General Hospital star Chris McKenna is opening up about his mental health.
“I have bipolar disorder… This is the first time I’m ever talking about it publicly,” McKenna, 48, said during a Monday, December 15, appearance on the “State of Mind with Maurice Benard” podcast. “[I’m] all right. I’m doing good right now. Hasn’t always been the case, but I’m good right now.”
McKenna then admitted that he also struggles with alcohol problems and drugs, while clarifying that his bipolar symptoms differ from his General Hospital costar’s. (Benard, 62, has also been diagnosed with bipolar disorder.)
“Our journey is different, and my symptoms are different than yours,” McKenna explained. “But I had my first breakdown when I was a teenager and then lived my whole life with this disorder undiagnosed…Which is, you know, fascinating in retrospect…I lived my whole life with this disorder undiagnosed and then experienced heavy psychothermia, which is talked about.”
The connection between mental health and substance misuse is frequently misunderstood and underreported. In March 2025, Us Weekly presented ‘The Missing Issue’ — which was dedicated to an exploration of co-occurring disorders. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), approximately 48.5 million Americans battle substance misuse — and approximately 50 percent […]
He continued, “And then culminating in Covid, when I had my first dangerous depression since a teenager, which was followed by a manic psychotic episode which required hospitalization. And that’s when I finally got the diagnosis. And this is just a few years ago, at the end of Covid, that I needed my whole life. And I got on medication, lithium. And that’s where I am today.”
Elsewhere in the interview, McKenna spoke about his experience as a child actor who began pursuing roles at age 7, as well as his starring role on One Life to Live, which he nabbed at age 12.
“They were trying to do adult storylines with me. I was 6’3” playing 18, but I was only 15,” McKenna said, noting that his first kiss was with an actress who was 20 years old at the time.
He ended up being replaced a few years later, and enrolled in high school to experience his teen years differently.
Chris McKenna Christine Bartolucci/Disney via Getty Images
The Mayo Clinic describes bipolar disorder as “a mental health condition that causes extreme mood swings.” Those mood swings can include highs, known as “mania or hypomania,” and lows, “known as depression.”
Mayo Clinic also notes there are several types of bipolar disorder that are marked by different symptoms, including hypomanic and depressive episodes, “many periods” of hypomania and/or depression and unpredictable changes in mood. “Bipolar disorder can start at any age, but usually it’s diagnosed in the teenage years or early 20s. Symptoms can differ from person to person, and symptoms may vary over time,” the website for the medical center also explains.
Benard first went public about his own diagnosis in 2000. In an April 2020 interview with People, he explained why he waited as long as he did to tell the public.
“I didn’t talk about it because an acting coach told me that if I said I was bipolar or mentally ill, I wouldn’t get cast,” Benard said. He also admitted to having experienced anxiety, suicidal thoughts, manic outbursts and even bouts of violence.
Benard further described his experiences with the disorder in his memoir, Nothing General About It. “I let myself be vulnerable in this book,” he admitted to People. “And especially when I did the audiobook recording — oh man, I would cry like a baby and then pull myself together and keep going.”
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Benard, who was 22 when he was diagnosed, tried taking himself off his medication as his career began to take off. “I was feeling great,” he said. “My head told me I didn’t need meds because I wasn’t sick.” But he soon experienced a third breakdown and returned to taking lithium.
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. https://988lifeline.org/
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