Maurice Benard Reveals Health Struggles Causing ‘GH’ Absence
General Hospital star Maurice Benard is very open about his mental health issues. The soap star plays Sonny Corinthos, a mob boss, on the popular ABC daytime soap. His character is bipolar, and his need to be medicated is part of the storyline. However, that is also true for Benard as a person.
Maurice said he had a recent mental health crisis, and it forced him to take time off from General Hospital. Here is what the actor had to say.
Maurice Benard Opens Up About Mental Health Emergency
Just like Sonny on General Hospital, Maurice Benard also deals with mental health issues in his life. He has the same diagnosis as Sonny, as he also suffers from bipolar disorder. Maurice also has a podcast called State of Mind, where he interviews people and discusses their careers and struggles.
However, in his new episode, he did not interview anyone. Instead, Maurice sat, looked into the camera, and told his story. He titled the episode “True Friendship,” and he talked about taking time off from General Hospital and how some real friends stepped up for him to help him through a mental health crisis he was facing.
“I don’t want to relive it; I just want to tell the story of what happened,” he began. He talked about his anxiety issues and reminded fans of his real-life bipolar diagnosis. He then said that he was playing a character who was off their meds and that acting out these roles increased his issues even more.
He began to suffer from insomnia from his anxiety issues and would stay awake all night, unable to sleep. He sought out doctors to help and even found one that he called a “jerk” who spoke to him in a way that no doctor should ever talk to a patient. He also knew he couldn’t go to work in this condition and had to take some time off.
Maurice Benard Reveals His Friends Who Helped Him
The good news is that Maurice Benard has friends who care about him and have stepped up to help him. He said he called a friend one night, and they prayed together, and Maurice began to feel some relief. He also said his friends kept calling him to check in and ensure he was okay.
Benard explained that those friends were General Hospital stars Steve Burton and Jonathan Jackson. “It’s amazing the compassion that people have,” Maurice said about their friendship and understanding. He also said that Vanessa Marcil helped him during this tough time.
Benard’s anxiety and bipolar issues also cause him to doubt himself at times. He said he missed two weeks from work and knew that if he were gone much longer, there would be a recasting to find someone to step in for him. Despite his years on the show, Maurice said he thought that could cost him his role because someone better could show up.
He had nothing to worry about. Producer Frank Valentini was generous and compassionate with him, but he had to get back to work anyway. He showed up and shot eight episodes of footage in just two days.
Are you surprised to hear about the reason Maurice Benard had to miss two weeks of General Hospital? Please help send your kind words to him in the comments below.
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Hey Maurice, My prayers are with you. I hope things work out for you. I pray that they will, Love watching you on General Hospital.
I saw you on Oprah’s show years ago talking about your
bipolar Diagnosis and treatment. I respect and love your acting Mr Benard. Hoping you feel better soon and the writers put an end of Ava’s Medicine meddling. .
Diane
Dear Maurice, Please know we are all praying for you. 🙏🙏🙏🙏
Sonny you are loved 🥰 by many! And mom my was a General Hospital fan since I can remember..she has passed away now but you were truly one of her favorites she loved you with Brenda and with Carly. Same for me, we love Sam and Jason as well as another all time FAVORITE SUPER COUPLE LUKE AND LAURA!!! TAKE CARE AND GET WELL….BEST WISHES!!!
I have a son who is bipolar and I’ve stood by him from childhood to adulthood and I’m glad that I did. I’m so glad that they address Mental Health now not a stigma anymore and I’m really glad that you address yours and have the help that you have because I too have the help that I have.
Maurice, I love your podcast. It helps me immensely to know that I am not alone in dealing with my depression. I am in therapy, and it helps. Still, I have triggers that increase my anxiety. My sister, whom I live with, often tells me not to cry or vent because she doesn’t want to see me that way. It’s hard to keep things suppressed, and this often causes me to experience insomnia which just keeps the turmoil in my mind going. So, thank you from the bottom of my heart for sharing your difficult journey. Tomorrow when I go to church, I will be praying for you and for all people who struggle with mental illness – hoping that they have strong support systems in place when they need them.
Hi Maurice, I am not bi-polar but I struggle with mental health issues as well … anxiety and depression that I take medication for.
Last month I was having the same problem in not being able to sleep. I was stressing out about my husband who has had some medical issues this year and some other things.
What helped me was my husband and I went on a cruise with friends and had such a fun and
wonderful time and did not think about anything going on in our lives. The cruise helped me to decompress and relax and now I am back to my old self. … Sleeping again and not worrying. I guess we get so caught up with stuff at times that it gets the better of us. We have to stop and smell the roses more often. Thanks for sharing your story and take care of yourself. You are a wonderful person and a great actor.
I WISH GH would STOP messing with Sonny’s meds all for a storyline. My father was bipolar, and him going off is meds was scary and dangerous. It’s NO joke. And HOW MANY TIME has GH done this??? They need to STOP! Let Sonny have some damn peace.
Hey Maurice! I hope things are better for you now. Looks like your friends and producer understand this is a process and not just some one off kind of illness. Never doubt your acting ability. Nobody can be Sonny but you! It would never fly and I for one would be done with a show that I started watching when my parents thought I was too young to understand. Prayers to you!
Maurice, you are a very loved man and I pray God gives you the strength to stay on GH. You ARE GH! Your storyline needs to get off the bipolar issue and keep the others. You have enough going on without tat anyway. I will keep you in my prayers and hope you stay on GH for many years to come. Much love and support, Betsy Pepper, Montgomery, Alabama