RUNNING HEAD: CARRIE FISHER 1

CARRIE FISHER

Name:

School Affiliation:
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Carrie Fisher

Demographic data

The name of the subject is Carrie Fisher. She died at the age of 60 years old. She was never

married to her partner Bryan Lourd but she bore a child with him by the name Billie

Catherine Lourd. It is reported that Fisher married Paul Simon in the 1980s (IMDB, n.d.).

Family background

Fisher was single and had one daughter Billie Catherine Lourd. Fisher was born in 1956 to

her parents Eddie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds. She had significant relationships in her life

with Paul Simon, Dan Aykroyd, and Bryan Lourd. Fisher and Lourd gave bore a daughter

Billie Catherine Lourd (IMDB, n.d.).

Physical and psychological health

Fisher suffered from weight loss, bipolar disease and was involved in substance abuse. She

particularly abused Marijuana, Cocaine and LSD. In terms of her medical health, she suffered

from cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure. The former led to her death. Due to her

constant use of LSD, she was unable to sleep, eat and suffered from HBP. She also had

mental problems in that she suffered from Bipolar disorders (Parkison, 2016).

Education and work background

She attended Beverly Hills high school but she dropped out. In 1973, she took up a course of

18 months at the London central school of speech and drama. She began working in 1975 as

an actress when she featured in a comedy series called Shampoo. Her notable contribution

was in the Star Wars. She was a popular face in this movie series which made her famous.

Her ambition in life was to make her life an art (The Famous people, n.d).
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Interpersonal relationship

Her love life was turbulent. In 1980, she got engaged to Dan Aykroyd but they later broke up.

She then got married in 1983 to Paul Simon, a marriage that lasted for eleven months before

they parted ways. After the divorce, they reconciled but she later fell in love with Bryan

Lourd, a film agent. It was with Lourd they had a child Billie Catherine Lourd but the

relationship ended. She had a cordial relationship with her mother who raised her as a

protestant but she opted to be a practicing Jew. She stated that her relationship was Lourd

could not survive as she was not as cooperative as a woman would be expected in such a

relationship (IMDB, n.d.).

Adjustment

Her main mode of dealing with her mental problem issues was using drugs. She also dealt

with her problem by being outspoken and being in groups of people with bipolar maladies

(Fisher, 2016). An adjustment in her life was when she was 28. She stopped overdosing on

drugs and decided to sober up, then she faced her health problems.

Spirituality and religious background

Her father was Jewish by belief whereas her mother was protestant. However, despite being

brought up as a protestant, she became a practicing Jew. She attested being influenced by the

Jewish religion in her life and became a strict adherent of it (Biography, n.d.).

Section 7

Drug addiction and mental health issues are a big challenge as they result to depression. I

think Fisher should have dealt with mental problems and drug addiction both at a go. Since

she concentrated on solving her mental problems, she neglected her addiction which led to

her death (Parkison, 2016). As a clinician, I would have recommended medication for the
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bipolar disease via mood stabilization pills. For addiction, I would have recommended

individual or group therapy. In her life group therapy did not seem to work for her and hence

a combination of both would have worked for her addiction problem. (WebMD, n.d.).
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References

Biography (n.d.). Carrie Fisher. Retrieved from https://www.biography.com/people/carrie-

fisher-9542646

Fisher, C. (2016). Ask Carrie Fisher: I'm bipolar how do you feel at peace with mental
illness? Retrieved from
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/nov/30/carrie-fisher-advice-column-
mental-illness-bipolar-disorder

IMDB (n.d.). Carrie Fisher biography. Retrieved from

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000402/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm

Parkison J. (2016). Forget the gold bikini. For people with mental illness Carrie Fisher was a
queen. Retrieved from
https://www.theguardian.com/culture/commentisfree/2016/dec/28/carrie-fisher-
bipolar-dies-mental-illness-princess-leia

Thefamouspeople (n.d.). Carrie Fisher biography. Retrieved from

https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/carrie-fisher-4686.php

WebMD (n.d.). Treating Bipolar Depression. Retrieved from

https://www.webmd.com/bipolar-disorder/guide/treating-bipolar-medication#1