“Eddie Murphy speaks openly about his battle with obsessive-compulsive disorder: I thought I was just weird.”

Actor and comedian Eddie Murphy spoke publicly for the first time about his experience with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in the new Netflix documentary “Being Eddie.”

In the documentary, the 64-year-old Hollywood star reveals that he recognized the symptoms of the disorder as a child, although back then he didn’t know what it was.

“When I was a child, I had obsessive-compulsive disorder. I didn’t know what it was. I would go and check the stove and make sure all the gas was turned off,” Murphy recalls.

He explained that he would return to the kitchen several times every night before going to sleep, convinced that he had to check the gas again. He says that no one in his family knew he was going through such episodes.

“I thought I was just doing some strange things. My mother didn’t know. I also made weird noises while watching TV, and I didn’t know why I was doing it,” Murphy said.

The turning point came when, as a teenager, he saw a news report about obsessive-compulsive disorder.

“I thought, ‘Oh, that’s what I do.’ When I heard it was a disorder, I told myself, ‘No, I don’t have any mental illness,’ and I forced myself to stop,” the actor added.

According to the Mayo Clinic definition, obsessive-compulsive disorder is characterized by a pattern of unwanted thoughts (obsessions) and repetitive actions (compulsions) that can significantly interfere with daily life and cause feelings of distress.

Murphy admits that the symptoms have not completely disappeared and that he still checks the gas.