After a hiatus from the spotlight, the 66-year-old comedian is back on television with her new Netflix special, Ellen DeGeneres: For Your Approval.
She made waves earlier this year when she said that the comedy show marked the end of her Hollywood career.
DeGeneres informed followers, “This is the last time you’re going to see me. After my Netflix special, I’m done.”
After hearing the talk show host’s tragic health update in the special, viewers took to social media to send their best wishes.
One admirer comments, “Hope she gets better.”
“Hopefully she is getting the help she needs,” another writes. “Wishing her well.”
In 2020, everything changed for Ellen DeGeneres.
Two BuzzFeed exposés looked into charges of a poisonous workplace atmosphere, discrimination, sexual misconduct, and harassment on the set of her once-popular show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
Although the stories did not accuse DeGeneres of toxic conduct, the comedian received a lot of criticism.
She took the tough choice to discontinue her program in 2022, citing a drop in viewership and the aftermath of claims of a poisonous work atmosphere, according to The Independent.
In her new Netflix show, DeGeneres discusses this period in her life and how she sought treatment thereafter.
The treatment revealed that the comedian had a mental health problem.
In her comedy show, she states, “I may have OCD because a therapist said so and I said, ‘Yes I am very organized,’ because I thought that was the O. I didn’t know what OCD was.”
DeGeneres stated that she was up in a faith that ‘doesn’t accept illnesses or abnormalities,’ so ‘nobody spoke about anything’ like that.
The Mayo Clinic defines obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) as ‘features patterns of unwanted thoughts and fears known as obsessions’ that can ‘lead people to do repetitive behaviors, also called compulsions.’
These obsessions and compulsions may disrupt a person’s regular routines and create suffering.
DeGeneres said that, upon thought, she feels her father may have had the same issue.
She recalls: “He would check the doorknob 15 times before we’d leave, he’d check the faucet 15 times. He would unplug all the appliances before we left the house because lightning could strike and it could catch fire.”
“They say it could be hereditary.”
The comedian also said that she has been diagnosed with ADHD.
“I think I’m well-adjusted because I obsess on things, but I don’t have the attention span to stick with it, and I quickly forget what I was obsessing about in the first place,” she says in the special.
“So, it takes me all the way around to being well-adjusted, I think.”
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is “a mental health condition that can cause unusual levels of hyperactivity and impulsive behaviors,” according to Healthline.
A person with this illness may find it difficult to concentrate on a single job or sit motionless for extended periods.
In the Netflix special, DeGeneres also discussed an ailment she has been diagnosed with that causes her to feel like she ‘might disintegrate in the shower.’
The Finding Dory voice actress revealed she had osteoporosis after completing a bone density test.
“Osteoporosis causes bones to become weak and brittle – so brittle that a fall or even mild stresses such as bending over or coughing can cause a break. Osteoporosis-related breaks most commonly occur in the hip, wrist, or spine,” according to the Mayo Clinic.
“Bone is living tissue that is constantly being broken down and replaced. Osteoporosis occurs when the creation of new bone doesn’t keep up with the loss of old bone.”
Although there is no cure for osteoporosis, its symptoms may be controlled with medications and lifestyle adjustments.
DeGeneres opens up, saying, “I don’t even know how I’m standing up right now. I’m like a human sandcastle. I could disintegrate in the shower.”
