General Hospital’s Chris McKenna is publicly opening up about his battle with bipolar disorder for the first time.
The actor, 48, shared his diagnosis in a sneak peek of the Sunday, December 21, episode of his co-star Maurice Benard’s “State of Mind” podcast.
McKenna initially reflected on how the COVID pandemic impacted him mentally.
“It just lingered on and on … the monotony and not, like, moving on with my life,” he recalled. “I was back at home and it really started to do a number on my mental health in particular.”
Benard, 62, then asked McKenna whether there was “anything specific for you that happened as far as you want to talk about,” prompting McKenna to reveal his diagnosis to his co-star, who also suffers from bipolar disorder.
“Well, I’ll talk about the fact that I have bipolar disorder,” McKenna said. “This is the first time I’m ever talking about it publicly.”
“So, from one bipolar to another bipolar,” Benard responded, “how you doing, brother?”
Before detailing his past struggles, including with drugs and alcohol, McKenna assured Benard, “I’m doing good right now. It hasn’t always been the case, but I’m good right now.”
While McKenna is in a better place, he acknowledged that he dealt with symptoms of his disorder for years before being officially diagnosed.
“I had my first breakdown when I was a teenager and then lived my whole life with this disorder undiagnosed, which is fascinating in retrospect,” he said.
During the COVID lockdown, McKenna dealt with “heavy cyclothymia,” which is a rare mood disorder that causes emotional ups and downs, according to the Mayo Clinic. This triggered “my first dangerous depression since [I was] a teenager, which was followed by a manic psychotic episode which required hospitalization.”
McKenna’s hospital stay led to him finding out that he has bipolar disorder.
“I finally got my diagnosis that I needed my whole life and got on medication, and that’s where I am today,” he told Benard.
Earlier this year, McKenna joined the cast of General Hospital as Jack Brennan, making his first appearance in February. Prior to his role on the ABC soap, he starred as Joey Buchanan on One Life to Live from 1990 to 1993 and Detective Mark Harding on The Young and the Restless from 2014 to 2015.
As for Benard, he has played Sonny Corinthos on General Hospital since 1993. He was diagnosed with bipolar disorder at age 22 and became a mental health advocate after sharing his struggles publicly in 2000.
During a November episode of his podcast, Benard confessed that “the pain [I] feel inside” and “the thoughts are un-fricking-bearable,” but he is “proud of myself that I can go through this when it’s that tough.”
If you or someone you know needs mental health help, text “HOME” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 or visit their website.
This story was originally published by Parade on Dec 18, 2025, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.