Nick Cannon has spoken out about his recent diagnosis of narcissistic personality disorder, saying “I need help.”
The “Masked Singer” host revealed in a podcast earlier this month that he had been “clinically diagnosed” with the mental health condition.
Now he has said he is accepting of the label and using it to try to improve himself.
He told People: “I still don’t understand it all the way, but I kind of always wanted to get tested for it.”
Speaking on Wednesday while serving meals at the Thanksgiving celebration of the Los Angeles Mission homeless charity, he said: “I feel like there’s so many labels out there, but it’s like, to be able to embrace it and say, ‘Look, I’m healing. I need help. Show me.’ I just embrace mental health and therapy in such a strong way.
“To be able to say I’m an example for others, but also be healing during the self-process works too.”
People with narcissistic personality disorder have “an unreasonably high sense of their own importance,” which leads them to seek excess attention, according to the Mayo Clinic. The condition, which is generally treated with talking therapy, can cause “problems in many areas of life,” including relationships, work and financial matters, the clinic says on its website.
The father of 12 first opened up about being diagnosed during an episode of his podcast, Counsel Culture. In the episode, which first aired on November 8, he told psychologist Cheyenne Bryant that he had been clinically diagnosed with the condition.
He said at the time: “It’s a spectrum and I think even it starts off with confidence, over-confidence, arrogance and that’s when you step into the space of narcissism. And in that there’s markers.”
Cannon said he identified with all of the so-called markers, besides lack of empathy and rage. According to the Mayo Clinic, other markers – or symptoms – include taking advantage of others to get what you want, feelings of superiority and looking down on others and having difficulties managing emotions and behavior.
Cannon went on to say: “I’ve been attempting to do the work myself and had a lot of therapists.”
He added: “I’ve taken all the power away from the term narcissism ‘cause I’ve researched it and I understand it.”
Separately, in his interview with People, Cannon said he finds the time over Thanksgiving to see all of his children.
“It’s very complicated. I’m a busy man on Thanksgiving,” he said.