Overview
- Jackson disclosed on Jay Shetty’s On Purpose podcast on Monday that she received nine ECT sessions over three weeks after coming “very, very close” to attempting suicide.
- She described the modern procedure as done under general anesthesia but said the first sessions caused sharp head pain and that she experienced days of amnesia and memory gaps.
- Jackson said the treatment initially reduced her depression symptoms, but she stopped when told she would need monthly ECT or lifelong medications to maintain the benefit.
- Before ECT she tried many interventions, including multiple medications, five treatment institutions, CBT, DBT, EMDR, transcranial magnetic stimulation and nerve-block shots, and she says time at a Utah facility left her with PTSD.
- Jackson now favors an integrated, holistic approach to sustain recovery, has used the experience to shape her new album artwork, and her account underscores that ECT is an effective but sometimes cognitively disruptive therapy performed under anesthesia and known to cause short-term memory loss.