Nick Cannon Talks Narcissistic Personality Disorder Diagnosis: 'I Need Help, Show Me'

The Masked Singer host Nick Cannon says he has been diagnosed with Narcissistic Personality Disorder.

Nick, 44, previously said he had been diagnosed with Narcissistic Personality Disorder on a November 8 episode of his podcast Counsel Culture:

Nick's Counsel Culture podcast – its name a play on words for "cancel culture" – is devoted to mental health topics.

On YouTube, a description for Counsel Culture explains why the father of 12 started the podcast, and what it covers:

"Join us each episode as we unpack issues like love, marriage, dating, trust, and the emotional vulnerabilities that plague all of us.

"Counsel Culture is a safe space to have inclusive conversations with people from all walks of life about topics that are often considered taboo. With the help of our professionals and experts we’re creating a safe setting to find resolutions."

At the beginning of the episode, Nick explains that on the podcast: "We're not canceling each other, we're counseling each other."

For the November 8 episode, "I Am A Narcissist," Nick again hosted "Dr. Cheyenne Bryant[,] to continue their internet-breaking conversation about Narcissistic Personality Disorder, "discussing high-functioning vs. low-functioning mindsets, the impact of broken homes, and reclaiming labels like 'narcissists.'"

Notably, in that discussion with Dr. Bryant, Nick emphasized that he did not identify with two important markers for diagnosis, one being a "lack of empathy," and the other being a propensity for "rage."

That episode of Counsel Culture and Nick's initial comments might have been more prominent, but the episode dropped in the direct aftermath of the United States' 2024 general election — and that high-profile event crowded entertainment news out quite a bit.

Things had calmed down on the political news front when Nick revisited the topic later in November, and that time, the story went viral.

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Nick Was Volunteering When He Talked About NPD Again

Nick Cannon Narcissistic Personality Disorder -1

On social media and the internet at large, Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) is oft-discussed — not only is the label applied widely, it's also commonly used in a pejorative fashion.

According to the Mayo Clinic's "Narcissistic Personality Disorder" overview:

"Narcissistic personality disorder is a mental health condition in which people have an unreasonably high sense of their own importance. They need and seek too much attention and want people to admire them.

"People with this disorder may lack the ability to understand or care about the feelings of others. But behind this mask of extreme confidence, they are not sure of their self-worth and are easily upset by the slightest criticism."

Again, Nick has said that he doesn't believe he exhibits the "lack of empathy" commonly used as diagnostic criteria for NPD.

On Wednesday, November 27, Nick was volunteering at the Los Angeles Mission, and People caught up with him to discuss his diagnosis.

Nick told the magazine that he didn't "understand it all the way," but he "did a bunch of tests" to arrive at the NPD diagnosis; he says he also has ADHD and dyslexia.

He also said that he'd had suspicions about his diagnoses as a child:

Even as a kid it was dyslexia, but just knowing that I'm just a neurodivergent individual, I kind of always knew.

Nick previously talked about being open to diffuse the stigma around the diagnosis, something he expounded upon Wednesday.

He acknowledged the rise in open discussion of matters related to mental health, and explained why he disclosed his NPD diagnosis:

"I feel like there's so many labels out there, but it's like, to be able to embrace it and say: 'Look, I'm healing. I need help. Show me.'

"I just embrace mental health and therapy in such a strong way. To be able to say I'm an example for others, but also be healing during the self-process works too."

Nick's openness about his efforts to manage his mental health is commendable, and as a prominent celebrity, he's wielding his influence to encourage people to do the same — which is cool.

As a father to 12 children, Nick also talked about how busy Thanksgiving is for him, but talked about the upside of visiting lots of homes: "Some people got good sweet potato pie, some people got amazing fried turkey. So I know every house that needs to have the things that I really like."