Brian Wilson's health struggles included dementia, schizoaffective disorder and more
Fans of The Beach Boys are mourning the loss of Brian Wilson, whose family announced his death at the age of 82 on June 11.
The musician was most known for co-founding The Beach Boys in 1961 with his brothers, Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love and their friend Al Jardine.
Throughout his career, Brian Wilson earned many accolades and became the band's primary songwriter.
Despite the upbeat sound associated with The Beach Boys, Brian Wilson had many health struggles for much of his life, including a battle with addiction, a mental disorder and dementia in more recent years.
Here's what the singer and his family has shared about his health and death.
How did Brian Wilson die?
On June 11, Brian Wilson’s family shared the news of his death on his official Instagram account. No official cause of death has been shared.
“We are heartbroken to announce that our beloved father Brian Wilson has passed away. 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,” they captioned the post.
"I have no words to express the sadness I feel right now. My Father @brianwilsonlive was every fiber of my body. He will be remembered by millions and millions until the world ends. I am lucky to have been his daughter and had a soul connection with him that will live on always. I’ve never felt this kind of pain before, but I know he’s resting up there in heaven ... or maybe playing the piano for Grandma Audree his Mom. I will post something else soon but this is all my hands will let me type. I love you Daddy....I miss so much you already," she wrote.
Brian Wilson had dementia and was placed under a conservatorship
Brian Wilson's late wife, Melinda Ledbetter Wilson, had been caring for him but died in January 2024, prompting the musician's family to file a petition to place him under conservatorship to help manage his personal and medical needs.
In a February 2024 statement to the New York Times, the family said: “This decision was made to ensure that there will be no extreme changes to the household, and Brian and the children living at home will be taken care of and remain in the home where they are cared for.”
Musician Brian Wilson and his wife Melinda Ledbetter in 2015. (picture alliance / picture alliance via Getty Image)
In May 2024, a California judge determined that he needed to be placed under a conservatorship due to his “major neurocognitive disorder.”
According to the Associated Press, the musician consented to the arrangement. Subsequently, the judge appointed his publicist, Jean Sievers, and LeeAnn Hard, his manager, as his conservators.
As part of the arrangement, the conservators were required to keep Carnie and Wendy Wilson, two of the musician's seven children, in the loop about medical decisions affecting their father.
Per court records from May 2024, the conservatorship petition included a doctor's note saying Brian Wilson was taking dementia medication and was "unable to properly provide for his own personal needs for physical health, food, clothing, or shelter."
At the time, the musician was able to move with the help of a caregiver and walker. Regarding his mental state, he was unable to name all his children, but he knew his own identity, his location and general date and time.
Brian Wilson navigated several mental health issues over the years
Prior to his dementia diagnosis, Brian Wilson experienced several mental health challenges throughout his life.
Schizoaffective disorder
In a 2006 interview with Ability Magazine, Brian Wilson opened up about his diagnosis with schizoaffective disorder, which the Mayo Clinic defines as a "mental health condition that is marked by a mix of schizophrenia symptoms, such as hallucinations and delusions, and mood disorder symptoms, such as depression, mania and a milder form of mania called hypomania."
At the time, Brian Wilson said he’d been experiencing “auditory hallucinations” in his head “all day every day” for 40 years, since he was around 25 years old.
“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,” he said.
Brian Wilson in 1999. (Aric Crabb / The Oakland Tribune via Getty Images)
The musician acknowledged that the voices he heard in his head made it challenging to go on stage.
“Even today, when I sing, I have to force myself not (to) listen to them. But when the concert is over, the voices come back,” he said.
He started seeking treatment for his condition when he was around 40 years old, and it made his symptoms “bearable.”
Along with hearing voices, the musician said he experienced “intense fear” that caused him to feel “depressed.” As a result, he started taking medication to treat his depression.
“Well my depression goes pretty low, pretty deep. I get depressed to the point where I can’t do anything—I can’t even write songs, which is my passion,” he said at the time.
During the interview, Brian Wilson said he’d been seeing a psychiatrist once a week for 12 years to cope with his condition.
Brian Wilson with members of Wilson Phillips, including his daughters Carney and Wendy Wilson. (Henry Ray Abrams / AFP via Getty Images)
In May 2025, Carnie Wilson spoke to USA Today about her own mental health and opened up about the impact of father's schizoaffective disorder.
“I’ve watched him really overcome so much, just so so much,” she said, calling him "the strongest person I know."
The singer also applauded her father for seeking help for his condition.
“He found the right medication for him that has helped the voices in his head, his own depression, and I find a lot of similarities in me,” she said.
His mental health issues escalated in the 2000s
“Things were rough for me from about 2002 to 2006,” he said. “Rough enough that I should have been in a mental institution under heavy sedation. Things have started to get a little bit easier, but I’m not always in a positive, happy place. I still have some negative thoughts and negative experiences. But positive is starting to win.”
He struggled with substance abuse
The Beach Boys in 1962. (Michael Ochs Archives / Getty Images)
Brian Wilson spoke out about his struggles with substance abuse on multiple occasions throughout his career. In 2016, he opened up to Rolling Stone while promoting his memoir, "I Am Brian Wilson."
"I want people to realize that drugs can be very detrimental and dangerous. I talk a lot about my bad experiences on drugs in the book for that reason," he said at the time.
The musician also warned people not to take psychedelic drugs, calling them "mentally dangerous."
"I regret having taken LSD. It’s a bad drug," he said.
"The cocaine and marijuana and all the rest of the stuff I took really messed with my brain. I couldn’t tell reality from fantasy. Drugs will mess with your head! If there is one thing I could go back in my life and change, I wouldn’t have taken drugs. But it’s too late to turn back now," he said.
He had hearing loss
A doctor diagnosed it as a pinched nerve, but the cause was unclear, author Timothy White wrote in the 1996 book "The Nearest Faraway Place: Brian Wilson, The Beach Boys, and the Southern Californian Experience."
