‘General Hospital’ News: Maurice Benard on Dr Oz – Talks About Bipolar Struggle

Check out this ‘General Hospital’ (GH) news on Maurice Benard. Maurice made on appearance on Dr Oz on Thursday February 25 to talk about his bipolar disorder. Here’s a look at the show and what Maurice shared about his mental health struggle.

Maurice has an extreme phobia of flying and talked about it on a video diary he kept as he travelled to the show. We see one of his daughters filming him at the airport. We see Maurice on the plane trying not to freak. He says he dozed off and says his family dozed off then he felt alone and anxious.

He says he went to the bathroom and splashed some water on his face and it went away. He says he tells himself it will pass. They exit the plane and he’s doing well. After the video, Maurice took the stage at Dr Oz to a screaming crowd.

Dr Oz asks about his plane phobia – Maurice said the feeling of anxiety is horrible and he knows he can’t get off once the plane takes off. Maurice says it’s stress and then Oz remarks on him being one of the first celebs to come out as bipolar.

Maurice says he was told that if he talked about it, he wouldn’t get work as an actor. He says he did a magazine article then got a letter from a kid whose brother killed himself and who told him how that article helped him. Maurice says that was when he decided it was more important than acting work.

Oz says 50% of people with bipolar try to kill themselves. It’s revealed that Maurice had three nervous breakdowns prior to his diagnosis. Maurice says it’s like God and the devil fighting over you. He says you can’t get out of the nightmare.

He was 21 when he was hospitalized after a violent confrontation with his mom. He says his parents didn’t know what was going on. He says he told his father that he was the devil and his mom called the police on him.

Maurice says he lied to the cops and blamed a family argument – he says he knew the cop from high school so he got them to go away. He says his parents took him to the hospital the next day. Maurice says the county hospital was horrible then they took him to a mental institution.

He talked about being strapped to the bed and trying to get out of the restraints for hours. He says he pulled a metal latch off the wall and put it against his wrist to try and kill himself. Then he says he prayed for help and bent the latch into a cross and put it by his bed.

Maurice says that’s what he means by devil and God. He says he spent two weeks there then escaped. He says this is good and the crowd laughs. He says they let him out for a walk and he got outside then ran and the cops were after him.

Maurice sighs and smiles. He says he got away and asked to use a phone and called a pal who picked him up. He says he went home and his mom called the hospital but they said if he wants to leave that bad, he can stay out.

Paula Benard, his wife, is there with her hubby Maurice. Paula says when Maurice was first on GH, there was the story with Karen Wexler and he’s a method actor and she says that strong storyline was hard on him. She says she had seen a breakdown before and there was more violence then.

She says he was talking about hurting the girl on the show and she saw him seeing the show as reality then he came out of it. Paula says it scared her then he started drinking and says rage and violence come from that. She admits he scared her sometimes.

Maurice looks sad then says he was crying like a baby when he confessed his sins to her then he guzzled a bottle of wine and says he thinks it’s like a game he plays and threatened to kill her. He says Paula was terrified and her knees buckled.

He says he doesn’t like all that and says thank God he’s the kind of person who knows to ask for help. Oz asks if he knew he was doing it and Maurice says he feels possessed and it’s not him. Paula says they debate what he’s capable of when he’s in that mindset.

She says it’s been 25 years since then and says that on medication he’s fine. She says they did The Ghost and The Whale, the movie he acted in and she produced. Maurice says there was a huge monologue and he did it and felt like Pacino then the director said meh.

They told him it wasn’t good enough then Paula came out and said do it better. He says it’s hard to hear and then says what if he pushes himself too far. She told him she believed in him but he was worried. He second take was much better after he committed.

Oz talks about the ‘General Hospital’ plot of Morgan Corinthos’ bipolar struggle and plays a clip from the soap. We see Morgan raging at Carly and Sonny. Maurice talks about the first bipolar storyline he did and says it’s so important to educate people.

He says GH has done AIDS, breast cancer – and you can really educate people with a well-done storyline. He says this is now him looking at this through the eyes of his father. Paula says he’s her now, watching someone go through it.

Maurice totally gives props to Bryan Craig. Oz plays a video from Bryan Craig who talks about how Maurice’s experience with his mental illness has helped him better depict the real-life struggle of bipolar and depression. He says he loves him and he inspires him.

Maurice hangs his head a bit and gets teary. He says he loves helping young actors particularly with a storyline so close to him. They show a clip of Maurice in the movie he worked on with his wife – The Ghost and The Whale.

Maurice then talks about symptoms of bipolar like racing thoughts, lack of sleep, acting out of character, and crying for no reason, among others. Oz talks about bipolar being called the “genius disease” then mentions that Maurice has been taking Lithium for two decades.

He asks if the medication takes away his creative spark. Maurice says early on he thought that, but has done well while taking it and says the only drawback is not taking the meds which can cause a breakdown. He says people love the manic high and you feel grandiose.

Maurice says you feel incredible but then the depression when you fall, he never wants to feel that again. He says stay on your medication. Oz says he got thousands of letters when they announced Maurice was coming on the show.

They have a woman in the audience who says it moved her to tears when she saw Maurice on Oprah back in 2004. She says it gave her hope and helped millions and thanks him for opening the dialog. Maurice goes to hug her and whispers in her ear and thanks her.

WOW! What an incredibly revealing interview. Good stuff. He really shared his struggle.

To see Sonny and Morgan and their bipolar storyline and struggles, watch GH every day and come back often to Soap Opera Spy for more ‘General Hospital’ spoilers and news.