George Michael secretly checked himself into a Swiss clinic for several months in a desperate bid to beat his demons.
The singer, who had battled depression and an addiction to hard drugs including crack cocaine and a dependency on anti-depressants, had an extended stay at the exclusive £70,000-a-week Kusnacht practice overlooking Lake Zurich.
It is understood anxious friends had urged him to seek professional help at the world’s most expensive rehab centre after his life spiralled out of control.
Some of the clinic’s pioneering treatments have been described as a modern alternative to ECT shock therapy.
Friends have claimed George, whose uncle and grandfather killed themselves, had made a number of suicide attempts, including the infamous incident in which he threw himself out of a car at 70mph.
It is still unclear what caused the 53-year-old superstar’s death at home on Christmas Day.
His lover Fadi Fawaz’s Twitter account, which he later deleted and disowned, said George “wanted to die” and he “had tried a number of times to kill himself”.
George’s stay at the clinic in 2015 was kept a closely guarded secret.
His management claimed at the time that he was on an “extended break” in Europe.
But he was spotted by locals entering the clinic and hairdresser Fadi was pictured in the street with him.
While it is not known exactly which state-of-the-art treatments George underwent, the Kusnacht specialises in repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation.
Read More
Related Articles
A magnetic device, connected to a machine, is placed above the head of patients to stimulate nerve cells in a bid to combat severe depression.
In another treatment, patients spend time in the zero-gravity Satori chair, which uses music therapy and sound vibrations to relax the body.
George stayed in one of six luxury villas by the lake but other clients are housed in the luxury Dolder Grand Hotel in Zurich.
The star received one-to-one counselling from a live-in therapist who was on call day and night.
And he took part in up to eight sessions a day with psychiatrists, psychologists, reflexologists, masseurs, personal trainers and dieticians.
Read More
Related Articles
Before starting the treatment, he went through one of the “most comprehensive health checks in the world” to determine his unique body and brain chemistry to help them decide on the most suitable rehab course.
George would have been particularly impressed that the centre’s clinical director, British therapist David Smallwood, who like him was gay, specialised in “addiction, gay and lesbian and any childhood trauma leading to anxiety and depression”.
Smallwood encourages gay clients to read a self-help book called Velvet Rage which claims gay men are four times more likely than straight men to suffer from depression.
It also concludes that gay patients suffer from a specific rage caused by childhood shame and parental rejection.
George famously struggled to come to terms with his sexuality for fear of upsetting his family and hid it from them until he was 29 and in love with Brazilian dress designer Anselmo Felleppa.
Read More
Related Articles
He only came out publicly after his arrest for lewd conduct in Los Angeles when he was 34.
The clinic refused to comment on whether they had any involvement with George but board member Eduardo Greghi explained their treatment.
He said: “We believe in recovery without drugs. We believe you can live a fruitful, happy life without the need for any mood-altering drugs or alcohol.
“Our treatment is successful because we treat the underlying cause. I have no doubt we are the most successful centre in the world in terms of relapse prevention because we follow our clients with our intensive after-care programme.
“Clients are given six to eight one-to-one sessions a day. This is far more than any other centre would provide.
“Once we identify the chemical imbalances of the body and brain, we start to fix it with diet and exercise.”
Although the clinic would not discuss George, locals clearly remember him.
Read More
Related Articles
They got used to seeing George dining in the upmarket Baur au Lac Hotel after being dropped off by his chauffeur. He also liked to attend a nearby smoking-friendly restaurant and bar.
Over the past 20 years, George’s camp have stonewalled claims he received counselling and tried to take his life.
But in 2004, George admitted his long-term lover, Texan art dealer Kenny Goss, prevented him from self-harming after his mum died in 1997.
He said: “I couldn’t write and felt really worthless. I think I might have been one of those cowards who choose a nasty way out.”
Read our top showbiz stories
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7pa3IpbCrnZOkv6V6wqhlrqNfmru1sdGtmKKmnZq7tXvCnqOemqKewbp7xp6mq5%2BVYrqqr8eanKWrXau2tLXTZqqem6KawarCxGaapaGenrBuhZRwaWpqYA%3D%3D