‘General Hospital’ Fans Concerned About Maurice Benard’s Health
General Hospital fans have taken to social media to express their concerns about Maurice Benard’s mental health. The soap opera star recently shared some of the struggles he’s had and why he had to step away from the show. Continue reading to see what he shared and why fans are worried.
Maurice Benard Opens Up About Mental Breakdown
Typically, Maurice Benard interviews guests on his podcast “State Of Mind” and they talk about mental health. However, in a recent episode of the pod, Maurice was by himself. He took the time to address some of the problems he’s been having with his own mental health.
“About a month ago, anxiety came knocking,” Maurice said on the podcast. “And of course, I couldn’t tell the triggers and a lot of that is my fault, not going to therapy like I should and like everyone should. Plus, I was playing a character on GH that is bipolar and off his medication.”
He continued, “But I’m not gonna say that was the reason. That may have been a little bit of the reason. The main reason was that I started feeling anxiety and then my son and my wife went to Europe.”
As General Hospital viewers know, the recent storyline on the soap involving Maurice has dealt with the difficulties of bipolar disorder. His character Sonny Corinthos was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Recently, on the soap, he’s been off his medication.
On top of playing the difficult role, the General Hospital star was left alone at home. His wife, Paula, and son, Joshua, were on vacation. So, he had to rely on friends and his daughters to try and get by.
Despite having a small circle of people to rely on, and speaking with doctors, Maurice didn’t feel like he was getting any relief. In fact, he started to worry about how he would get through each day.
Frank Valentini, the executive producer on General Hospital, showed a lot of compassion for Maurice. The soap star stepped back and took two weeks off. “If I had to stay away another week, they would have had to recast,” he shared on his podcast. “And I’ll tell you right now, if I had to be recast, I’d have been in really bad shape.”
General Hospital Fans Concerned About Maurice’s Health
After the news broke about Maurice Benard’s mental health, fans took to Reddit to share their concerns.
One person posted, “He’s such an advocate for mental health, but obviously didn’t recognize his own triggers and the storyline has obviously really affected him as well.”
Another fan chimed in, “I think when you’re feeling good, you totally think you can do it. But imagine having to tap into that mindset every day at work, and it’s easy to see how it would start to affect you, even on medication.”
A third person shared, “I suffer bipolar 1 and have been stable this time for 3 years about. this has been hard to watch because your right, MB is struggling and you can see it.”
Several fans pointed out changes in Maurice’s demeanor on the soap opera. “He won’t look anyone in the eyes when he’s talking to them,” one person noticed.
Thankfully, Maurice Benard took the time to ensure that he was okay before returning to work. Fans hope that he continues to be self-aware and several others hope that the soap writers wrap up the current Sonny storyline as soon as possible.
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Source: Tampa Bay Times
