Grammy-winning singer Noah Kahan revealed he was diagnosed with obsessive compulsive disorder at age 28 in 2025 while on a trip to Joshua Tree. The condition affects an estimated 10 million people in the U.S. and 240 million globally, causing unwanted intrusive thoughts and repetitive behaviors, though it remains severely underdiagnosed.
Kahan described realizing these “different rituals” from childhood were not simply anxiety. “I didn’t realize how much of it has nothing to do with physical touch,” he told Rolling Stone. “A lot of it’s a mental obsession.” He explained that intrusive thoughts convinced him he was in danger even when he knew the threat was not real—including thoughts that he had run someone over despite seeing no one on the road.
Delayed diagnosis of OCD is common and dangerous. A systematic review from the Journal of Affective Disorders found patients with the disorder are at higher risk of suicide and suicidal ideation. The International OCD Foundation reported that people with OCD are five times more likely to die by suicide than someone without the condition. Michelle Stiles, a licensed mental health therapist specializing in panic and anxiety disorders, noted, “People feel shame for experiencing intrusive thoughts. They think they must be a monster or they’re going crazy. But they’re not.”
Within the mental health field, OCD is often misinterpreted. Alegra Kasten, a licensed therapist and founder of the Center for OCD, Anxiety and Eating Disorders, explained that many clinicians lack understanding of the disorder’s wide-ranging presentations. “If a clinician doesn’t know how to assess for ‘invisible symptoms,’ they might miss the diagnosis of OCD entirely,” she said. According to the International OCD Foundation, 95% of patients diagnosed with OCD in the U.S. are not receiving the most effective treatment, and 75% of cases are being misdiagnosed or missed.
The gold-standard treatment is cognitive behavioral therapy combined with exposure response prevention. A large systematic review from Psychiatry Research showed exposure therapy is highly effective for OCD, decreasing anxiety and depression. Kahan stated that weekly Zoom therapy and taking Lexapro significantly improved his health and creativity.
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://us.headtopics.com/news/noah-kahan-shows-how-common-and-harmful-a-delayed-ocd-83305334