GH’s Maurice Benard Tackles Viewers’ Questions On State Of Mind

Every week General Hospital’s Maurice Benard tackles the subject of mental health on his video podcast State Of Mind. Usually, he has a special guest across the couch from him discussing a wide range of topics such as bipolar disorder, OCD, suicide, grief, body-shaming, anxiety, addiction, and so much more. This week fans were in the spotlight as they posed questions to the three-time Daytime Emmy award-winning actor, best-selling author, and mental health advocate.

Maurice Benard presents “Ask Me Anything”

Benard (Sonny Corinthos, GH) encouraged his State Of Mind audience to send in their questions for this week’s episode, and he promised to address their inquiries. And as the fans have come to expect from the candid actor, Benard delivered insightful, honest, compassionate, and frank responses. Here’s a little preview:

How to approach the topic of someone needing help when they insist they don’t have a problem?
“That’s a great question! It’s hard because if you are over 18, you can’t force anyone to get help. You’ve got to be persistent but you’ve got to have patience. Don’t stop trying to have talks with the person. Maybe have them watch State of Mind.” [Benard flashes a big smile.]

How would one know if they struggle with mental illness?
“It is an emotion, a fear, or whatever that you can’t control and it just takes you over. If you are bipolar and you have a manic episode – you start talking faster, you might start buying things for no reason, you have a lot more rage. Everything is heightened. If it is anxiety – you are paranoid, you have a lot of fear. Depression – you don’t want to get out of bed. That is how you know.”

What’s the greatest life lesson that you have given to your daughters?
“That’s a great question. I think the greatest life lesson that I have given them is that they have a father that loves them and they have been able to watch a father who loves his wife. Enormously. And maybe even a father who has been able to overcome mental health. Because they have seen it firsthand.”

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Other questions included celebrity guests he would like to see sitting across the couch from him, how do you know if a therapist is the right one, how do you deal with depression and anxiety, what makes him happy, and how playing Sonny on General Hospital has affected his own mental health?

Maurice Benard wasn’t shy about addressing tough issues, and, as always, quick to encourage others to seek professional help. Try not to ‘fix it’ on your own. He pulls from his own struggles and history to offer up any wisdom he can for others to download, and use to go from powerless to empowered. To watch the entire episode, click here.

For fans who haven’t checked out Maurice Benard’s best-selling book, Nothing General About It, get more information here. If you have more questions not covered on this episode, or know someone who needs help, there are many organizations out there that can help. Here are a few: NAMI, MHA National, the National Council for Mental Well-Being, NIMH, and if you need to talk, check out the many hotlines that are available.

Follow Maurice Benard on Twitter, Instagram, and for more episodes of State Of Mind go to the main page of the video podcasts here.

General Hospital (GH) airs weekdays on ABC. Check your local listings for airtimes. For more about what’s coming up in Port Charles, check out all the latest that’s been posted on General Hospital spoilers, and for an in-depth look at the show’s history, click here.