Howie Mandel is a 58-year-old famous television personality who has worked as a comedian, actor, and television host. He is best known for being the host of Deal or No Deal and America's Got Talent. What many don't know is that Mandel suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder. A person with obsessive-compulsive disorder is characterized as someone who tends to have obsessive thoughts which can vary from person to person. These obsessions also tend to be associated with compulsions defined as repetitive behaviors (Beidel, Bulik, & Stanley, 2012, p. 131). What makes these behaviors abnormal is their tendency to cause disruption in a person's life in one form or another. Obsessive-compulsive disorder is a type of illness that is characterized by constant agitation due to these obsessive thoughts combined with compulsive behavior. In Mandel's case, his fear of germs keeps him from participating in acts that most of the population wouldn't think twice about. about shaking hands. He, on the contrary, must find an alternative to this common behavior of punching. This is an example of the many things Mandel strives to do without having anxious thoughts and without fear of germs. When he hosted the popular TV show Deal Or No Deal, attendees were previously informed that he would not shake their hands but would instead bump his fist due to this illness. Along with this, Mandel refuses to come into contact with handrails or even money. Most people don't think about germs on the banister or money, since we deal with them daily without interrupting our lives. For Mandel, these thoughts can weaken because once these germ thoughts enter his mind, they will only accumulate and eventually lead him to ... middle of paper ... help to diminish these symptoms . By focusing specifically on his fear of germs throughout treatment, Mandel will learn different ways to prevent these thoughts from disrupting his daily routine. The DSM-V was very useful in helping to diagnose Howie Mandel suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder. . The diagnostic criteria listed in the DSM-V for this condition state that obsessions and/or compulsions must be present. In Mandel's case, both of these aspects are present, as mentioned above. Mandel displayed obsessive thoughts regarding germs as well as associated obsessions to refrain from contact with germs and compulsions such as double-checking locked doors. Another criteria is that these obsessions/compulsions take time, which I also talked about above. The many symptoms Mandel displayed did not appear to correspond to any other illness listed in the DSM-V..