The next episode of “State of Mind with Maurice Benard,” releasing Sunday, February 21, features “General Hospital” star Kelly Thiebaud (Dr. Britt Westbourne) discussing how she blew up her life at 40 and how therapy has helped her start over.
In an exclusive sneak peek at the episode, Thiebaud also tells host Maurice Benard (Sonny Corinthos, “General Hospital”) about the childhood trauma that shaped her — and how therapy ultimately helped her rebuild her life.
“My parents got divorced when I was 10, and it really traumatized me,” noted Thiebaud. “I think the physical presence of my dad leaving the house, and that masculine presence, terrified me. And so things were happening with me that my mom got really concerned about. And so she had me go see a therapist… I got put on some sort of medication, but I didn’t take it… I was being rebellious with my mom. I’m like, ‘Oh, you think something’s wrong with me? I’m going to show you.’”
“Do you know what it was?” asked Benard.
“I have no idea. Something for depression,” replied Thiebaud, referring to the medication she was taking. “My family should have… we should have all gone to like family counseling, but no one really does that. I’m the only one out of my immediate family that has gotten help — therapy is absolutely incredible — to experience what I experienced at 40 and like blowing my life up and losing everything and having to start all over, it makes you feel like an absolute failure. I was very bitter. Very, very, very bitter and angry. And I would carry that every day.”
Therapy has changed everything for Thiebaud, she says, explaining, “My therapist is like, ‘You really need to come every week so I can help you just work through that so you don’t have to carry it.’ And that has helped immensely. To just unload on someone who is just there to listen and support me and not judge me has been really, really great.”
Watch a clip from Thiebaud’s upcoming appearance on “State of Mind” below.
Launched in July 2020, “State of Mind with Maurice Benard” focuses on mental health and mental health awareness. The podcast is hosted by Maurice Benard, a Daytime Emmy Award-winning actor and New York Times bestselling author (“Nothing General About It: How Love (and Lithium) Saved Me On and Off General Hospital”).
Following each episode’s release on YouTube, an audio-only edition is later made available to all major podcast platforms, including Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, Apple and Google Podcasts.
To watch all episodes and to subscribe, click here.
