Brian Johnson explores Marsha Linehan's life as a hero's journey: institutionalized for two years, she vowed to help others, developed dialectical behavior therapy, and returned to the same institution to share her story. Her struggles became the foundation for a treatment that transformed mental health care.
Hi, this is Brian. Welcome back to another heroic one. In our last plus one we talked about Marcia Linehan, her heroic story. Now I first heard of Marsha and her dialectical behavior therapy from Peter Attia in his great book Outlive. One of the main facets of Attia's approach to longevity is the idea that we need to get our emotional health optimized right alongside our physical and cognitive health. Now, as part of the final chapter on how to optimize our emotional well being, in his book he shares how much he struggled with this aspect of his life and how much Marsha's work inspired him and changed his life. So as I was reading his book, I immediately went to Amazon to find a book on this subject. Note this is what I've done for over two decades. To paraphrase what Joseph Campbell once said, when when we find an author who grabs us, we should read everything they've written. Then we should read everything they've read. Now. The first authors I did this with decades ago, Dan Millman and Paulo Coelho. The most recent example of doing this, Michael Singer. After reading the Untethered Soul and Living Untethered, I got a couple of books he wrote four decades earlier. Check out the notes on Three Essays on Universal Law for more. And of course, Untethered Soul and Living Untethered. I still need to do Notes on the Search for Truth, another old school book. And I still need to read the Surrender Experiment. Now then as I was reading his books, I noticed he dedicated one of those early books to his spiritual inspiration, Yogananda. So I got all of his books I could find, including how to Be a Success, Living Fearlessly, the Law of Success, how to Awaken your Potential and and to be victorious in Life. Check out all those notes linked in this plus one as well. I still need to do notes on his Autobiography of a Yogi, but that's not quite the point of today's plus one. A little more context, then we'll get to it. Now there were a few other books I could have gotten to learn more about Dialectical Behavior therapy or dbt. I decided to start with Marsha's memoir Building a Life Worth Living because a I was thinking about the fact that Taliban Shahar told me that biographies are often the best self development books and b I was grabbed by Angela Duckworth's blurb on the COVID She said, it's a brilliant memoir by one of the greatest pioneers in psychotherapy history. Now the book is extraordinary, truly extraordinary. If you or a loved one has Ever struggled with depression and or suicidal ideation. I think you will love it. And Marsha's story is beyond inspiring. In our last one, I mentioned the fact that she spent two years in a mental health institution. While there she made a vow to God that if she was able to escape her personal hell, she would do everything she could to help others escape their hells as well. Now what I didn't mention was the fact that aside from a few very close friends, she never told anyone that she had wanted to end her own life and had spent two years of her life in a mental health institution. Then 50 years later, exactly 50 years later, after fulfilling her vow to God by creating dialectical behavior therapy, she went back to the same institution to give a speech sharing her personal story and the fact that she had once been at the same institution that now uses her philosophy to heal. Think about how profoundly heroic that is. I have goosebumps right now. Seriously. Pause for a moment and feel the power of an 18 year old young woman nearly ending her life. Spending two years in a mental health institution, then years rebuilding her life, then decades trying to figure out how to systematically help others who were in her situation than succeeding at helping suicidal individuals more than anyone ever has. Then 50 years later going back to the same institution to go public with her story. I literally can't think of a more heroic story than that. The hero goes on a quest, she gets buddies and guides, and of course she faces dragons. She wins and learns and wins and learns and wins and learns and finally tames the dragons. Then with decades of work, she returns with the ultimate boon. Her transformed consciousness and a practical therapeutic philosophy that can help others conquer the same challenges she worked so hard to conquer. And that's today's plus one. But today's plus one isn't about Marsha. It's about you. Perhaps your challenges are the fuel for your growth and are the seeds of the potential gifts you are destined to give to the world. As we consider that possibility, let's remember the most important truth in everything we do together. You are the hero we've been waiting for. Let's do the hard work to forge the strength for two so we can change the world one person at a time. Together. Starting with you and me and all of us today.
