She was unsuccessfully treated with numerous drugs, including Lithium, until she underwent electroconvulsive therapy for depression. While promoting her 2011 book, "Shockoholic," Fisher told TODAY, "There was a hopeless quality going on. I wanted to deal with it."
What mental illness does Carrie Fisher have?
“Carrie Fisher coming out and saying she had bipolar disorder was almost like a bright light for people, showing them that they could achieve their goals even with a mental illness like bipolar disorder," Tracy told TODAY. Trending stories,celebrity news and all the best of TODAY.
What did Carrie Fisher do to fight stigma?
Carrie Fisher's honesty about bipolar disorder, addiction helped fight stigma. Fisher’s death after suffering a cardiac emergency Friday drew an outpouring of comments lauding her courageous openness about her personal struggle with bipolar disorder and addiction to drugs and alcohol.
How old was Carrie Fisher when she died?
She was 60. The actress, who is best known for her role as Princess Leia in Star Wars, was an outspoken advocate for mental health after being diagnosed with bipolar disorder as a teenager. Fisher sat down with PEOPLE to discuss her battle with bipolar disorder — and a scary breakdown on a cruise ship —
Was Carrie not the only female celebrity to be bipolar?
The only female celebrity who had comprehensively admitted her bipolarity before Carrie did was the former child actress Patty Duke, who in 1992 had published a memoir called " A Brilliant Madness: Living with Manic-Depressive Illness. " But, as Princess Leia and an icon to her peer group, Carrie’s influence was stronger.
Why did Carrie Fisher have ECT?
But the most fascinating aspect of that book is Fisher's writing about why she opted to try electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), a still-stigmatized though highly effective treatment for depression. Though she doesn't go into great detail about the procedure itself, she told Oprah in 2011, “They put you to sleep.
Did Carrie Fisher get treatment?
Though she sought treatment, took medication and underwent electroconvulsive therapy, Fisher battled with the illness her whole life.
What was Carrie Fisher's drug of choice?
“Drugs made me feel more normal,” Fisher told Psychology Today in 2001. “They contained me.” Her drug of choice was Percodan, an opioid medication that became available in the 1970s.
What type of bipolar does Carrie Fisher have?
oh how I love you.” That last line is a reminder too, that in Ms. Fisher's lifetime, even the name of the condition had evolved, to bipolar from what was once more commonly known as manic depression.
What is the best medication for manic episodes?
Newer or atypical antipsychotic medications such as olanzapine, risperidone and quetiapine appear to help control manic episodes. Several new anticonvulsant or antiepilepsy drugs such as lamotrigine, topiramate end gabapentin may also help stabilize mood when traditional medications prove ineffective.
Who played Leia in Shampoo?
Reynolds was the star of the show. Not long after, Fisher played the scene-stealing nymphet in the movie Shampoo, then she was immortalized as Princess Leia in that metal bikini. Her role in the classic Star Wars trilogy shot her into superstardom. This kind of celebrity, though, comes with trappings.
What is the book Surrender the Pink about?
One, Surrender the Pink, was about her relationship with ex-husband and pop icon Paul Simon, to whom she was married for 11 months. For Fisher, his words had a certain soothing rhythm. "Except when the words are organized against you, of course.".
Is Carrie Fisher a manic depressive?
She says she really didn't fit the stereotype of wife, and as her friends put it, there were two flowers and no gardener. Fisher is perhaps one of the more productive manic-depressives. She has script-doctored countless Hollywood films including Milk Money and Sister Act.
Is lithium good for bipolar?
Mood-stabilizer medications remain the mainstay of treatment. Lithium's effectiveness has been well-established for more than 30 years, end carbamazepine end valproate have also become widely accepted first-line treatments in the past decade. In general, these medications are effective in controlling symptoms of both depression and mania or agitation.
Does Meg Ryan agree with Fisher?
Friend and actress Meg Ryan agrees that Fisher has some tendencies to mess with herself, but she gets herself back in line. "She manages this disease with enormous integrity.
Can antidepressants cause bipolar?
Antidepressant medications used to treat unipolar depression are a common supplement to mood stabilizers, but may actually trigger high or manic episodes--especially if used alone. These treatments are at least moderately effective for 50 to 75 percent of bipolar disorder sufferers.
Fisher's kindness to others with bipolar disorder was one of the striking things I learned about 'Princess Leia' in researching her life for my book
Early in 2004, entrepreneur Joanne Doan had just gotten funding for a serious niche magazine. Called bpHope, it would be tailored to the more than 6 million Americans with bipolar disorder, which, until 1980, was called manic depression.
Kind and encouraging to bipolar fans
Carrie’s significance in encouraging people who are bipolar to get over their shame, and her kindness to others in the community, were among the most striking things I learned in researching her life for my forthcoming book, "Carrie Fisher: A Life On the Edge."
Media shaming for bipolar women
Even though there’s the same personal shame for men as for women in being bipolar, women bipolars are media shamed far more than men are.
Credit for pushing the truth
At the end of her life, the usually snarky and tough Carrie Fisher admitted to being deeply hurt by the weight-shaming she received on the internet, and much of her weight gain had to do with her medication.
Bipolar and Self-Medication
- Throughout her life Carrie Fisher has battled substance and alcohol abuse while trying to manage her mental health. Since her 20s she used illegal substances, prescription medication, alcohol and recreational drugs. At one point she was on 30 Percodan (pain killing medication) per day *. Like many other people with bipolar, Fisher’s use of substanc...
Diagnosed at 24 But Resisted The Reality of The Condition
- When she was 24, Fisher was diagnosed with bipolar but refused the diagnosis and did not want to go on Lithium to medicate her condition. She continued partying and abusing drugs with Hollywood hotshots. At the age of 28 she entered rehab, getting her stomach pumped. After treatment Fisher penned Postcards from the Edge and found that writing, helped her focus and …
Acceptance in The 1990s
- Since the late nineties Fisher has accepted the diagnosis and takes mood stabilising drugs to combat and manage the mood disorder. Appearing on Oprah she openly confessed to needing electro shock therapy to manage her severe condition. She admitted she needed to get it every six weeks to “blow the cement part in her brain”. Carrie Fisher fights hard to destigmatise mental he…