Country Singer Carly Pearce Reveals Lifelong Anxiety, OCD Struggles

Country singer Carly Pearce has opened up about her lifelong battle with anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), revealing that her struggles began in childhood rather than during her recent public divorce as she previously thought. Pearce explained on Bunnie Xo's Dumb Blonde podcast that her OCD manifested in behaviors like repeatedly checking her backpack and alarm, and her anxiety included fears of storms, which her mother tried to soothe by arranging a meeting with a meteorologist. Although she initially believed her mental health issues started during the COVID-19 pandemic and her 2020 divorce from Michael Ray, she has since recognized that these challenges have been with her since she was very young. The pandemic and divorce acted as catalysts that pushed her to seriously address her mental health, prompting her to return to therapy and openly discuss her feelings. Pearce emphasized that she had been conditioned to suppress her struggles for years but has learned to prioritize mental health as she would physical health. Despite ongoing challenges, she describes her journey as one toward better understanding and coping with her anxiety and OCD through therapeutic support.