When Brian Wilson met John Lennon

[Amy B.]

I don't know that you can call anyone who has a nervous breakdown at 22 years old "mentally strong."  It's all been discussed ad nauseam here in the past, but it has always seemed to me that drugs exacerbated issues that were already present within Brian.  He'd always been pretty good at keeping them below the surface (using his music to express his inner turmoil), but as the drug experimentation got worse, everything was brought out into the open for the first time.  Obviously there were other factors, but it isn't as black and white as "drugs made a happy and healthy Brian mentally ill."

I've always been a little bit confused as to what a nervous breakdown entails. I know Brian apparently had a panic attack on an airplane, but is that a nervous breakdown? Was there more to it, or was that it? (And I don't mean to minimize a panic attack. I've had them , and they are very scary.) But I do agree, Chris, that the seeds of mental instability were probably planted in Brian early on and just exacerbated by drugs. And then on top of it, he's a practical joker with an odd sense of humor.

[dmcguire70]

People talk about Brian being mentally ill. I wonder if he was mentally ill before taking drugs. I know Dennis took a lot of drugs but always seemed mentally stable. But I think the drugs can have awful effects on some like Brian, Syd Barret, Rocky Erickson, etc. Brian seemed very stable before 1967. Outside of a nervous brake down, he seemed mentally strong. And he had good and bad days until the 80s. But now he doesn't ever seem to be completely there.

Our bodies are made of chemistry and taking certain mind altering substances can have a profound long term effect on that chemistry on some individuals. I think Brian ,Syd Barret etc were a couple examples of that.I remember in an interview hearing Brian talk about the LSD shattering his mind and I often wonder what could have been for Brian had he avoided the drugs.

[Mr. Wilson]

Speed would create more paranoia then LSD..

[Magic Transistor Radio]

Outside of a nervous brake down, he seemed mentally strong.

I don't know that you can call anyone who has a nervous breakdown at 22 years old "mentally strong."  It's all been discussed ad nauseam here in the past, but it has always seemed to me that drugs exacerbated issues that were already present within Brian.  He'd always been pretty good at keeping them below the surface (using his music to express his inner turmoil), but as the drug experimentation got worse, everything was brought out into the open for the first time.  Obviously there were other factors, but it isn't as black and white as "drugs made a happy and healthy Brian mentally ill."

I agree, because it didn't have the same effect on Dennis. Nor David Crosby, David Marks, Robin Williams (well), etc. I mean they may have had depression issues, but not mental issues.