Maurice Benard Talks Anxiety, Shaking & ‘The Pizza Breathing’ Technique’
Maurice Benard and psychotherapist Amy Morin discuss panic, grief, anxiety, and why different coping tools work for different people.
General Hospital (GH) star Maurice Benard (Sonny Corinthos) sat down with psychotherapist and author Amy Morin on a recent episode of his State of Mind podcast. The conversation was wide-ranging but very useful with regard to grief, loss, and the physical realities of anxiety.
Who is Amy?
Amy Morin, who gained international attention after her booklet “13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do” went viral, opened up about the personal tragedies that shaped her career.
Sadly, she lost her mom and her husband, and that’s when she noticed that what she learned from textbooks didn’t always help as she went through the grieving process.
From her own experience with loss, she was able to figure out ways to maintain her mental health, and then she wrote books about it.
Discussing Anxiety
During the interview, the conversation turned to how anxiety can impact people as they try to get through their daily lives.
Amy Morin explained that there’s an exercise that people can try. She called it the “Pizza Breathing” technique.
How does that work? Well, she said that folks could imagine that they “smell the pizza” by inhaling through the nose, holding the breath briefly at the top, and then blowing out through the mouth to “cool the pizza off.”
She explained that making the exhale longer than the inhale helps calm the body, sending a signal to the brain that it is safe to relax.
Fans of GH know that Maurice Benard has always been very open about his mental health, and he once again talked about his struggles with anxiety.
He experiences it as feeling like he can’t breathe and his mind starts racing.
Handling Panic
Sharing a story from the COVID-19 pandemic, Benard remembered how he got some bad news, and he ended up with uncontrollable shaking. It was a difficult time for him and he could only lie in bed while his wife, Paula, tried to comfort him.
Explaining the shaking, Morin said that when the body enters a “fight-or-flight state,” the adrenaline overwhelms the body. But because there isn’t anything physical to run away from, the sudden burst of energy causes people to tremble and shake.
Externalizing Anxiety
They also discussed how people view their mental health. Benard shared that he visualizes his anxiety as an external force rather than something inside him, which helps him keep it from taking over.
Morin thought it was a good approach and noted that imagining the anxiety as a dark cloud or an external entity makes it easier to manage.
She cautioned against internalizing anxiety, explaining that walking around saying “I’m an incredibly anxious person” makes it harder to use effective coping tools.
Different Coping Tools
Morin also noted that not every single coping mechanism helps everyone. For some folks, yoga, meditation, and journaling can help. However, forcing yourself to use methods that don’t suit you doesn’t help either.
The General Hospital veteran admitted that meditation gets boring for him, so he creates visual imagery instead. He described a visualization where he walked down a staircase into a peaceful landscape to meet late loved ones, including his dad.
When discussing journaling, Maurice Benard admitted he tends to stop doing things that help him when he’s not in a state of depression or anxiety. But the one thing he never does is stop taking his bipolar medication. And it’s the fear of going through manic episodes that helps him stay consistent with that.
Unexpected Strength
Before wrapping up the discussion on mental health, Morin mentioned the hidden resilience people discover during their darkest moments. She noted that when facing difficult times, “whatever inner strength you didn’t even know existed often emerges.”
Benard said that he understood what she meant because Paula tells him much the same thing when he struggles. He said that she says, “Honey, you are stronger than you know.”
Viewers React
Fans took to the YouTube comments section to talk about the discussion and the coping techniques the duo discussed.
One person wrote, “Wow thank you Amy for such a open and honest conversation of what you have been through.”
Then they described what helps them, saying, “One thing that has helped me on a hard day is finding time to focus on breathing and if I need to cry it out and live in heavy emotions I allow myself to be there.”
Here are a few more responses from the discussion:
- “Someone told me once it takes 2 mountains to create a valley…there is hope in that”
- “we all have different anxiety levels. I suffer from anxiety, Thank you for telling me to externalize it.”
- “Living with social anxiety disorder here. Who else is part of the club?”
What did you think of Amy Morin’s interview with Maurice Benard on State of Mind? Join the discussion and then come back for more General Hospital cast news and updates.