Luke Combs has opened up to Australian 60 Minutes about a deeply personal struggle he’s faced for years — his battle with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). In a heartfelt interview airing last month, the Fast Car singer got real about living with Pure O, a form of OCD where the symptoms are driven by intrusive thoughts rather than external rituals.
"It's thoughts, essentially, that you don't want to have," Luke explained. "And then they cause you stress, and then you're stressed out, and then the stress causes you to have more of the thoughts, and then you don't understand why you're having them, and you're trying to get rid of them, but trying to get rid of them makes you have more of them."
Combs’ battle with the condition started at age twelve. His intrusive thoughts ranged from disturbing images of violence to deep existential worries about his identity and continue to impact his day to day living.
And it’s clear how much it’s affected his life. Luke shared, “It held me back so many times in my life, where you're trying to accomplish something, you're doing really great and then you have a flare-up and it just ruins your whole life for six months... and then you're back to where you started.”
In January, he faced one of his toughest flare-ups yet, but Luke’s learned how to better cope with the symptoms over time. "I just have to accept that they're happening and then just go, 'Whatever, dude. It's happening. It's whatever.' It's weird, sucks, hate it, drives me crazy, but... the less that you worry about why you're having the thoughts, eventually they go away,” he said.
The condition co-incided with the singer’s record-breaking Australian tour which was one of the biggest stadium tours for a country artist in Australian history.
Though it’s been a tough road, Luke’s message is one of hope, given the stars’ global success.
“You can still live your life, be really successful, have a great family, and achieve your dreams," he said. A powerful reminder that even in the darkest moments, there's always a way through.
Countrytown brings you Australia’s best country music news, interviews, charts and more every week! This post was authored by Countrytown and originally published on the Countrytown website. It has been re-published with permission.
