I guess this is my way of having fun in spare time. I tried to remove some jargon.
By the way this is pure speculation and may not reflect reality but merely my observation and hypothesis watching movies/documentary (although I haven’t read any books yet) of Brian Wilson life.

Brian Wilson was born to Murry and Audree Wilson and was the oldest of three children.

He grew up in an abusive environment, with his father being physically and emotionally abusive. Murry held the belief that harsh treatment was necessary to cultivate success. Although Brian’s relationship with his mother was more emotionally supportive, she was unable to intervene in the abuse. This likely contributed to Brian introjecting a critical parental voice, internalising beliefs Murry has said: “If you don’t succeed, you’re nothing — you might as well be dead.”

The only times Murry seemed to bond with Brian were through music, during which the abuse would temporarily cease. These communal moments of singing and performing with his parents and brothers created rare experiences of familial warmth.

A core belief developed: that his self-worth was conditional on musical success, and Brian created a fantasy that such success would eventually bring him love and resolve family discord. This fantasy drove his ambition to become a successful songwriter and musician. In some respects, he owed part of his early success to Murry’s teaching him music, managerial role and industry connections. This creates a hostile-dependent relationship with his father.

However, despite the success of the Beach Boys, Murry’s validation never came. If anything, Murry became increasingly controlling and emotionally abusive, driven by jealousy of his son’s talent. This culminated in Brian firing Murry as the band’s manager — a moment that shattered the illusion that success would lead to his father’s love.

Following this, Brian developed panic disorder, notably triggered by live performance. The tinnitus in his good ear triggered by loud live performances may have retraumatised him by recalling the physical abuse that possibly caused his partial deafness, reinforcing his core belief in the death of the fantasy of paternal love. Noise from an airplane reportedly also triggered similar panic episodes. He likely began self-medicating with recreational drugs to manage his distress and emerging psychiatric symptoms.

Despite this, Brian remained a highly functional songwriter. His familial/band relationships were still intact, and his altered perception through LSD contributed to critically acclaimed music.

During the Smile sessions, he aimed to create a magnum opus that would vindicate his artistic path and secure lasting love and admiration — from the public, from history, from peers, and from his family. However, rejection from his bandmates during this time led to a near-breakup of both the band and the family. The release of Strawberry Fields Forever and later Sgt. Pepper by The Beatles — which he saw as accomplishing what Smile was meant to — likely reactivated the critical voice from his father:
“You’ll never be as good as the Beatles.”
“If you don’t succeed, you’re nothing — you might as well be dead.”

The abandonment of Smile shattered his fantasy: that musical success would bring love. Instead, he experienced rejection from his father, his bandmates/family, and — in his perception — society at large. This triggered his first episode of psychosis, likely exacerbated by LSD and stress.
His symptoms had strong symbolic roots in his childhood trauma:
• Auditory hallucinations commanding him to die reflected his father’s voice and values. “If you don’t succeed, you’re nothing — you might as well be dead.”
• Paranoia about people conspiring against or controlling him echoed his feelings of betrayal and lack of autonomy under Murry.
• Thought broadcasting and insertion (FBI/CIA controlling his thoughts) may symbolise his lifelong lack of control under Murry’s dominance.
• The belief that his music could cause literal fires (e.g., “Mrs. O’Leary’s Cow”) may reflect the opposite outcome of what he hoped music would achieve — love and healing replaced by destruction and alienation symbolising the destruction of his fantasy.

After this psychotic break, Brian did not receive sustained or appropriate psychiatric treatment for many years. His mental and physical health gradually deteriorated. His long history of being controlled by his father, combined with a deep-seated guilt that perhaps if he did listen and obeyed his father he would have loved him, left him vulnerable to Eugene Landy, a psychologist who mirrored Murry’s coercive control.

Though Landy initially activated Brian’s behaviour and restored some functioning, the relationship became exploitative. Brian, unable to assert boundaries due to lifelong conditioning, could not say no. Landy administered high doses of antipsychotic medications without legal or ethical oversight, likely contributing to tardive dyskinesia, parkinsonism, and emotional blunting.

Brian was eventually rescued from Landy’s control with the help of Melinda Ledbetter, his future wife. In some ways, Melinda symbolised a corrective emotional experience — a version of the mother figure Brian longed for: nurturing and emotionally supportive like Audree, but also able to intervene and protect him, unlike Audree’s passivity with dealing with Murry’s abuse.

With Melinda’s support, proper psychiatric care, and the completion of Smile in 2004, Brian achieved a sense of resolution. Completing Smile may have helped repair his fractured self-narrative, allowing him to reclaim his identity as a musician and gain symbolic closure.