- Maurice Benard shares a personal story of battling anxiety and bipolar challenges while filming GH.
- He credits friends, co-stars, and family for their support during a mental health crisis.
- Vanessa Marcil, Steve Burton, Jonathan Jackson, and GH EP Frank Valentini played pivotal roles in his recovery.
- Benard emphasizes the importance of speaking out, releasing emotions, and leaning on support systems.
- His message highlights that strength comes from persistence and accepting help from others.
General Hospital star Maurice Benard (Sonny) opened up about a very painful time in his life when he had to rely on friends during a mental health emergency. The actor, who normally interviews celebrity guests, took the opportunity to go it solo for a message on True Friendship.
You’ve Got A Friend In Me
The actor detailed a time when his wife, Paula, and son, Joshua, were away for two weeks on vacation in Europe. He explained that both Paula and Joshua were always able to talk him down or out of a bipolar episode. This was at a time when Maurice was deep into the storyline where Sonny was off his meds and acting erratically.
“The anxiety started ramping up, and I would wake up in the middle of the night shaking, and then I couldn’t get back to sleep,” the actor explained. The actor started going to doctor after doctor after therapist, when his daughter Cayleigh told him to focus on going to just one. ” I was going to five or six different people. I was losing it. I have been through manic episodes, depression, and anxiety, but I knew the not sleeping….you can’t win the fight if you are not sleeping. So that was what was scaring me the most.”
He went on to explain that a psychiatrist prescribed a medication, and the next morning, he was in really bad shape after taking it. I reached out to a friend, who always calls to ask how I am doing. He reached out to another mutual friend, who began praying for the actor. While he did not name his co-stars Steve Burton (Jason) and Jonathan Jackson (Lucky) in that moment, he did thank them at the end of the video. “It is just amazing the compassion that people have. The praying helped.”
After that, the actor visited another psychiatrist who prescribed something that was detrimental too, so the actor decided to stop taking medication altogether. “Boy, was that tough. The shaking, getting up at three or four in the morning. There were times I would not sleep at all because I did not want to have that feeling. I knew that was trouble.’
He went on to explain that one morning at 3 am, he called another friend, who continued to talk with him for over three hours and also helped make calls to get him in to see somebody. That friend was Vanessa Marcil, who played Sonny’s love, Brenda. It got to the point where he had to go to work, and there was no way he could go. He then turned his affection towards GH Executive Producer Frank Valentini, calling him “the most generous, compassionate person.” Benard noted that he had already been off for two weeks, but was heavily involved in the storyline and explained that if he had not come back, the role would have been recast.
Digging His Way Out
He returned to work and had to shoot eight shows in his first two days. It was a lot to undertake, especially after what the actor had been through in the previous weeks. He got through the first day, but then unloaded when he got home. “After the first day I went home, and Paula and my son were there, and I just started going on a rant, crying and yelling, ‘I am not a good father. I am not a good husband. I feel like a failure. Mental health is horrible, and I feel bad that I have to put you guys through all of this.’ At the end of the rant, Joshua said, ‘Dad, that was a great monologue. That was the beginning of me feeling better.”
He wrapped the podcast with words of wisdom, “Listen to me, don’t hold anything in. If you have to cry from the depths and yell from the depths, speaking the truth of how [you feel], you need to let go. It is a release. Let it out. Whatever it is in us is ugly in the moment. Whether you think you can do it or you can’t do it, and it has been true every time, every time I say I can’t do something, you can do it. You just have to keep moving forward. You are stronger than you know.”
Have you had experiences like Maurice went through, or have you been a caregiver for someone who has? Is it helpful for someone who has a huge fanbase to be open about their struggles? Sound off in the comments below.
