Mark Wright Has Revealed He’s Been Secretly Battling A Mental Illness

Today is #WorldMentalHealthDay, and this morning Mark Wright revealed that he’s been secretly battling a mental health issue since he was a child.

Appearing on ITV’s This Morning, Mark told presenters Holly and Phil that he and his sister Jessica both suffer from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.

“I have symmetry OCD, if I touch one leg in a certain place I have to do it on the same leg,” Mark explained on the show.

“Growing up as a kid my dad had OCD, little habits he does and so does my sister Jess – we all have little habits, we have to touch things a certain amount of times.”

The former TOWIE star who is set to front a new programme looking into the condition also revealed he’s been working with charities that treat OCD, and as a result, has met many other sufferers.

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“Some of the guys I met have OCD so bad that they want to commit suicide,” he explains. “With me, I’ll have to turn on a light at a certain time or the volume has to be at a certain level – a lot of people have traits like this. But the people I met recently have serious OCD.”

“Some think it’s funny but actually, when you do meet these people, it’s not funny at all.”

We hope that by opening up about having OCD, Mark’s experience will help others living with the condition.

• Mark Wright