She is much more than Princess Leia however it is because of that one single role that she's in the hearts of so many people all over the world. She became iconic with that role, a character in a modern mythology that has outstripped any of the people who participated. Where do you go from there at 19? No other role would ever mean as much. She and her costars will be remembered for Star Wars long after all their other roles are forgotten. That must be one hell of a load to bear.
I know quite a few people who have had ECT. It is NOT like the days of Sylvia Plath and not like it is shown in Requiem for a Dream. Today there is much lower voltage, general anesthesia given before treatment even starts, shorter bursts, and unipolar electrodes. ECT does do a number on your short term memory and confusion usually follows for a few hours following treatment.
Maybe it's because I was a candidate for ECT that so many others who have had it have opened up to me about it. ECT is a last resort option and many people who elect to have it are simply yearning to be free of their illness so badly that they welcome ECT despite the stigma and reputation it has. We crazies only talk frankly to other crazies about our craziness. It's actually pretty funny. We review drugs, shrinks, and treatments amongst each other and then tell the doctors what we need to get the treatments and drugs we want. So when somebody says they want to get ECT, it's because you know they feel they're at the end of their rope.
Everyone I know who has had ECT has found it helpful and many credit their lives saved because of it. Doctors do still not know why ECT seems to work though there are various theories. Treatment time is brief, no more than half an hour in and out, though the patient needs to be watched for hours afterward until they get reoriented. Sleep usually follows nearly immediately after and the patient feels physically exhausted. Some doctors prefer to keep the patient awake, others just let them sleep.
What does happen, over several treatments, is that mood is improved. Sometimes results are nearly immediate, sometimes three or four treatments are necessary to see improvement. Improvement can be dramatic and frequently the patients really feel as if they've turned a major corner in their recovery. I think, were it not for the impassioned beliefs of so many people who have had ECT, that its reputation would have doomed it long ago. It is a drastic tool, but one that has meant fulfilling lives for many people tortured by major depression and related illnesses.