Will Chesney had been through countless doctors, therapists, antidepressants, and migraine medications after leaving the Navy. He was done trying: “What are you gonna do, give me some more antidepressants? I’m good man. I had my alcohol.” He wouldn’t even fly — he drove to a treatment center in California because he wouldn’t get on a plane or be around people.
What broke through was his best friend saying he wouldn’t go to a treatment program unless Will went with him. This shifted something: from “nothing will work for me” to “this might be possible.” Brett identifies this as the critical pivot — the moment of believing you can go through a process and trust it. The actual modalities (brain treatment, breathing, diet, entheogens) mattered less than this internal shift from learned helplessness to openness.
“The modalities that we do, the methods that we undertake, are less important than that internal shift.”
Will’s advice echoes this: be open-minded, don’t let ego prevent you from trying something that seems stupid, and don’t quit. The work matters, but believing the work can help is prerequisite.
Related Concepts
- Habenula and learned helplessness
- Feeling helplessness creates empowerment
- Sincerity is prerequisite for transformation