America’s Got Talent judge Howie Mandel claims he “almost died” after self-medicating during the coronavirus pandemic.
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“I’m medicated and I have a lot of therapy,” Mandel, 70, said on the Monday, August 24, episode of Hoda Kotb‘s “Joy 101” podcast. “I have such a fear of those lows, because they’re incredibly painful and hard to navigate, so my life consists of trying to balance up here and manage the medication.”
Mandel, who has long been candid about his battles with anxiety and OCD, further opened up about how he managed his mental health during the 2020 pandemic lockdown.
“I’ve medicated myself, and I’m talking about prescription medication, I’m not self-medicating, though I did that during COVID, and I almost died,” he said. “So, I’m medicated. I’m surrounded by professionals.”
According to Mandel, he particularly struggled getting to sleep during the COVID shutdown.
“I’m sober right now, but during the pandemic I couldn’t sleep because part of my rumination is … I’m a germaphobe, and a pandemic? I live, like, I’m in a pandemic anyhow,” he quipped. “When there’s a real one, it was hard for me to handle. It was hard for a lot of people, but I wasn’t strong enough to handle it. I couldn’t sleep, so I started taking [marijuana-infused] gummies to go to sleep.”
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In addition to THC-infused gummies, Mandel began smoking and drinking to “escape and make [himself] unconscious.”
“There were times when my wife couldn’t wake me up or she thought she was going to take me to the hospital,” the TV star recalled, referring to wife Terry Mandel. “There’s no middle ground with me. I don’t smoke or I haven’t had a beer, anything, I can’t do anything in moderation. It wasn’t healthy and it wasn’t good. It’s not an excuse, but it was really bad.”
Howie further gushed that Terry, 71, has been “like a hero” in supporting his mental health struggles.
“I don’t know how she does it. She got me to therapy through an ultimatum,” he stated. “My wife just went, ‘I can’t do this, this is really tiring, go talk to somebody.’ The ultimatum was, ‘Try to find some help, because I can’t do this anymore.’ She’s a hero because she put up with it and sent me to therapy.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
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This story was originally published August 26, 2026 at 7:26 AM.