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Jay Shetty PodcastNOAH KAHAN Reveals His Battle with OCD & Anxiety - And What He’s Sharing for the First Time Ever
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At a glance
WHAT IT’S REALLY ABOUT
Noah Kahan on OCD, creativity, vulnerability, family, and criticism management
- Noah Kahan describes how anxiety, OCD, and depression show up daily—often as a baseline feeling of disconnection even when life looks objectively “good.”
- He unpacks the creative identity trap: when making art becomes synonymous with self-worth, both writer’s block and external feedback can feel like judgments of the self.
- Kahan shares a major mindset shift—rejecting the belief that suffering is required for great art—and explains how medication, therapy, and surrendering control helped him write again.
- The Netflix documentary becomes an unexpected family mirror, forcing difficult conversations (divorce, his dad’s brain injury, personal shame) and ultimately bringing closeness and clarity.
- He explores how success intensifies projection and people-pleasing (imagining others’ expectations), and he searches for an “equilibrium” that can hold praise and criticism without swinging extremes.
IDEAS WORTH REMEMBERING
5 ideasSuccess doesn’t remove mental illness; it changes its triggers.
Kahan notes his mental health challenges would exist regardless, but touring, visibility, and the self-focused nature of the industry add new stressors while also forcing him to confront issues he might otherwise avoid.
When ‘what you do’ becomes ‘who you are,’ creative blocks become existential threats.
He explains that struggling to create can feel like struggling with the self, making it harder to ask for help and easier to spiral into anxiety and avoidance.
Healing can increase creative capacity by reducing obsessive ‘rabbit holes.’
Though he feared medication/therapy would dull his art, he found he still had depth and sadness—just without being hijacked by compulsions and constant rumination.
Documenting family pain can be ethical only with proactive communication.
Kahan regrets earlier songwriting that aired family dynamics without discussing them first; with the documentary/new album, he emphasizes checking in, consent, and letting loved ones voice discomfort.
Projection is a hidden driver of anxiety in high-stakes moments.
At the Grammys and with the documentary, he assumed others would feel disappointed or harmed; learning others’ actual reactions (e.g., his dad simply loving the film) reduced shame and self-blame.
WORDS WORTH SAVING
5 quotesI'm just now trying to unwind this idea that I have to be unhealthy physically or in pain in some emotional way in my life to create good music.
— Noah Kahan
I was holding off on getting the help that I really needed for a long time because I was so afraid of it dulling my creativity.
— Noah Kahan
I wish I had talked to you guys about this first because it would've been so much healthier. It would've been more fair to you.
— Noah Kahan
Like, you just never fucking know what someone's going through, man. Like, you really don't.
— Noah Kahan
If someone says that I did a good job, I'm like, "Yeah, I'm good!" If someone says that I suck, I'm like, "I suck."
— Noah Kahan
SPEAKERS
Noah Kahan
guestSinger-songwriter known for introspective folk-pop and candid discussions of mental health.
Jay Shetty
hostPodcast host and author (former monk) who interviews guests on purpose, wellbeing, and relationships.
Jay Shetty
hostPodcast host and author (former monk) who delivers short motivational reflections and interview introductions.
High quality AI-generated summary created from speaker-labeled transcript.
