Howie Mandel has recovered from a bout of COVID-19, revealing that the most difficult thing for him was having no human contact for 10 days while he isolated.
In an interview with TMZ, the “Canada’s Got Talent” judge shared his belief that he contracted the virus while attending the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards.
While Mandel didn’t get slimed during the show, he joked, “I was, with a virus, apparently.”
According to Mandel, he didn’t get sick, but he did suffer. “I’m vaxxed, and I’m boosted, so my symptoms weren’t terrible. But knowing me… I would have rather taken the mental pain of me being locked in a room for 10 days, not going near anybody,” he said.
“I went insane,” he added. “I still feel like I’m recovering from that, the insanity. And I’m not joking. I got incredibly depressed, incredibly neurotic. My only panacea to my physical health and my mental health is distracting myself. You can’t distract yourself for 10 days alone in a room.”
As Mandel explained, his isolation contributed to the mental health struggles he’d already been experiencing.
“I’m in therapy, and I take medication and I do things. But for years and years, there was a stigma — and I think there still is — a stigma attached to mental health,” he explained. “It’s just good to be out of the room!”
