Even though people thought Ellen DeGeneres was no longer in show business, she has a special on Netflix called For Your Consideration. In it, Ellen shares her usual funny jokes but also opens up about some surprising things from her personal life.
One of the biggest surprises is that Ellen has been diagnosed with three different health conditions. After she revealed this, many people wanted to know more about what she was diagnosed with and what she had to say about each one.
What are Ellen Degeneres’s various health conditions?
During the special, Ellen DeGeneres shared that she had been diagnosed with three health conditions: osteoporosis, ADHD, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). She joked about how, after a “stupid bone-density test,” she found out she had “full-blown osteoporosis.”
She laughed about it, 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.” Osteoporosis is a condition where your bones get weaker and more brittle, making it easier to break them.
Ellen also talked about how getting older has been tough for her. She recalled having really bad pain and thinking she had torn a ligament, but after an MRI, the doctors told her it was just arthritis, which can happen as you age.
She also opened up about being diagnosed with OCD by her therapist. Ellen said she started therapy to deal with “all the hate” she was getting, referring to the 2020 claims that her talk show had a toxic work environment and allegations of sexual misconduct.
In the special, Ellen DeGeneres said she didn’t know what OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder) was growing up because she was raised in a religion called Christian Science, which didn’t talk about diseases or disorders. She explained that, as a child, nobody discussed health issues at all.
Looking back, she now believes her dad probably had OCD too, but it was never diagnosed. She remembered how he would check the door and faucet 15 times before they left the house, and unplug all the appliances to prevent fires in case of lightning. Ellen mentioned that OCD can sometimes run in families.
Ellen also talked about being diagnosed with ADD, which is now known as ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). She said her ADHD makes it hard for her to focus on anything, and even working on the Netflix special was challenging.
She joked, “I have ADD, I have OCD, and I’m losing my memory. But I think I’m doing okay because I get obsessed with things, but I forget about them quickly since I can’t focus long enough to stick with it.”
