Maurice Benard

• Benard has said he was diagnosed with what was then called manic depression at age 22, following a psychiatric hospitalization. He has since explicitly identified his diagnosis as bipolar I disorder. [1][3]
• Early in his acting career, Benard was advised not to reveal the diagnosis because it could prevent him from being hired. He first disclosed it publicly in 2000 in a soap-opera publication and later decided to continue speaking publicly about bipolar disorder. [4]

• Benard has described his first major episode as involving severe changes in his thinking and behaviour. He recalled believing he could read another person’s thoughts and, on one occasion, telling his father that he was the devil. The following morning, his family took him to a county hospital. [3]
• He has said that he later experienced additional breakdowns after stopping lithium. During one of these periods, shortly after starting General Hospital, he became overwhelmed enough to quit acting temporarily before returning to the show. Benard has also described periods of major depression and significant anxiety that affected his ability to fly and sleep. [3]

• Benard has said lithium has been central to managing his bipolar disorder. He described stopping lithium twice earlier in his life and experiencing a breakdown after each period off medication; since then, he has remained on lithium. [3]
• He has also said that regular exercise is part of maintaining his health, and has discussed the importance of medication adherence, sleep and taking care of his physical health. [3]

• Benard has described a long period without the kind of breakdowns he experienced earlier in his life. In a 2022 interview, he said he had been “breakdown free for 26 years,” while noting that depression and anxiety had still affected him during that period. [3]
• He has described stability not as being free of mental-health difficulties, but as avoiding further major breakdowns while continuing to manage bipolar disorder over the long term. [3]

• Benard has become a long-time advocate for greater understanding of bipolar disorder. He also worked with General Hospital as bipolar disorder was incorporated into Sonny Corinthos’s story, bringing the condition into a major daytime-television storyline. [3]
• He also created State of Mind, an interview series focused on mental health, and has described helping other people through these conversations as an important source of purpose. [1]

“I’ve been breakdown free for 26 years. Why? ’Cause I stay on my medication.”

— Maurice Benard [3]