A Beautiful Mind: Schizophrenia's Troubling Past

Paranoia, hallucinations, emotional withdrawal - . fFor victims of schizophrenia everyday life is a strange and terrifying journey. Schizophrenia shatters people’s ability to feel, to communicate, to understand or interact with the everyday world. The symptoms represent what we know best about the disease however no one knows exactly why it strikes, who the next victim will be and how to reverse its life ruining effects.

Our comprehension of human experience can be expanded through the viewing of a world outside our own. In A Beautiful Mind, directed by Ron Howard, a differing world engulfed with mental illness has been depicted through the life of mathematician John Nash and the subsequent human experience of the relationships built around it and the struggles associated. It is the responders’ observation of a differing world that leads to a greater understanding of the mental illness and the impact of relationships while allowing me to gain a greater compassion for those who suffer from mental illness.

As medical advances are being made, it makes the treating of diseases easier and easier. Mental hospitals have changed the way the treat a patient’s illness considerably compared to the hospital described in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.

In the movie A Beautiful Mind, which primarily takes place in the 1950s, John Nash exhibits signs of schizophrenia. He shows both positive and negative signs of the disorder. However, the movie does not portray all symptoms of schizophrenia accurately. Throughout Nash’s life-long battle with his illness, his family is dramatically affected. Overall, the movie implements a positive stigma of the disorder. While John Nash’s journey with his illness is not an entirely accurate depiction, the movie gives a positive light and awareness to schizophrenia.

According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, schizophrenia is characterized by the development of two or more symptoms of the following symptoms in a one-month period. The symptoms most characteristic of schizophrenia are delusions, hallucinations, and/or disorganized speech. Schizophrenia has always been a disorder shrouded in mystery. There have been many hypotheses from varying perspectives proposing different sources of causation for schizophrenia. Some of these hypotheses have considerable amounts of research, while some lack support. To fully comprehend and appreciate the disorder, it is important to take into consideration its history. In this way, the full extent to which each branch of the disorder has developed can be

Over the last few decades Schizophrenia has become embedded in mainstream vernacular as any behavior or emotional response that is out of touch with reality. However even with its popularity heightened through movies and headline news stories, schizophrenia is still one of the most enigmatic and least understood disorders of the brain. With current research focused on the role of neurobiology and functioning on a cellular level, investigative analysis has merited new innovations towards its source, however a single organic cause for the disorder still eludes scientists. Although the foundation of the affliction is still unknown, its effects are well documented and over the next few pages will show the changes in the brain as the disease

In 2001, actor Russell Crowe played schizophrenic mathematician John Nash in the movie A Beautiful Mind. The movie is based on a true story and gave viewers insight into the condition known as schizophrenia. Nash had hallucinations and heard voices, but overcame these obstacles and went on to become a Princeton professor and was awarded the Nobel Prize.

The word schizophrenia is less than 100 years old. Schizophrenia is a mentality or approach characterized by inconsistent or contradictory elements. Depression, dementia, and thought disturbances that are found in schizophrenia and are described in the Book of Hearts. The disorder was noticed as symptoms of the heart and the uterus and originating from the blood vessels or from purulence, fecal matter, a poison, demons.

Schizophrenia is a major psychiatric disorder that can be crippiling, and is one of top 10 disabilites in the world (Bhargav, Nagendra, Gangadhar, and Nagarathna, 2014). Schizophrenia usually effects males in the early 20 's and women in their late 20 's. Symptoms include: delusions, hallucinations, disorganized thinking (speech), and abnormal motor behavior (mayo clinic). Even with proper treatment patients still experience symptoms related to their disorder. Proper medication can help with symptoms, but sometimes this comes with cost of side effects that make a patient not even want to take the medicine. There is also the cost of paying for a doctor, which can be quite expensive. The initial consultation can cost up to three hundred dollars with each subsequent visit costing 100 dollars. There is also the stigma that goes along with Schizophrenia. I 'm sure everyone has seen the man or woman walking down the street talking to someone that isn 't there, this person could appear quite normal with help. Schizophrenics are ordinary people that have a disorder, and with proper treatment can function in society. As mentioned earlier even with proper treatment individuals with Schizophrenia still experience negative symptoms; as a result a lot of individuals with Schizophrenia are seeking add on treatments, including myself being diagnosed with Schizophrenia at the age of 21. Add on treatments are treatments, such as yoga, that go hand in hand with everyday

“A Beautiful mind” is a story based on the life of John Forbes Nash, who is a famous mathematician. Unfortunately, he is suffering from paranoid schizophrenia that majorly affects his personal and social life. Schizophrenia is a psychological disorder in which the patient’s ability to function is impaired by severely distorted beliefs, perceptions, and thought processes (Hockenbury, 2010).

Treatment today can still be a long and draining process of trial and error to find the right medications which can last for years. However, due to the research and various studies that have been conducted throughout several centuries, there has been a tremendous growth of understanding of the mental illness and have found better ways to treat it for individuals who are struggling with such a mental disorder. Research on schizophrenia and the way to treat it is still something of a mystery even though progress has vastly been made. Currently, there is still no cure for schizophrenia. Studies are continuously being done and progress continues to be made in terms of better understanding the disorder, however, there is still much to learn. Hopefully, as time goes on, treatment options will continue to improve and ultimately, either a cure or a way to prevent the disorder will be

The film “A Beautiful Mind” is about the life of Nobel prize winner John Nash Jr who suffered with schizophrenia. The movie starts as Nash has entered graduate school at Princeton, he was a mathematical genius who made a discovery early I his career of an original idea that helped him earn international acclaim. The socially awkward genius soon found himself on a painful journey of self-discovery. John Nash made up a life that was not real, his friends and secrete job were also not real. He could not distinguish between what was real, imaginary and made up in his head. His diagnosis of schizophrenia interfered with his everyday life and overall caused him to break until he decided to ignore what would forever haunt him.

Inspired by the true story of famed mathematical genius John Nash, A Beautiful Mind explores the topic of schizophrenia, starting with John’s initial break while at graduate school, following him throughout life. In addition to a theatrical representation of experiencing schizophrenia, this story encapsulates what it is like to live with, be friends with, and work with someone who suffers from schizophrenia, while also demonstrating popular treatments and practices of the 1950s. Schizophrenia is a mental illness illustrated by the presence of hallucinations, cognitive decline, social withdrawal, and delusions and has symptoms characterized by three main categories: positive symptoms, negative symptoms, and disorganized symptoms (Lambert & Kinsley,

“A Beautiful Mind” expresses the life of John Nash, a genius mathematician, who struggles with the severe disorder of schizophrenia. Throughout the film, we not only see John’s daily struggles, but the affects of his mental illness on his friends and loved ones as well. John’s hallucinations appear to be very realistic but are unfortunately only indications of his mental disorder. In the beginning, we see John’s attempts to socialize, but we immediately realize his views and ideas are different from those around him. Charles, one of John’s only friends, is an imaginative figure that John sees as a person who is always there for him and a person he tells everything to.

In the movie, "A Beautiful Mind", the main character, John Nash, is a mathematician who suffers from schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is actually the most chronic and disabling of the major mental illnesses and it distorts the way a person thinks, acts, expresses emotions, interprets reality and relates to others.