Carrie Fisher on how she overcame her depression

Star Wars actress Carrie Fisher spoke to Rolling Stone about how electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) helped her finally overcome depression.

“At the time I was depressed, and it ended the depression. I couldn’t fix it. Medication couldn’t fix it. Therapy couldn’t fix it. That did.”

Fisher also highlighted the misconceptions surrounding the treatment;

“Oh, everything (about electric shock therapy is misconceived). You get put to sleep when they do it. It’s very easy and very effective. And it’s not used as punishment by nurses in a mental hospital when you’re bad, which is how its depicted in literally every movie, both contemporary and past.”

For more information on ECT click here to read REFOCUS* Perspective paper Understanding ECT. This paper aims to address common fears service users and family members have about the treatment, to give psychiatrists a better understanding of the concerns of users and families about the treatment, and to dispel many of the myths surrounding ECT for the general public.

Click here to read CPsychI’s Position statement on ECT.

*REFOCUS (Recovery Experience Forum of Carers and Users of Services) was conceived by the College of Psychiatrists of Ireland as a forum where the views and experiences of service users and family members/carers would inform and influence all aspects of the College’s business and, in particular, the education of young future psychiatrists. The first meeting took place in December 2011. The committee published its first inaugural report encompassing reports from 2011 to 2014 and its annual report in 2015  outlining the work the committee has completed since its establishment 5 years ago.