Skip to main content

[@hubermanlab] How to Make Yourself Unbreakable | DJ Shipley

· 12 min read
[@hubermanlab] Summarizer
Video Bot

@hubermanlab - "How to Make Yourself Unbreakable | DJ Shipley"

Link: https://youtu.be/WwRc2SEo-VI

Short Summary​

Here's a concise executive summary of the provided YouTube video transcript:

This Huberman Lab podcast episode features retired Navy SEAL DJ Shipley discussing his experiences with trauma, PTSD, addiction, and how he structures his days with specific physical and mental routines to optimize mindset, performance, and relationships. Shipley also details his journey with ibogaine and DMT treatments, emphasizing their potential to help veterans overcome mental health challenges while highlighting the importance of support systems and actionable strategies for self-improvement.

Key Quotes​

Okay, here are 5 direct quotes from the transcript that I found particularly insightful or impactful:

  1. "I felt helpless, you know? I'm getting rounds poured all over me. And at a certain point, you just go, I'd rather run back into the front of this thing and get killed with all of them than be the lone survivor." This quote reveals the intense psychological pressure and the strong sense of camaraderie experienced in combat situations.

  2. "I have to be selfish right now in order to be selfless later." This quote offers a powerful perspective on self-care, highlighting the necessity of prioritizing one's own well-being to effectively support others.

  3. "They don't need a commando. They don't need a business owner. They don't need an entrepreneur. They need a dude that's going to have a tea party right now or a guy that's going to talk about how difficult navigating 7th grade is." This quote underscores the importance of being fully present and adapting to the specific needs of loved ones in different roles, especially after high-intensity work.

  4. "The culture of the SEAL teams was worth every ounce you had to pay for it." This emphasizes the profound value and loyalty within the teams, which can outweigh even the most difficult personal sacrifices.

  5. "And that's where the compartmentalization really took hold. You have to be able to leave Virginia Beach, your wife, your two kids, and completely block them out." This quote sheds light on the necessity of creating mental separation between personal life and military operations to protect one's mind and emotions during dangerous situations.

Detailed Summary​

Okay, here is a detailed summary of the YouTube video transcript in bullet points:

Key Topics:

  • Mental health, physical health, and spiritual health.
  • Structuring daily routines to maximize mindset, physical/mental health, and performance.
  • The importance of specific physical steps to shift the mind from negative states to clarity and focus.
  • DJ's personal journey in the SEAL teams, including victories, challenges, and losses.
  • Addiction, PTSD, depression, and potential new medical treatments involving Ibigane and DMT.
  • The importance of body awareness.

Arguments and Information:

  • DJ's Background & Military Experience:

    • Retired Navy SEAL after 17 years, including time as a Tier 1 operator.
    • Grew up in a Navy SEAL family. His dad was in the SEAL teams.
    • Had a harrowing experience in his second deployment in Iraq involving a close fire mission with AC130 gunship where he felt helpless.
    • Describes being 19 and stormtrooping Iraq and seeing friends get blown up.
    • Participated in many operations, including ones that took a toll on his physical and mental health.

  • Mental Health & Physical Connection:

    • Highlights the link between physical activity and mental well-being.
    • At his lowest mental point, he had no physical connection due to injury/surgery.
    • Physical training, initially done for the group, now is for betterment of family/tribe.

  • Daily Routines (Evening & Morning):

    • Emphasizes the importance of structure.
    • Evening Routine: Crucial for a successful morning. Laying out clothes, preparing water/pills to control things within your control.
    • Morning Routine: Wake up at 5:00 AM regardless of bedtime. Consistent routine, regardless.
    • Unplug phone, brush teeth, take pills, get dressed in a specific order.
    • The goal is to complete 25 controllable tasks before starting the day.
    • Avoid distractions and unnecessary conversations in the morning to maintain focus.
    • Stacking 'micro wins' sets a positive framework for the day.
    • Power down home life by rehearsing everything that's going to happen when you hit the garage door opener.

  • Mindset & Selfishness:

    • Admits the routine can seem selfish, as it prioritizes self-optimization.
    • Needs to be selfish to be selfless later to be the best version of himself.
    • Blocks out thoughts of wife/kids in the early morning to optimize efficiency.
    • Similarly, focuses solely on work between 10 AM and 6 PM, then switches to family time.

  • Transitioning Between Work & Family:

    • Specifically rehearses interactions with family before entering the house.
    • Slam the car in park, put phone on do not disturb. Put on music that calms me down.
    • Makes a conscious effort to be present and give his full attention to wife and children.
    • Wife gets 10 minute walk to vent through her day. He gets 10 minute walk to do the same.
    • He is accountable for every minute in his day and attempts to maximize opportunity to be present.

  • To-Dos vs. To-NOT-Dos:

    • Avoiding social media and negative energy before 10:00 AM. He admits he is susceptible to negative energy.
    • Importance of wife understanding boundaries and withholding negative information until he's ready.
    • No calls, no meetings before 10am to control that morning routine.

  • Deviation from the Routine:

    • Adjustments are made based on the situation.
    • Wife knows his morning routine is non-negotiable.
    • Unracking at 07 is non-negotiable.

  • The "Unconscious Genius" of the Teams:

    • Team practices are built around an "unconscious genius."
    • The understanding that you're very context dependent, need to control internal and external factors.
    • Even strong-minded people need structure to stay on track.

  • Physical Fitness:

    • Daily fitness is a cornerstone of the SEAL lifestyle, continued after service.
    • Personal experience returning from injuries, and re-linking physical activity with positive mental health.
    • Workout with physical therapist Vernon Griffith saved his life.

  • Workout Program (Vernon Griffith):

    • Individualized based on limitations (injuries). Builds confidence and strength.
    • Mondays: Pull day.
    • Tuesdays: Press day (heavy upper body).
    • Wednesdays: Upper/Lower body dissociation, plyometrics. Focuses on rotational and anti-rotational work.
    • Thursdays: Brutal leg day.
    • Fridays: Arm day, accessory work, sprints.

  • Why Guys Transition Out and Lose Fitness:

    • Excuses include injuries, lack of motivation, and perceived lack of necessity.
    • Emphasis on longevity and being an asset to family.

  • Body Awareness:

    • Fitness leads to heightened body awareness, enabling early identification of issues.
    • Knowing the difference between something that hurts versus an injury.

  • Unracking at 07:

    • Workout starts, phone is off (except for the training app).

  • Transition to SEAL Teams and the Iraq War:

    • Graduates at 17 years old then goes to SEAL training then gets stationed at SEAL Team 10 and deploys in 2005.

  • BUDS (Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training):

    • Acknowledges the brutality of BUDS, calling it a crucial program.
    • Self-selection process, where people quit rather than being asked to leave.
    • Having a strong mental component is key, as many physically fit people quit.
    • Needs to not mind being miserable. Embrace it. Embrace the suffering.
    • The guys that are the greatest in their hometown are all doing that. It is A LOT of pressure.

  • Lone Survivor:

    • Describes the impact of Operation Red Wings and the loss of SEAL team members on the community.
    • Stresses the importance of compartmentalization during high-stress situations.

  • Life During the GWOT:

    • You need to be quick and be able to compartmentalize.
    • If you can’t control it then don’t think about it.

  • Extortion 17:

    • Discusses the impact of the helicopter downing that killed 31 people in Afghanistan in 2011.
    • Describes the grief and anger following the incident and the subsequent conspiracy theories.
    • Having to fill those guys from other squadrons and one of my best friends dies.

  • Loss of Nick Czech:

    • Shares the pain of losing a close friend in a hostage rescue operation.
    • The death of Nick was devastating to their friends and family. He truly represented the essence of being a Navy SEAL.
    • The hardest thing I’ve ever had to do was tell her it wasn’t going to happen to me after he died.
    • Compartmentalization: You must be able to leave Virginia Beach and block them out.

  • Growing Up With A Dad in the SEAL Teams:

    • His dad didn’t have the same experience during wartime so his experience has been different.

  • Getting Electrocuted:

    • After getting electrocuted, he met Vernon again who helped him rebuild himself and has been with him since then and hasn’t missed a session since then. He saved his life.

  • Medication:

    • Was taking heavy does of symbalta, aderall, gabapentin and many others.
    • They said you can’t take these 4 medications in combination so they sent him down to a neuro behavioral ward and he gets med washed out.

  • Art Therapy:

    • While getting med washed out, he got into art therapy. Art therapy helped him get through his depression and helped him start his LLC.

  • Father’s Day:

    • He was burning skateboards when he touched leads and got electrocuted.
    • Electricity blew out of his fingers and thumbs. Lost feeling in hands.
    • Everything looked like barbecue after it.
    • They had put the bolts into double slings and he couldn’t move.

  • Physical Posture:

    • Emphasizes the connection between physical posture and mental state.
    • Maintaining good posture throughout the day helps handle stress and negativity.
    • Lying down in bed on one's phone on social media is a very dangerous posture because it does the opposite.

  • Marcus and Amber Capone/Veteran Solutions:

    • Discusses their work and the upcoming Netflix film.
    • Highlights the potential of Ibigane and DMT to address addiction and PTSD in veterans.

  • Ibigane and 5-MeO-DMT:

    • Describes his own experience with the Ibogaine treatment and his subsequent recovery.
    • Stresses that Ibigane is not a recreational experience.
    • He says to just do the medicine.

  • After Taking Ibigane & DMT:

    • I felt absolutely terrible after that because everything I had ever done negative had just erupted back and that this was what I did to my family.
    • But at the same token it was the only time he had ever been homesick.
    • Everyone gets the exact same results. 2 weeks, back in control.
    • He cut out toxicity out of his life and then came home and told her and then that was that.

  • Taking the New Me Out to the World:

    • Just because the results are so dramatic, everybody started to want it. Now they had a network running these. You guys were doing great.
    • The most valuable thing he’s learned, the toxicity. You learn how bad toxcity is.
    • It’s the medicine to save humanity.

  • Working With the Government and Getting Funding:

    • They are now doing clinical trials, research.
    • The Navy SEAL foundation will give money to that. Recon foundation the Wounded Warrior Project.

  • Robert Heath & Anger:

  • Human’s crave anger and if you give them enough you can do anything that you want.

  • Sarah Wilkinson and Chad:

    • He gets choked up saying their names.

  • GBRS:

    • Now everything he does is going to the greatest and is going to be pure.

  • Physical Standards & GBRS Program:

    • The goal of the test.
    • The worst situation, being a big fish in a small pond is not something desirable.
    • Details of the broad jump test.
    • Details of the body weight bench press test.
    • Details of the pull-up test.
    • Details of the farmer carry test.
    • Details of the trap bar deadlift test.
    • Details of the plank test.
    • Details of the 800 meter run test.
    • You can either be that best fireman in the world or an out of shape person.
    • Being able to say that “We can” is very empowering.
    • You need to train 52 weeks out of the year. There’s no off season.

  • Grumbling and Mumbling:

    • You can put a dog on it but in the end its still a pig.
    • The standard has drifted very far in the US.
    • It is what you project to the world.

  • What You Take Seriously:

    • Taking himself seriously not just his feelings.
    • You have to value and love yourself.
    • You don’t get to not do anything.
    • The power of that 20 min walk together has been amazing for the marriage.
    • And has given this to everyone else.

  • The Hats:

    • Describes a particular hat that they sell and that it signifies patriotism.
    • 25,000 stitches and that if you dishonor the USA that they will come and take off the hat.
    • And that everyone needs to value where they come from.