Nick Cannon got personal this week about his need for help after recently being diagnosed with narcissistic personality disorder.
The 44-year-old spoke candidly to People, saying he wasn’t surprised to receive the NPD diagnosis, citing his history with mental health.
“I still don’t understand it all the way, but I kind of always wanted to get tested for it,” he told the outlet. “I’ve been diagnosed with ADHD. Even as a kid it was dyslexia, but just knowing that I’m just a neurodivergent individual, I kind of always knew [I had NPD].”
Cannon says accepting the diagnosis and admitting he “need[s] help” is an important part of managing the condition.
“I just embrace mental health and therapy in such a strong way,” said “The Masked Singer” host. “To be able to say I’m an example for others, but also be healing during the self-process works too.”
Earlier this month, Cannon revealed on his “Counsel Culture” podcast that he’d been “clinically diagnosed” with the disorder, saying he identifies with nearly all the “markers” for NPD.
According to the Mayo Clinic, those with NPD can have “an unreasonably high sense of self-importance and require constant, excessive admiration.” They may take advantage of others to get what they want while being unwilling “to recognize the needs and feelings of others.” They can also exhibit a superiority complex and may “look down” on people they don’t deem equally important.
Those diagnosed with NPD can also struggle with criticism, leading to trouble interacting with others. They may harbor secret feelings of insecurity or shame, and avoid situations in which they could be “exposed as a failure.” A preoccupation “with fantasies of success [and] power” may lead them to “behave in an arrogant way … and come across as conceited.”
Cannon is famously known as a father of 12 children with six different women. Earlier this year, he insured his testicles for $10 million as part of a marketing campaign that gave him the title of “Most Valuable Balls in the World.”
“Haters say it’s time for me to stop having kids and put this super sperm to rest,” Cannon said in a statement at the time. “But I’m doubling down on these valuable balls and my future kids.”
