Why General Hospital Fans Are Worried About Kirsten Storms

Kirsten Storms has had a lot on her plate. After facing personal and health issues, she announced she was taking a break from "General Hospital" and moving to Tennessee in July 2025. However, fans grew concerned after she started making what many deemed to be erratic social media posts in subsequent months. The pieces of the puzzle began to fall into place as information about Storms' complicated relationship with ex-husband Brandon Barash surfaced later that year.

In December 2025, Barash filed to get full custody of their daughter on claims that Storms was facing mental health struggles. In his petition, he contended his ex had experienced "repeated episodes of melting down, being triggered, hearing things/voices that weren't there" (via People). In April 2026, Barash was granted an emergency restraining order against Storms amid what he described as a "mental health crisis," according to People. Throughout the legal battle, Storms made several Instagram posts about having her Nashville apartment broken into and her phone hacked, which many thought fit into Barash's paranoia narrative. 

"General Hospital" fans expressed as much in an April 2026 Reddit post. "Heartbreaking. I knew something wasn't right from her Instagram posts," one user wrote. For her part, Storms sought to set the record straight, claiming she reported her apartment and privacy situation before Barash took her to court. "The circumstances have been twisted into something that it shouldn't be," she wrote in a June 2026 Instagram post. She also noted her acting career might be over. "I can't say I will feel comfortable heading back to Los Angeles and returning to work." It's a complicated situation all around, especially considering everything else Storms has gone through.

The onset of Kirsten Storms' messy custody battle with Brandon Barash wasn't the only difficult situation she faced in 2025. That January, she discovered she had an aneurysm, a blood-filled spot on an artery, on the right side of her brain. If small, they may be symptomless and cause no issues. But large ones may rupture and lead to life-threatening complications. In October 2025, doctors attempted a minimally invasive procedure known as coiling to treat the aneurysm. 

However, it was unsuccessful. "Because of the *slightly* complex situation with the aneurysm (nothing bad, just not typical), it wasn't coiled that weekend," she wrote on Instagram. In December 2025, she shared that she was in the "gray zone" of having a not-so-small aneurysm but not large enough to require immediate surgery. "Trying to see if I'm comfortable with the 'wait and see if it gets worse' plan. I do know that I am not eager to hop right on the operating table," she captioned the follow-up post. Finding a brain aneurysm is always nerve-racking, but the "General Hospital" star's diagnosis is even more so because of her history.

In June 2021, Storms underwent brain surgery to remove a large cyst, which was detected after years of unexplained symptoms that were largely dismissed by doctors. She felt relief almost immediately. "The constant pressure and headache I would have, which would affect me so much more than I realized now that it's not there. That is gone, and that is amazing," she wrote in her Instagram Stories (via People). The soap opera star certainly knows a thing or two about facing tragedy.