive that

121
00:03:49,508 --> 00:03:55,560
could not benefit from

122
00:03:55,971 --> 00:03:59,278
a professional mental health person

123
00:03:59,921 --> 00:04:00,540
you know, being a part of their lives.

124
00:04:00,760 --> 00:04:03,291
You know. And I would imagine there still is

125
00:04:03,523 --> 00:04:05,282
a stigma attached to that. But I, you know,

126
00:04:05,860 --> 00:04:06,725
I didn't really take care of that.

127
00:04:07,046 --> 00:04:09,037
But now I'm taking care of it.

128
00:04:09,264 --> 00:04:10,130
Look at me. (Laughs).

129
00:04:10,515 --> 00:04:11,919
I'm in ABILITY magazine.

130
00:04:12,154 --> 00:04:14,065
(Laughter).

131
00:04:14,075 --> 00:04:29,779
(electronic music)