A Beautiful Mind and the Illustration of Schizophrenia

1633 Words4 Pages

Schizophrenia is a disease that plagues many individuals today and though medications can help alleviate the symptoms there is no known cure for the illness. There are a multitude of representations of schizophrenia in the media. This paper will focus on A Beautiful Mind; a film that focuses on John Forbes Nash Jr. Nash was a mentally gifted individual. He attended Princeton and his mathematical work has changed society greatly. In the movie, Russell Crowe played John Nash in A Beautiful Mind. Throughout the movie Crowe did an amazing job depicting the multiple symptoms of schizophrenia. Within this paper I will focus on the positive symptoms, negative symptoms, positive hallucinations, effects of medication, and the time frame of the illness represented in the film.
The film shows many positive symptoms of schizophrenia such as delusions of grandeur, delusions of influence, and persecutory delusions. Positive symptoms of schizophrenia are symptoms that are present in an individual due to the illness. In the movie Nash hallucinates an individual named William Parcher, played by Ed Harris. Parcher works for the United States Department of Defense. He enlists Nash’s help in breaking a Russian code in order to find a portable atomic bomb. The entire situation of the portable atomic bomb is a figment of Nash’s mind. This specific figment falls into the category of delusions of grandeur. The delusion of grandeur entails that an individual begins to think more highly of themselves, and believes that they are more important than other individuals in society. Nash believes that he is the most gifted mathematician, and he is the only individual who can break the Russian codes which are hidden in common day written media. During a mult...

... middle of paper ...

...le to concisely communicate their feelings to another party. While there are individuals who have trouble communicating there are individuals like John Nash who have power to communicate but are troubled with other symptoms of schizophrenia such as persecutory delusions. In short I have learned that mental disorders are complex; therapists must approach every disorder with the same amount of seriousness so that they can be helpful to their patients. Also the restrictions for each disorder must be specific and narrow so that it is possible to accurately diagnose a patient and avoid a misdiagnosis. By learning about the ridged qualifications for different illnesses I have gained a greater grasp on the biological aspect of mental disorders, and how different medication can interact internally within different chemical imbalances in the body.

Show More
Related

  • Case Study of Gerald: Living with Schizophrenia

    2528 Words  | 6 Pages

    My patient Gerald –according to the video- is diagnosed with a textbook case schizophrenia. He exhibits paranoid thinking and his speech is disorganized, his thoughts are loosely connected, and he has formed delusions, he exhibits mood disturbances, and exhibits disordered behaviors (Schizophrenia: Gerald, Part 1). The goal for Gerald is multi-factorial; first, it is important to place into context that Gerald’s schizophrenia is refractory to pharmacological management. Due to Gerald’s complex presentation of multiple symptoms, the goal for the interaction is improved m...

    Read More

  • Schizophrenia In Mary Katherine Blackwood's We Have Always Lived In The Castle

    594 Words  | 2 Pages

    Some of the most common symptoms of schizophrenia include delusions that a major catastrophe is about to occur and hallucinations, seeing or hearing something that does not exist. These traits were repeatedly shown in the novel and aid the reader

    Read More

  • Schizophrenia Case Study: Janet's Mental Condition

    837 Words  | 2 Pages

    According to (Barlow, 2001), Schizophrenia is a psychological or mental disorder that makes the patient recognize real things and to have abnormal social behavior. Schizophrenia is characterized by symptoms such as confused thinking, hallucinations, false beliefs, demotivation, reduced social interaction and emotional expressions (Linkov, 2008). Diagnosis of this disorder is done through observation of patient’s behavior, and previously reported experiences (Mothersill, 2007). In this paper, therefore, my primary goal is to discuss Schizophrenia and how this condition is diagnosed and treated.

    Read More

  • Essay 2

    900 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the movie A Beautiful Mind, the description of schizophrenia is shown in many accurate ways. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) states that the symptoms of this disease are delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, or unorganized or catatonic behavior. People with schizophrenia are also socially withdrawn and awkward when in contact with other people. These traits of the sickness are shown in detail throughout the movie by way of the character John Nash’s struggle with the disease. Nash is a very intelligent professor but believes he is working with the government to foil a Soviet attack plot. Nash eventually goes onto win a Nobel Prize for one of his theories. The movie shows the effects of schizophrenia on not only one man, but also on the friends and family of the ill individual. Treatment is discussed but not to any great length due to him ignoring the doctor’s orders on medication. Overall the movie shows some very prevalent traits of the disease in great detail during certain parts of the film.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Schizophrenia In A Beautiful Mind

    1362 Words  | 3 Pages

    The movie, A Beautiful Mind, depicts the life of John Nash and his struggle with the disorder, showing the symptoms and treatment methods used during the time period. In the movie, the main character, John Nash, experiences positive symptoms in which bizarre additions are added to the person’s behavior like disorganized thinking or in Nash’s case, hallucinations. At one point in the movie, John could be considered to have tactile hallucinations (sensations of tingling, burning) mixed with his visual and auditory ones when Parcher implants a device into his arm, causing a stinging or painful sensation. His visual and auditory hallucinations, although auditory hallucinations are considered more common in schizophrenics, the audience is not aware of these symptoms until mid-way through the movie, however, the nonexistent “people” he sees start in grad school with the first one being Charles Herman, his “roommate.” During this time, the main character would be in the prodromal stage of the disorder where the function is decreasing and the symptoms come on gradually at a rate unnoticeable to others, because he is

    Read More

  • Schizophrenia in A Beautiful Mind

    906 Words  | 2 Pages

    This hallucination of Ed Harris is the key factor in Nash’s delusional thinking. He has delusions of being a secret government aide that is helping the U.S. find bombs throughout the country that were placed here by the Russians. Nash hallucinates that Ed Harris places a device inside his arm that allows him to see a code under an ultra-violet light. This device allows Nash to gain entrance to a secret location where he is to leave the cracked codes. In reality this secret location is an abandoned, dilapidated mansion, and the key- pad that Nash types his code into no longer functions. Nash’s code breaking abilities are partly made possible by his hallucinations. The codes pop out of the paper to him and everything makes sense. Even though the codes are imaginary since there was no secret- code- breaking- project underway, Nash figures out mathematical formulas and actually modifies a theory that had been accepted in its field. He...

    Read More

  • The Pros and Cons of Classification Systems in Psychiatry

    1536 Words  | 4 Pages

    It aids us to communicate our understanding with other experts. Trull (2004, pp. 125-126) referred to diagnosis as “verbal shorthand” for elucidating the features of a particular mental disorder [2]. It will be challenging for us to convey schizophrenia to other professionals just by using the clinical features, without a diagnosis. Listening to a diagnosis, immediately conjures up a doppelganger in our mind about what the patient can be suffering from.

    Read More

  • John Nash, A Beautiful Mind

    1632 Words  | 4 Pages

    “A Beautiful Mind” is a remarkable movie that sheds light on a complicated and debilitating disorder, in which the person seems to have no control over. It is enlightening and heart warming, I would highly recommend this movie. I must admit, the first time I watch the movie, I went into it not knowing anything about schizophrenia and when it was over, I still felt like I didn’t fully understand the disorder; however, the second time I watched with the knowledge of what schizophrenia is and all of the various symptoms and I find it astonishing that Nash was able to overcome the disorder by sheer willpower over his own mind, as he chose to ignore the voices in his head.

    Read More

  • A Beautiful Mind Teaches us About Suffering from Schizophrenia

    437 Words  | 1 Pages

    “A Beautiful Mind” is a movie by director Ron Howard, which is based on the biography of a mathematical genius John Forbes Nash, Jr, played by Russell Crowe. Jennifer Connelly plays the role of Alicia Larde, wife of John Nash. John is a schizophrenic. He received the Nobel Prize for Economics in 1994 for developing the “game theory”. This is a movie about how schizophrenia affects the functioning of the person as well as their family. Though we will never know what it is actually like to suffer from this disorder, this movie tries to portray the experiences of a schizophrenic. This movie also tries to encourage people to get help because schizophrenia can be treated though not cured. John is a graduate student at Princeton University. He is a mathematical genius who is trying to develop an original idea. Like many cases of schizophrenia, his symptoms start to begin in his 20s, which is evident by the fact that Charles Herman is his imaginary friend, his roommate from Princeton. Besides, the way he talks and walks is somewhat eccentric. He is very competitive. He had schizophrenia long before he was diagnosed with it. It takes him a while to realize his problems after being diagnosed with schizophrenia.

    Read More

  • A Case Study of John Forbes Nash Junior from A Beautiful Mind

    699 Words  | 2 Pages

    The film, A Beautiful Mind (2001) is the fictional account of the life of a mathematician and the Nobel Prize-winning economist, John Forbes Nash, Jr. in his struggles with schizophrenia. The film was inspired from the unauthorized biography of the same name written by Sylvia Nasar (Wikipedia). Schizophrenia is a chronic brain disorder through which a person has difficulty in interpreting reality which may result to the combinations of hallucinations, delusions, and disordered thinking and behavior though this disease is not associated and cannot be referred to with split-personality but it is solely pertinent to disruption of natural balance of thinking and emotions (Mayo Clinic). This case study will feature the titular character of the film (stated above), John Forbes Nash, Jr. The observations and assessments as well as other useful information covered in this study were all based upon the film, A Beautiful Mind (2001).

    Read More

  • A Beautiful Mind

    751 Words  | 2 Pages

    The movie "A Beautiful Mind" tells the story of Nobel Prize winner John Nash's struggle with schizophrenia. It follows his journey from the point where he is not even aware he has schizophrenia, to the point where Nash and his wife find a way to manage his condition. The movie provides a lot of information and insight into the psychological condition of schizophrenia, including information on the symptoms, the treatment and cures, the life for the individual and for the individual's family. The movie is effective at demonstrating various concepts related to schizophrenia, and provides an insight into the disease of schizophrenia.

    Read More

  • A Study of John Nash

    1190 Words  | 3 Pages

    Nasar, S. (2001).A beautiful mind: the life of mathematical genius and nobel laureate john nash.

    Read More

  • Psychological Analysis: Beautiful Mind and Stanford Prison Study

    1124 Words  | 3 Pages

    The movie Beautiful Mind is about Dr. John Nash who is a mathematical genius and a natural code breaker, at least in his own mind. He was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia which is a psychological disorder. According to Baird (2011), paranoid schizophrenia is when a person has “delusions of grandeur and persecution often accompanied by hallucinations” (p. 273). The person has a split from real life circumstances, where their new reality becomes actual fact to them.

    Read More

  • Paranoid Schizophrenia in A Beautiful Mind

    1366 Words  | 3 Pages

    As portrayed in A Beautiful Mind, John Nash is clearly suffering from Paranoid Schizophrenia, although a case could possibly be made for a secondary diagnosis of OCD. His condition is clearly displayed through a pattern of behavior and symptoms including: distorted perceptions of reality, social withdrawal, paranoia, hallucinations, self-inflicted harm and general irrational behavior. He imagines 3 specific individuals throughout the movie, who accompany him throughout the remainder of his life. He avoids social situations, and when faced with them, has a difficult time relating to others, such as approaching a woman in a bar and forwardly asking to skip the usual pleasantries and go straight to sex. Unsurprisingly, this approach fails to achieve his goal. Paranoia is also on display on several occasions, seeing people watching him, believing himself to be spied upon, seeing shadowy figures outside his home. He also believed that an object had been implanted into his arm, prompting him to tear his skin apart in order to remove the object, which was never there to begin with.

    Read More

  • Critical Analysis Of A Beautiful Mind

    1041 Words  | 3 Pages

    The movie A Beautiful Mind, directed by Ron Howard, tells the story of Nobel Prize winner, and mathematician, John Nash’s struggle with schizophrenia. The audience is taken through Nash’s life from the moment his hallucinations started to the moment they became out of control. He was forced to learn to live with his illness and learn to control it with the help of Alicia. Throughout the movie the audience learns Nash’s roommate Charles is just a hallucination, and then we learn that most of what the audience has seen from Nash’s perspective is just a hallucination. Nash had a way of working with numbers and he never let his disease get in the way of him doing math. Throughout the movie the audience is shown how impactful and inspirational John Nash was on many people even though he had a huge obstacle to overcome.

    Read More

More about A Beautiful Mind and the Illustration of Schizophrenia

Open Document