We're Out of Time - From Breakdown to Breakthrough: Maurice Benard on Mental Illness and Healing

Episode Date: October 28, 2025

Three-time Emmy Award–winning actor and mental health advocate Maurice Benard joins host Richard Taite on We’re Out of Time for an open and emotional conversation about resilience, recovery, and living with bipolar disorder. Known for his three-decade run on General Hospital, Maurice reveals that during his first three weeks on set, he suffered a manic episode and nervous breakdown that left his wife terrified. After calling his psychiatrist, it was confirmed that Maurice was in crisis—an experience that taught him the importance of staying on his medication. He’s now been consistent for 32 years without another breakdown.Diagnosed at just 22, Maurice spent two months in a mental institution—where he even escaped before returning home. He discusses the misconceptions around mental illness, and how his upbringing made managing his disorder even harder. Maurice opens up about his support system—his parents, wife, and son—who helped him through his darkest, even suicidal, moments.He then shares how his YouTube series “State of Mind” began as Instagram Lives and evolved into a platform for hope and healing. The most impactful guests, he says, weren’t celebrities but people with powerful survival stories—a cop whose g*n jammed during a suicide attempt and a girl who lost her arm in a tragic accident. Maurice closes by reflecting on his legacy: being the first man to publicly share his bipolar diagnosis and using his story to inspire others to keep going.Maurice’s story is one of resilience, healing, and mental health awareness. By openly sharing his experiences living with bipolar disorder, he breaks the stigma surrounding mental illness and shows that vulnerability is a form of strength. His journey—from surviving manic episodes and breakdowns to becoming an advocate for others through his show State of Mind—is a testament to the power of consistency, self-awareness, and love. Maurice reminds us that no matter how dark life gets, recovery is possible, and speaking up can save lives.

I've never heard anybody's knees under a table like this. Because she was so scared. I said, Mom, I'm getting up. She goes, I got to talk to the dogs. I got the doctor right here. And I said to the dude, I said, listen, just say what I tell you to say. So here's the doctor, ma. She goes, who's this?

Doctor, whatever the name. She goes, my son says you're letting him get out. Yeah, she can get out. I'm on them buy it for a second, called the real doctor. We want to extend a heartfelt thank you to our listeners. Because of your incredible support, we're out of time has reached number one on Apple's mental health podcast chart, number two on the health and fitness chart,

and number 26 overall. We couldn't have done this without you. Thank you for being part of this journey with us. Today I'm joined by Emmy Award winning actor and mental health advocate Maurice Bernard, best known for his three-decade run as Sunny Corinthos. On ABC's General Hospital, Maurice has been open about living with biophobic bipolar disorder and helping others through his show state of mind. We're talking about mental health, resilience, what's next for him? And yes, a little bit of general hospital too. How you doing,

Maurice? Doing great, man. Good. I have to be here. Before we get started, I've got to tell on myself. All right. When I was a kid without an alarm, my body knew it time to wake up. I would wake up at 158, sharp, go to the bathroom and be back in bed for Da-da-da-da-da-da-da general hospital. And it occurred to me as I was thinking about you on the way over here. You're on the Mount Rushmore of Soap Stars. It's you, Luke and Laura, Susan Lucci,

and that's it. That is my Mount Rushmore. Well, yeah, I put Eric Braden on that. Two. Okay, well, there's only four people in Mount Rushmore. Oh, you'd have to put him over here on the side. Okay. Yeah, I mean, it's been an incredible run.

I can't, been on 32 years. But you're only supposed to be on for like a couple weeks. Yeah, what happened was I was supposed to be on, it was supposed to be a six-month contract, then we kind of made a deal for a year. I thought I'd come in, kick ass. and get the hell out. But I actually started loving it. But the problem was early on when I first started,

the first three weeks I had my third nervous breakdown, manic episode. Quit the show. Told my wife, took my shoes off, my socks off, and said, I'm going to be a preacher. I'm going to go around town and preach. and one thing after another, one night I drank a bottle of red wine and threatened the killer. And it wasn't, you know, I knew that I was going through this, my third breakdown. So maybe not at that moment I knew.

was actually drunk and just wanted to scare. I've never heard anybody's knees under a table like this. It was, I'm like, because she was so scared. She called my psychiatrist, and she said, I think he's going through another nervous breakdown. So he goes, put him on the phone. And she goes, okay, and put me on the phone, my psychiatrist and I'm like hey chuck what's going on how you doing i get off the phone he calls paula

and he says he's going through a breakdown she says how do you know because he's never called me chuck and sure enough it was hell why do you know why you had that nervous breakdown yeah why because i was off my medication for like two months i made two years why were you off your medication because i had come to l-a I got a big job right away playing Desi Arnaz. What's the matter, honey? I like that. I like that.

And I thought, you know, let's move into this lavish place, this house. And I just didn't take my medication. Every time I've stopped taking my medication, I have a breakdown. You're on medication now? 32 years straight, no breakdown. No breakdown. on 32 years lithium save it's on the cover of my book love in lithium save my life and it really did good for you man yeah all right sorry to start out so no that was great that was great i was going to

start off with you know who's sleeping with who on the show that's what i really wanted to do yeah and i don't even know it to be on yeah that's okay you were diagnosed with bipolar disorder at 20 too. Now back then, okay, I didn't even know that that was a thing. Yeah. Okay. Me too. They actually diagnosed you as bipolar, what, 45 years ago or so? Yeah, but you know, when they put me in a mental institution at 21 and I had my 22nd birthday in there, which is the timing of it, right? Right. I mean, here I am with bars on the windows and people yelling at night and that's my birthday. They could not tell me what I had. I was in there for two and a half weeks.

So it took about two months to diagnose me. They said, is he an alcoholic? No, he doesn't drink. Is he a drug addict? No. We don't really know what it is. And finally, a friend of mine now, my psychiatrist, Dr. Nunan, who told Paula that he's never called me Chuck,

I walk in and I was devastated, man. I was just, and he listened to me. And at the end, he said, you're manic depressive. So what is that? It's a chemical imbalance and I'm going to put you on lithium, you're going to be fine. Now, when I asked him a couple years ago, how was I at that, he goes, you were, it was really horrible the amount of medication they had you on. Right.

But it took two months. That's, all these psych hospitals are the same. I guess. You walk out of there and you're on, and you've got so many drugs. Yes. It's just, it's too much. But Richard, now, they would tell you right away your bipolar. That's, that's right. But that's why I said 45 years ago, it's like they didn't know. Right.

That's why you were there for a couple months. I'm sorry. Yeah, it's tough. They put you in a seclusion room. I don't think they do it anymore. Where they tie you down. When you're a bad boy, when you're a bad boy means you don't want to take your medication

or I jumped on the counter. These big dudes come in, put me in a seclusion room. Probably smaller than this, but, you know, with a window and a bed. And then they tie you from your, wrist, waist and your ankles. And, you know, mom and dad came in and look at me like,

what is happening to my son. That's heartbreaking. Yeah. Yeah. What was the turning point when you decided to start sharing your mental health condition? Well, you know,

I, about a year or more, a year and a half, when I escaped from the hospital. No, no, no, no. Get back to that. Oh, escaping? Yeah. Oh. That's the good part. Yeah. All I wanted to do is leave every second of the day.

There was this little story I don't think I've ever told. It's not a big deal, but it was to me at the time. I went into, I would go into a room, and there was a room. and there was a radio in there and I locked the door because you're not supposed to go in the room locked the door and I swear to you man

Phil Collins' songs would come on like the timing of it and one song was one more night just give me one and I would because I was messed up I would be like

God give me one more chance and that's the stuff that was happening in there But when I escape, I remember it was... I want to hear about the jailbreak. I need to hear about the jail break. Well, I would always try to get out. Like, one time I called my mom and say, I'm getting out.

That's hysterical. And she goes, I mean, they didn't know it. Right. And she'd go, Mauricio. I said, Mom, I'm getting out. She goes, I got to talk. to the dog. I got the doctor right here. It was this big

dude with blood all over his lips. And I said to the dude, I said, listen, just say what I tell you to say. So here's the doctor, ma. He come in. Hello? She goes, who's this? Doctor, whatever the name.

She goes, my son says you're letting him get out. Yes, she can get out. My mom didn't buy it for a second, called the real doctor. He's like, no, that's not right. So they were going to let me out for my first walk. Ah. Okay? So I started planning.

I said, okay, tomorrow. But I had hard shoes. There's no way I could. And I, you know, I lost 30 pounds. So I went in their way in 160 and I got to 129. It's horrible. So I said, okay. So I went up to a page.

I said hey those tennis shoes can I can I borrow no can I bet you see this leather jacket it's like three hundred dollars if I give you this little jacket will you give me your tennis shoe he goes I don't know come on come on come on come on come on come on come on he goes okay gave me the tennis shoes next day a nurse man and a nurse walk me out. I remember man, like a movie. It was one door,

then another door, and then the outside. Get to the outside. I'm lingering. And they're talking. And they start laughing. And I run. And I ran like there's no tomorrow. And I'm running.

And I'm running. And then I hear sirens. Ugh, cops. So then I go into this, like, real estate place. I had no money. I said, hi, I'm sorry. Is there any way I could use your phone? So I called my two friends.

I said, I'm out. Pick me up here at this. Problem was, I'm out front. They drive by, they don't see me, and they keep going and it's a long-ass ways to turn around. So then I have to now run down to the end of the street into a Denny's and I had to borrow 25 cents to call. First time, now we talked about the homeless and this has this is nothing like that.

But the first time I felt, excuse me, can I, can I have 25 cents, you know? Right, it's humbling. Yeah, yes. And embarrassing. And embarrassing. So I get to the phone, call my buddies. It picked me up. We eat pizza, go home.

And then the doctor said, if he wants to stay home that bad, he doesn't have to come back. So I stay there. Good for you. Yeah. But eight months of depression after that was horrific. That's why you give homeless people money, folks, because it is. embarrassing and dehumanizing. Yes.

So give them the money. Okay. It drives me nuts when people aren't of service to others in need like that. I see somebody in need, I don't even have to think about it. It's just muscle memory. I know. Yeah. You know?

Agravating. What do you think the biggest misconception people have about living with bipolar disorder? I think, I think if you don't know, anything about it and you're living with someone who has bipolar? I mean, if you're not living with somebody who has bipolar, I think, I think any mental illness, a lot of people don't think it's a big deal. Right. They kind of, I think with me, they do because they've, I got a book, I got this,

they've seen me talk, I'm very open like you are. so they're like okay but sometimes even with me when i'm talking about things i feel like they're thinking thinking what just go take a nap who gives a shit what they think see that's where we see that's where we i do you know i'm working hard on not caring what people think you don't have that oh i've never had that thank god yeah that's a big deal yeah yeah I was told I was going to get canceled here. I was like, good luck. Wow.

Yeah. Don't be afraid to tell anybody anything. I get it. Nobody's important enough to lie to. Yeah. But I think with mental illness, when I go through panic attacks or whatever I go through, my whole head is worrying what everybody's going to think. Really?

Yeah. Why? It's just the way. It's the way I'm built. Right. Bro, you're perfect just the way you are. I know I am. Anybody who tells you differently, you tell them Richard Tate says, go,

you can't get it out of here. It's, you know, it's almost like. It's like, you know what it's like? What? It's like, what are the neighbors going to think? Exactly. But that's kind of the way I was brought up. Me too.

Well, how'd you get out of it? With my grandmother. Well, I told her at a very young age that I don't care with the neighbors think. But I love you. I love you more than anything in the world. Okay, now can I have my eggies the way I like them? That's how I handle that. Right.

Yeah. Yeah, it's a really, I'm much better because I have, I look in the mirror and go, this is killing me. Explain the part about your upbringing. Well, the upbringing is very simple. You shouldn't be weak. You shouldn't show any vulnerability when you're Hispanic. My father's from Nicaragua. My mother's from San Salvador.

And you care what people think enormously. Right. And it shouldn't be that way at all, but it is that way. What happens is because of the way I was brought up, and they loved me to death, and my dad, everything was great. In that way, there's other things that happened, you know, whatever. But we have to pay for what they're. they did. So I'm paying for this care what people think. I look at you like that's what I

want. Now, don't get me wrong. The less I have, you know, sometimes, you know, you wake up and there's days where I don't give a shit. Right. And sometimes, it's been about a couple weeks now. Right. Good. Or I don't give a shit, right? This morning I got up in a tad. I did. But in the past? Yeah. Just to be completely transparent. The only reason I don't care about what other people think is because I hold myself to a higher standard than what anybody else would hold me to. So it doesn't, it's perfectionism. Yeah. Right. So that's what I'm constantly striving for it. Not good for your happiness, but excellent for your upward mobility. And, you know, that's just the trade-off that I, that's the contract I made with myself a long

time ago. That's, that's incredible. Yeah, I'm lucky. When you were at your lowest point, yeah, who helped you to get out of it? Was there anyone? Yes. My mother and father, on my first major breakdown when I was in the mental institution. They were there. Although it's not their fault, but they went to work from seven in the morning until four or five o'clock,

and I was alone when I was out of the hospital going through that depression for like eight months. Right. I would get up and curse God. I would roll out of bed. I couldn't. Nothing felt good.

The only thing that felt good to me was sleeping and dreaming that I felt good. Because in my dreams, it would be beautiful. And then I'd wake up and I'd have to deal with reality. You'd wake up and be pissed off. Yeah. Well, more, even more, I was, you know, there was bad thoughts. Let's just put it that way for a long time. So then it was my wife who I had met when she was 16.

She's helped me through through it all. And lately, the last thing that I went through, a couple things that I went through, was my son. What happened with your son? I was in the car once. I was probably at the worst. And he gets in the car and he says, what's wrong, Dad? I'm crying. I said, I don't think I'm going to make it, buddy.

Not this time. He goes, yes, you are, Dad. I said, I don't think I can't. He goes, yes, you can because I'm going to get you through. And he did. It was been amazing. What's his name? Joshua.

Joshua's a beautiful boy. Oh, he's the greatest. And now he's a musician and an actor, and he's got, his things are going for him, good for him in music especially. You're really lucky you had that kid around because parents that kill themselves

have children that kill themselves. Yes. And I'll tell you another thing. You know, I had, can you mention people that don't have anybody? Yeah. Right. Yeah. They usually come here to me.

Yeah. I would have come to you in my last one. I would have taken you. I'm sorry you struggled with me. Thank you. What would you say to your younger self if you could today? I would say exactly what we've already talked about, which is don't care about what people think.

you got to get better at it. Yeah, I think that's a big freaking deal that we don't discuss. And it doesn't mean to be less empathetic or compassionate to anybody. No. It's not what it means. No.

I'm extremely compassionate, very sensitive, vulnerability. It's not that. It's what, thinking what somebody's thinking of you, what it does to your mind and what it does to you as a person. You've got to get rid of that.

Well, the worst part of it. about it is they're not even thinking that 95% of the time. Exactly. Exactly. Right. They're looking at you going, going, wow, that's a handsome man. Right. Thinking, what's this guy looking at?

Exactly. Right. You created state of mind your podcast so that people could talk openly and freely on your platform. What made you start it? I had fallen asleep and when I woke up I had anxiety. and I said, I'm going to film myself so I can show the people what it's about.

As I was doing that, this is no lie. And I just did family feud. You did family feud? Yeah, about two months ago. That's bitching. Hold on one second. I want to do family feud. And I want to sit in the middle square.

Is that the middle square? No, that's a, jeep. What is it? Family Feuds with Steve Harvey. Steve Harvey? No, it's the guy that kisses everybody that makes out with everybody. That's the old guy. What's his name?

Richard Dawson. God, I loved Richard Dawson. Remember? Wet kisses. Go on. So, you know, it's like I hear Steve Harvey say on TV. We're like talking two in the morning. Uh-huh.

I can't believe these celebrities who film them. on their lowest moment. And I'm like, I just, I actually laughed, even though I was feeling not good. And the next morning, my friend, I told my friend, she goes, why don't you film, why don't you do state of mind, not state of mind,

why don't you talk about mental health on the phone? I said, who cares? Who's going to care? She goes, just do it. I said, when do I put it out? She goes Sunday. I said, nobody watches on Sunday. So what I started doing is I was promoting my book at the same time

and I was creating this show on the phone in the car on Instagram story. Nobody talks for eight minutes on Instagram story. It's like real quick, right? I did it and I started getting people, 10,000, 20,000. And I saw it grow and then I went through hell during the pandemic. But I still went out every Sunday and talked on the phone, not even the people on the phone, and did it. And then from that, went to YouTube and then, you know, five years later.

You've been doing the podcast for five years. Five years, man. Over 500 interviews. You're excellent at that. Thanks, man. Well, we're so similar because we're just, I don't know, if you're real and you can be in the moment and you can look down for a second, get a, I think those are the guys that I like.

Truthfully, I'm just friends with you so I can sleep with your hosts. I like to get Susan on my show. Is she like 70, you know? Yeah, last time I saw maybe a couple years ago at the Emmys, we talked. You know what was great about her? She kept losing every year, every year. I know. And the best, that's the best thing that could have happened to her

because now she's more famous than everybody else because they're all like, yeah, what about her? Yeah, it's very true. Very true. Very true. Yeah. I like winning. You like winning?

Did you win? Well, it took me 10 years to win my first one and then another 20 years to win two more. You won three Emmys? Yeah. You, we have an Emmy winner, a three-time Emmy winner here, folks. Yeah. No shit. Yeah.

Yeah. This morning we won the Signal Award for our episode with Lamar Odom. Oh, shoot. Isn't that cool? Yeah, that's very cool. Lamar, where's my doll? Promised me a doll. Unbelievable.

You've had some incredible guests. Yeah. Who stood out the most? Or a few of them that stood out the most. Well, for me, you know, Stephen A. Smith is great. Love him. Frank Grillo from all those movies and everything. He was great.

But what stands out to me is, when a cop comes on, right? And he says to me, we're talking about darkness and whatnot. And he says, well, and I said to him, it's pretty safe to say our wives saved our life, right? He says, no. I said, well, what saved your life? Or who saved your life?

Because one night I was in my darkest, and I took my gun, and I put it to my forehead, and the gun jam. I said, oh. He goes, that saved my life. Because after that I changed completely. That type of stuff, another girl who came on, she had no hand or arm from here on the elbow.

I said, how did it happen? She goes, well, I was driving, and I had my hand out, and this truck hit me. Oh. And it took my... And she said, you'll never forget when he came in, the doctor and said, I got good news and bad news. Good news is you're alive. Bad news is you'll never use that hand again.

But that's the kind of stuff that you don't forget, kind of. It doesn't have to be celebrities. I had Cheryl Underwood tell me her husband, jumped off a building. What was your favorite guest? It is like asking your favorite child, you know? Okay, then we won't do it. That was diplomatic.

I couldn't answer that either. Right? It's really, it's kind of... There's so many good people, I just can't. How do you think we can better support people with mental illness? It's especially the homeless. Oh, man. Look, I mean, that is the question. question, isn't it? How do we fix it or how do we help or how do we? I think for mental health,

you're doing what you're doing. It's helping. I'm doing what I'm doing. That's the way I, that's kind of, if there was another way to help, I would do it. If you told me, Maurice, we can do this, we can do that, I would be there. But this is my way of doing it. Now, as far as the homeless, Because this is just everywhere, everywhere, right around my little studio city place, there's a bunch of homeless people. And it just hits here, man. We were doing our podcast. Oh, I know.

And we had that homeless guy screaming right outside the studio. Right outside the door. And, you know, they're just becoming more aggressive. Yeah, yeah. And it feels like they're getting sicker. Yeah. I agree with you. And, well, who's supposed to help that?

The governor? Our governor? Yeah. He's not doing it. No chance. No. Not our governor. Well, what can you do, Richard, to help?

Mental. No, I'm talking about homeless. Oh, okay. Well, that's easy, actually. Okay. That can be fixed in two years. There are psychological university. all over California. All there has to do is you get a group of those people that are always graduating,

right? And you have an executive order that signs off on their hours, because you got to do 3,000 hours, and it gets signed off on their hours automatically. And then there's a training program that teaches them how to be golden retrievers and just take them right off the street and put them into treatment or long-term housing. It's actually quite simple. I think it's pretty simply, yeah. Yeah. It take two years, a couple billion dollars.

Why doesn't anyone want to do it? Because homeless people don't vote. They don't have anybody speaking for them. All they have are all these little different agencies that if they fix the problem, these agencies go away. So they're incentivized to keep the problem going. Yeah, right, right. Yeah, I've done my work on that.

Yeah, it makes sense. We're picking people right now off the street and putting them right into treatment, veterans. We're doing all the veterans. All the veterans come to us. Beautiful, beautiful. Yeah, we love them. It's kind of like lithium.

Veterans are like lithium. No. It's my psychiatrist. I did a state of mind two years ago in Graceland. Yeah, with an audience. I don't love doing it with an audience because it's not as personal and subtle. But it was cool. And I hadn't seen him in 30 years, man.

Came in. I was crying. And he said to me on, and I didn't know this, I mean, lithium's on the cover of my book. So he said, you know, Big Pharma hates Lithium. I said, why? Because it's cheap and it works. Yeah. They don't want it.

You don't hear about lithium. I don't hear about lithium. Other drugs we hear about, right? Lexa Pro. So it's a problem. Sunny's character has bipolar disorder. Yes. Was that you?

No, Sunny, they came to me about a year and a half. They knew because I had had a lot of, breakdown and when I started the show they knew that they came to me and said, right, if we, if we have Sunny be bipolar. That's awesome. You're like, cool. Yeah, I said, yeah, I'm a method actor, so I become this thing. And the truth of the matter is, it's been incredible for acting, but for my life. At this point, I'm 62 years old and it takes its toll. It does? Yes.

The kind of, look, look, Richard, let me explain it to you about acting. The bad actors or not that good actors, it's kind of, they don't go through anything. It's pretty easy.

It's the better actors that suffer. And almost the better you are because if you're doing that kind of work, so here I am, I am bipolar, playing bipolar. A lot of times I didn't, I couldn't shut it off. Right. It gets you going.

Yes. So, yes, I've done well and great and all this, but would I trade for not going through the shit that I went through? I don't know. It's almost just easier being a bad actor. because you're not in it. You're not all in.

You're not all in. Well, that's what you have to do. You have to just get shitty and you'll be fine. Yeah, but like my mom says, Iho, can't you do it half? I said, mom, I've tried a little bit. I can't do it. Because then it just feels wrong.

It's hard to turn on. Yeah. Feels wrong to just go in and not be as deep. No, you got to do. your thing and you got to be you and you got to put it out there best you can all right um what's happening right now with sunny well and what's around the corner i don't really know what's around the corner i really don't or i'd say it because i don't i talk about this stuff but i'm with uh i'm trying to protect my my son michael and i have this new chick that she's really good

her name is Nazanine contractor and she plays ADA Turner and she's the ADA and I'm the mobster and it's getting you know it's starting to get kind of interesting you're going to sleep with the I don't know I have you heard it here first I haven't had a chick in a long time sunny so we'll see

you know I hate it when they don't give you a check on soap operas. It's like, what are you supposed to do there? You've got all the eye candy around, and you feel like you're a red-headed stepchild. Yeah, you know, I've always had, I've had, Sunny and Brenda was big, big couple, and then Sunny and Carly, big couple.

And I did Sunny Carly with three different actresses. Who was your favorite actress that you worked with? Just the two of you, the, the rhythm, the connection. Who was it? You know, I can never answer that, but I can say this, you got to love the one you're with. That was the coolest answer. And I'm not with anybody. That's the coolest answer you can give.

That's good enough for me. All right. So you were just with Erica Slazac on screen doing a scene. Yeah. What was that like? She's, I think she's won like, I don't know how many Emmys. But she's like a legend. And she was great.

and she told me a story that her husband doesn't watch soap operas, but he's a huge fan of Sonny. And I said, really? She goes, oh, my goodness, you don't understand. It's all, what does Sunny do? We're sunny. And, you know, coming out of her, it was just pretty funny. But we worked together, and she was, she's great.

She's great. She reminds me of Ellen Burstein. Remember her? No. The mother from Exorcist? No. I never saw The Exorcist. Let me tell you something.

I don't like scary movies. Great. Or people that end up in jail, movies with people in jail. Or movies where people lose their money. Listen to this. The Exorcist. Okay. It's two little stories.

One little story is my mom and dad went to go see the exorcist. I was 10 years old. I was babysat by my brother's girlfriend and sister. And as a young boy, I don't know, you know, that's just what it is. I made out with both of them and gave them hickies. That was sunny. Yeah, that was.

But I never saw the ex-s. My dad saw the ex-ist and couldn't sleep for three nights. Then I finally saw it. Well, Richard, that movie traumatized me to the point when I had my first breakdown in the hospital. I was telling everybody I was the exorcist. I was spitting on people. It was just horrific. That's what that, because, you know, a lot of what,

we'll go back to this, but, nervous breakdown or manic episode, being bipolar, whatever. A lot of is God and the devil fighting each other in your mind. Right. And most, well, most of the time God wins, but there are times when he doesn't and the person, is not here anymore. But that's how I was brought up

and it's all very spiritual and there's been buzz online that you're leaving the show. You leaving the show? No. You're not. No, there are always a lot of people I think they're saying I'm dying too.

Like I have cancer or some shit. Or you're not dying. No, and I'm not leaving. I got a year left in the contract. Look, I'm going to retire. but I don't think it's going to be before I'm 65. Oh, you know. 62.

Right. So we'll just, you know, it is what it is. They'll let people say what they say. Sunny needs to go on until 75. Well, yeah, but I don't think, uh, Maurice. How old was Marlon Brando when he put the orange peel in his mouth and then falls over and dies in the godfather. Can we look that up?

I guarantee you at 75. No. He just acted old. I think he was no more than 50. Okay, but he looked 75. So, yeah, but he, you know, Brando, obviously, he wanted to stop acting forever, you know. He just did it for the money.

And I think his reasons weren't like my reasons. My reasons, Richard, is, mentally it's taxing on me. What are you going to do? No, I know. I know. Before I leave, you got to figure that out.

Don't leave and do nothing. No. Because it's not going to be good for you. Absolutely. I already know that for sure. So when I leave, I'll have, you know, state of mind,

at least come in, maybe do that more, maybe financially I'm pretty good. So, but you're right. I already know what happens to my mind. when I'm living in it alone. You guys like you and I don't do well without structure.

Exactly. I'm with you, 100%. If Sonny were sitting here today with us, what would he tell Maurice? He would probably say, don't worry about anything, I got your back. Well, that would make me comfortable. You want him to play Sunny right now?

give anything for you to play sunny right now. All right. I'll try to get into this, dude. Why'd you put your glasses on? Take, take them off. I don't want to see your eyes. You don't scare me a second, but I do want to kiss you. How's that?

That was awesome. You did really good. You become a serious man. It's got to be in there. He's got to get the thing and you got to. And when he was young, When I was younger playing Sonny, it was more, he was more like a caged animal. So he'd be like, you f***ing with me right now.

Don't f*** with me. What? Yeah, that kind of guy. Now he's older, so he's a little less. More mellow? A little more, yeah, a little mellow, yeah. But it's still, he's still got to be serious. You've spent three decades on General Hospital.

You've spent five years doing state of mind helping people. what do you want your legacy to be? I want my legacy to be I was one of the, or the first man to come out and say he was bipolar. I'm not the first, because Patty Duke came on way before, but that's a woman, no man had. And so the legacy has to be something.

You know, it's funny when you ask me that, I think somebody else asked me that. It's not about the acting. Right. I don't really, you know, I know I've done well, but it's not, it's the mental health. You know, I didn't know that you're one of the first or the first men to come out publicly. Oh, yeah. Say he had bipolar disorder.

That's magnificent. That's magnificent because now everybody else is like, oh, I'm not, I'm not the only one. I'm not alone. Yeah. This is a thing. I'm not a weirdo. Yeah, but I will say when I came out, it was on Oprah. My wife came on.

She didn't want to come on. She was eight months pregnant. And she finally came on because Oprah said, come on, come on. But nothing, you know, Richard, I was proud to do it. And it was Oprah and great. Nothing really happened with mental health from that. Except I've seen a big change with the parents. pandemic. Yeah. That's when it just blew the... Yeah. Because anybody who's never had it and thought it was

nothing now has it. And they're like, oh shit. This is what that is. And you see commercials. I'm bipolar one. If you're bipolar one, if you're bipolar. I get smile every time then. I be on my bed, you know, like this and I hear, if you're bipolar one, I'm like, damn, right on. That comes right after the restless... Yeah. Syndrome commercial. All that's it, yeah. So I think we're in a better place, but I think, and I think you know this, the suicides

are up. And I hate to even say it because I know how you feel about it. And I feel the same way. Well, if we continue to treat each other like shit, that's not going to stop. No. Got to be good to each other, people. You got any, you got any breaking news from me? me? Well, it's not even breaking, but I'm finally going to get Jeannie Francis on State of

Mine. Jeannie Francis? And it's been, we're her and our really good friends and we work together all the time now. She's fantastic. And I've been just, you know, saying to her, you know, whatever you want, this, that, I get you, you know, and she's coming on, so I can't wait. Maurice, thank you so much for coming today, man. I really appreciate it. This is a great episode. Thank you. You're just, you're a pro, man. And I love watching it. I love watching it.

So you can, you can, if I have to, just Maurice Bernard on Instagram and all my social media, you know, all that kind of stuff. State of mind on YouTube. And I'm glad I was, this was fun. But it went so quick. I know.

Give me one last favorite. Yeah. In your best, Sonny, look into that camera and say, see you next Tuesday. See you next Tuesday. We're out of time. Please subscribe on YouTube, click the thumbs up, and leave a comment. Please subscribe on Apple Podcast and Spotify and leave a rating and a review. And share the We're Out of Time podcast with others you know who will get value out of it.

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