Background Information
The main character of “A Beautiful Mind,” John Nash, was in his early twenties at the start of the movie. Nash recently enrolled in Princeton College to study mathematics at the film’s beginning. Nash was of the white race. Nash attended a prominent school, proving that he came from an affluent family. Nash was motivated to accomplish something remarkable to get notoriety. Nash’s aspirations caused him to withdraw from his classmates and spend much time reading books. After graduating from college, he married Alicia while working as a professor at Princeton. Nash began to experience hallucinations and illusions of persecution. Later, Dr. Rosen determined that Nash had schizophrenia. He learned to live with schizophrenia by ignoring delusions during a protracted battle with the illness and institutionalization (Howard, 2001). Until his retirement, Nash was allowed to continue his teaching profession. Nash’s dedication earned him a Nobel Prize in 1994.
Presenting Problem
Nash published a paper that reshaped current economic theory while pursuing doctoral studies at Princeton University. He combined his mathematical prowess with inventiveness (Grazer & Howard, 2001). Because of this, he was allowed to join the Massachusetts Institute of Technology faculty, where he created mathematical ideas (Grazer & Howard, 2001). He starts experiencing hallucinations about being hired by the department of defense to decipher Russian codes hidden in newspapers while he is still a professor. He is forcibly sent to a mental facility when his paranoia and delusions grow more obvious. When Nash slices through his arm to remove the implant he thinks is there, he realizes (with the help of his wife) that he is unwell. For a while, he had thought he was being kept captive by Russian agents trying to deceive him into thinking he was mentally ill (Grazer & Howard, 2001). Finally, he consents to insulin shock treatment and antipsychotic drugs to address his mental disorder (Grazer & Howard, 2001). Mrs. Nash learns from the psychiatrist that he could have gone without a diagnosis. His behavior may have just been attributed to genius because many brilliant individuals appear quirky to others (Grazer & Howard, 2001). Nash resolves to reject his hallucinations rationally after relocating back with his family and suffering a relapse after stopping his medicine. He decides to do this because his prescription prevents him from performing his job, caring for the baby, or engaging in sexual activity with his wife (Grazer & Howard, 2001). He evaluates the dangers and concludes that the risk of side effects surpasses the possibility of delusions. He then makes a concerted effort to independently discriminate between dream and reality (Grazer & Howard, 2001). He can finally pick up where he left off at Princeton University and eventually accepts an academic post. By the film’s end, John Nash has won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, the recognition he has long craved and earned.
Diagnosis
In the movie A Beautiful Mind, John Nash’s character has a schizophrenia diagnosis. His symptoms included sensory, auditory, and visual hallucinations, sad behavior, living alone, paranoia, and grandiose delusions. It was hard for him to discern between truth and fiction since everyday items seemed to have gained meaning (Grazer & Howard, 2001). He could have had disordered speech, but the movie did not clarify that symptom. Disorganized motor symptoms were another sign that John Nash did not portray in the movie. Maybe John had these symptoms, but the movie did not show them, so maybe he did not. Given that schizophrenia has multiple variations and severities, not every individual exhibits every symptom or all of the symptoms (Dozois, 2015).
Bipolar disorder should be taken into account as another diagnosis. Extreme mood swings between manic episodes and severe depression characterize bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorder can include hallucinations, hurried speech, rushing thoughts, and focus issues (Dozois, 2015). The diagnosis would be incorrect even if some of these symptoms could explain part of John Nash’s behavior. It is impossible to dispute Nash’s paranoid schizophrenia diagnosis. His hallucinations are paranoid, he has delusions of grandeur, and he cannot discriminate between fiction and reality. He also exhibits reckless behavior, including excessive spending and promiscuity, clear sleep, pressurized speech, and reckless behavior (Dozois, 2015). Behaviors linked to bipolar illness are not signs of schizophrenia. Additionally, John Nash did not appear to be experiencing a manic episode, which is marked by an elevated mood, a diminished need for sleep, hurried speech, and risky behavior, including excessive spending and promiscuity (Dozois, 2015). Based on the evidence, the actor’s representation of schizophrenia is largely realistic. The actor who played John Nash performed in a way that allowed the audience to recognize that he had schizophrenia. Based on textbook explanations, the depiction of hallucinations, paranoia, and delusions of grandeur sounded quite plausible. Although extraordinarily intelligent, John Nash was undoubtedly afflicted by the signs of schizophrenia and its aftereffects.
Biases in Nash’s Diagnosis
The film provides skewed information on Nash’s diagnosis. Patients with paranoid schizophrenia, for example, exhibit auditory schizophrenia as well as other symptoms. Nash, on the other hand, experiences a visual hallucination. It is critical for the movie’s objective to provide visual stimulation to the viewers so that they can grasp the film. This is an example of presentation bias when something is missing but is offered to help the viewer comprehend the film.
Another bias is that Nash was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia before receiving the supporting manifestations. Paranoid schizophrenia, for example, must exhibit strange behavior in addition to delusion and auditory hallucination (Prasetya et al., 2022). Nash did not exhibit any unusual behavior till later. Nash lectured without suspicious conduct about his mental health during his capture, diagnosis, and treatment (Howard, 2001). As a result, Dr. Rosen lacked sufficient evidence to diagnose paranoid schizophrenia.
Etiology
Stress was one of the etiological factors for the start of John Nash’s schizophrenia depicted in the film. John was under pressure from his job, his upcoming kid, and his studies. Not many etiological elements were explicitly mentioned in the movie, although many may have been (Dozois, 2015). Biological vulnerabilities, harmful social influences, and stressful life experiences are some of the etiological reasons for schizophrenia. The biological model is a crucial theoretical viewpoint in the emergence of John Nash’s disorder. The biological model focuses on endocrine abnormalities, peripheral nervous system control issues, and brain dysfunction. Given genes’ role in the development of schizophrenia, this approach merits careful consideration. Despite being a significant influence, it is not the sole one. The biological model also considers the interplay between genotype and environment, which suggests that “genes may impact behaviors that lead to environmental stresses, which, in turn, raise the risk of psychopathology” (Dozois, 2015, p.32). Though they were certainly there in the form of both genes and environment, the film did not show many etiological aspects that led to John Nash developing schizophrenia.
Treatment
The best method for treating paranoid schizophrenia is to take neuroleptics or 5-HT2A for the rest of one’s life (Bajouco & Mota, 2022). The goal of treatment is to reduce auditory hallucinations and paranoid delusions such that, as long as the patient takes the recommended medicine, they may lead a normal life. Since most patients might not accept the truth, it is best to have a second person, such as a private doctor or a close member, take care of the patient. Extrapyramidal symptoms are the direct adverse effects of the medications. Instead of the normal neuroleptic side effects of movement disorders, some individuals may choose to experience hallucinations. Some paranoid schizophrenia patients have extrapyramidal symptoms to a greater or lesser extent than others, which may cause them to experience hallucinations instead. In addition to medication, counseling, electroconvulsive therapy, and hospitalization are also used to treat paranoid schizophrenia. When a patient is hospitalized, the hallucinations are suppressed by giving them insulin. Lethargy and inattentiveness are potential side effects. Doctors must exercise caution while administering treatments like psychiatric assessments to patients to treat the proper kind of schizophrenia. In order to determine the source of a certain condition and treat it appropriately, the doctor should ask the patient about their history.
Continuous antipsychotic drug usage combined with cognitive behavioral therapy is one potential treatment strategy for John Nash (Dozois, 2015). Nash and his family might benefit from family therapy if he had a bigger support network (Dozois, 2015). Pharmacotherapy is quite good at treating psychosis, but it is not always effective in preserving the ability to discern between dream and reality, which is why a combination of therapies was chosen (Lombardi et al., 2020). The best course of treatment is cognitive-behavioral therapy combined with antipsychotic medication since it addresses the patient’s worldview and the chemical abnormalities in the brain. A schizophrenia treatment option with empirical validation is cognitive behavioral therapy.
Targeting comorbid emotional states has been demonstrated to normalize symptoms, assist the patient in developing coping mechanisms, minimize disorder-related distress, and avoid relapse (Lombardi et al., 2020). Treatment of related emotional states in schizophrenia is crucial. Between 20 and 50 percent of relapses are thought to be caused by severe depression, according to estimates. According to studies, patients who receive both pharmaceutical and cognitive-behavioral therapy improve more favorably than those who receive only one (Lombardi et al., 2020). John Nash has an optimistic outlook despite rejecting antipsychotic medication and individual therapy. Nash discovered a means to reject his hallucinations and gradually learn to behave in a socially acceptable manner without therapy, despite data suggesting that it can be done only sometimes. It was his favorite option at the moment. He decided to take whatever measures he could to treat his mental illness on his own and was successful because the medicine accessible to him had too many severe negative effects (Grazer & Howard, 2001).
Conclusion
Nash had schizophrenia. Nash’s presentation provides solid evidence of his diagnosis. Nash was suffering from persecutory and referral delusions. Nash had audio and visual hallucinations as well. Nash was also behaving strangely and lacked insight into his mental state. Despite the film’s biases, such as Nash’s visual hallucination, the diagnosis of schizophrenia was the best fit for Nash. This publication was significant since it educated readers on the complexities of making a psychiatric diagnosis. Scholars should create more artwork to increase public awareness of living with someone with a psychiatric handicap.
References
Arfani, S. (2018). The Schizophrenia in The Main Character of A Beautiful Mind movie Directed by Ron Howard. Wanastra: Jurnal Bahasa dan Sastra, 10(1), 9-16.
Bajouco, M., & Mota, D. (2022). Cariprazine on Psychosis: Beyond Schizophrenia–A Case Series. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, 18, 1351-1362.
Dozois, D.J. (2015). Abnormal Psychology: Perspectives (5th Edition, DSM-5 Update Edition). Toronto, ON: Pearson Canada.
Howard, R. (2001). A Beautiful Mind. Retrieved from https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0268978
Grazer, B. (Producer), & Howard, R. (Director). (2001). A Beautiful Mind (Motion Picture). United States: Dreamworks Pictures.
Lombardi, R., Genovesi, B., & Isgrò, S. (2020). Successful Treatment of Psychosis utilizing Supervised Analysis. The Psychoanalytic Quarterly, 89(3), 549-582.
Prasetya, E. C., Subagyo, R., Mahyuddin, M. H., Haniifah, U., Rafida, M., Hamida, A., … & Prasetya, M. T. (2022). Continuously Paranoid Schizophrenia in Young Man: A Case Report. Asian Australasian Neuro and Health Science Journal (AANHS-J), 4(2).
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