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Ellen DeGeneres has been diagnosed with osteoporosis, obsessive compulsive disorder and ADHD

Ellen DeGeneres has been diagnosed with osteoporosis, obsessive compulsive disorder and ADHD

Aging is no joke.

Ellen DeGeneres has revealed that she has been diagnosed with osteoporosis, obsessive-compulsive disorder and ADHD.

The Emmy winner, 66, shared news about her health while discussing aging in her new and final comedy special, “For Your Approval,” which dropped on Netflix on Tuesday.

DeGeneres said she received the diagnoses only after she left her long-running daytime talk show after a flood of allegations surfaced in 2020 accusing the comedian of running a toxic workplace.

Ellen DeGeneres in “Ellen DeGeneres: For Your Approval.” WILSON WEBB/NETFLIX

The star learned she has “full-blown osteoporosis” – a disease that causes bones to become weaker and increases the likelihood of fractures – after taking a “stupid bone density test”.

“I don’t even know how I feel right now,” DeGeneres joked. “I’m like a human sandcastle. I could fall apart in the shower.”

In case the osteoporosis wasn't bad enough, she said she was also diagnosed with arthritis.

“One day I was in excruciating pain and thought I had torn a ligament or something. When I got an MRI they said, 'No, it's just arthritis.' I said, 'How did I come up with that?' And he said, 'Oh, it just happens at your age,'” the stand-up added.

According to the comedian, Ellen DeGeneres' latest comedy special “For Your Approval” is also her last.
Ellen DeGeneres and wife Portia de Rossi in a promotional photo for “Ellen DeGeneres: For Your Approval.” ADAM ROSE/NETFLIX

“It's hard to be honest about aging and seem cool,” she admitted.

As for her obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), DeGeneres revealed that she was diagnosed with these conditions during her therapy after allegations on her talk show that she had created a work environment that fostered “racism, fear, and Intimidation.”

“I was in therapy for a while, trying to deal with all the hate that was coming my way,” she said. “And you know, it wasn’t an everyday situation that a therapist had to deal with.”

She continued, “Maybe I have OCD because a therapist said that and I said, 'Yeah, I'm very organized,' because I thought that was OCD. I didn’t know what OCD was.”

Ellen DeGeneres on “The Late Late Show with James Corden” on Tuesday, May 4, 2021. CBS via Getty Images
Ellen DeGeneres during a taping of “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” on May 24, 2016 in Burbank, California. Getty Images

“I was raised in a religion, Christian Science, that does not recognize illness or disorder,” she explained. “When I was growing up, no one talked about anything. There was no discussion about anything.”

“Looking back now, I realize my dad definitely had OCD,” she shared. “He checked the doorknob 15 times before we left, he checked the faucet 15 times, he unplugged everything before we left the house because lightning could strike and the house could catch fire. They say it could be hereditary.” .”

A promotional photo for “Ellen DeGeneres: For Your Approval.” ADAM ROSE/NETFLIX

After speaking to her therapist about OCD, DeGeneres asked her wife Portia de Rossi if she thought she had OCD.

“Yes, you do,” de Rossi, 51, replied.

True to form, DeGeneres turned her health challenges into comedic fodder.

“My ADD makes it really hard to sit down and even concentrate on anything. I mean, do you know how hard it was for me to put this together? Of course not. Why should I ask this question? I have a hard time concentrating,” she joked, sparking laughter from the audience.

She added: “So I have ADD, I have OCD, I lose my memory. But I think I'm well-adjusted because I obsess over things, but then I don't have the attention span to stick with them and I quickly forget what I was obsessing about in the first place. So I think I’ve settled in well for now.”

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