Brian Wilson’s Battle With Mental Illness and Dementia: A Look at His Health Journey
Plus see what experts recommend to help ward off cognitive decline
If you tuned into just about any pop music station, particularly from the 1960s to 1970s, you likely heard a Beach Boys song. Long after the band ruled pop radio, their feel-good tunes like “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” live on in modern rom-coms and have been streamed millions of times on Spotify.A key person we have to thank for giving us the Beach Boys is co-creator and instrumental member is the late Brian Wilson, who had a long battle with mental health and dementia before passing away on June 11 at 82.
“We are heartbroken to announce that our beloved father Brian Wilson has passed away,” said Wilson’s family in a statement on his website. “We are at a loss for words right now. Please respect our privacy at this time as our family is grieving. We realize that we are sharing our grief with the world. Love & Mercy.”
While the family did not share the cause of Wilson’s death, here we take a look at the legendary singer’s health journey over the years.
Woman's World Answers
Brian Wilson struggled with schizoaffective disorder
In 2006 in an interview with ABILITY Magazine, Wilson opened up about his struggles with schizoaffective disorder.
“Well, for the past 40 years I’ve had auditory hallucinations in my head, all day every day, and I can’t get them out,” he told ABILITY Magazine. “Every few minutes the voices say something derogatory to me, which discourages me a little bit, but I have to be strong enough to say to them, “Hey, would you quit stalking me? F*** off! Don’t talk to me—leave me alone!” I have to say these types of things all day long. It’s like a fight.”
Hearing voices isn’t the only symptom Wilson said he experienced due to the mental health condition. “I get intense fear, too,” Wilson said. “It comes and goes. You get the feeling and it goes away.”
Wilson also shared that he struggled with depression. “Well my depression goes pretty low, pretty deep,” Wilson told ABILITY Magazine. “I get depressed to the point where I can’t do anything—I can’t even write songs, which is my passion.”
His symptoms weren’t unusual. “Schizoaffective disorder is a mental illness that combines symptoms of both schizophrenia and mood disorders like bipolar disorder or depression,” explains Kenny Tello, PhD, psychologist at Orlando Health. “That means a person might hear voices or believe things that aren’t real (like in schizophrenia), and also go through emotional highs and lows (like in bipolar disorder). It’s more complex than either condition alone because it affects both thinking and mood at the same time. People with schizoaffective disorder may need treatment for both sets of symptoms.”
How Brian Wilson managed his mental health disorder
In the interview, Wilson told ABILITY Magazine that although he started hearing voices in his head beginning at age 25, he didn’t start getting treatment for the condition until he was around 40 years old. While the therapy made his life only “a little bit” easier, he did share that it helped him manage the symptoms of his condition.
“It has made my symptoms bearable so I don’t have to go screaming down the street yelling, “Leave me alone, leave me alone,” and that kind of thing,” Wilson said.
Similar to many people struggling with mental health concerns, Wilson shared that his treatment involved not only medication, but also professional mental health support.
“I’ve been seeing a psychiatrist once a week for 12 years now, and he’s become a really close friend of mine,” Wilson told the publication. “We talk and he helps me out. He tells me, “Well when you hear the voices, why don’t you make a joke and say to them, ‘How are you doing, Voices? How are you doing today?’ You know, talk humorously to them.” I tried that out and it works a little bit.”
Brian Wilson was later diagnosed with dementia
After Wilson’s wife Melinda Ledbetter Wilson died in January 2024, his family—Wilson had seven children—filed a petition for him to be placed under a conservatorship. The filing said Wilson was experiencing a “major neurocognitive disorder (such as dementia).”
The judge appointed his publicist, Jean Sievers, and his manager, LeeAnn Hard, as his conservators. His two oldest daughters, Wendy and Carnie Wilson, were reportedly kept informed of medical decisions affecting Wilson.
According to court records from May 2024, a doctor’s note declared that Wilson was taking medication for dementia and “unable to properly provide for his own personal needs for physical health, food, clothing or shelter.” While he was reportedly unable to name all of his children, he knew his own identity was able to move with a walker and assistance from a caregiver at the time.
You may be wondering how neurocognitive disorders like Wilson’s occur.
“Neurocognitive disorders like Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia are most often caused by progressive brain changes linked to aging, genetics or vascular issues,” says Christine Karper, PhD, LMHC, QCS, Program Chair of Clinical Mental Health at University of Phoenix. “Chronic stress, isolation and unresolved trauma can also accelerate cognitive decline.”
“Over time, prolonged exposure to stress may damage areas of the brain responsible for memory and decision making, allowing for neurocognitive disorders to take shape,” Karper adds. “Also, long-term social withdrawal is linked to higher rates of depression, anxiety and even dementia.”
How to reduce your risk of dementia
Wilson’s challenges further demonstrate the importance of prioritizing mental and brain health, and we have expert-approved tips to do so. Tello recommends protecting your brain by:
- Eating well
- Exercising regularly, even just walking
- Sleeping enough, since the brain clears out waste during sleep
- Staying social by spending time with friends or joining groups
- Managing stress through relaxation, hobbies or therapy
- Learning new things, which keeps the brain active and builds new connection
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