Mental Illness : A Beautiful Mind

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.

Although John fell victim to Don Hector’s betrayal, he still felt the need to explain himself. He wanted the happiness he felt when he joined the ranch to last longer. John wanted to mend the patch with Don Hector and meet Alejandra again. However, when he arrived at the ranch,Don Hector and Alejandra already left. Instead, he found Senora Alfonsa, Alejandra’s great-aunt. Senora Alfonsa bailed the boys out of prison “because of Alejandra [and in return] she wont see [him] again”. Although Alejandra helped persuade her aunt to bail the boys out of prison, her decision created false hope for John. John believed that his old life would return to him once he left prison. But he showed up to the ranch to find everyone left him. He could no longer rely on anyone, which twisted the many knives that people left in his body. Everyone around John betrayed and hurt John to the point that he became numb to the

Forget all the stereotypes of mental illness. It has no face. It has no particular victim. Mental illness can affect an individual from any background and the black community is no exception. African Americans sometimes experience even more severe forms of mental health conditions because of unmet needs and barriers to treatment. According to the Office of Minority Health, African Americans are 20 percent more likely to experience serious mental health problems than the general population. That’s why UGA third year Majenneh Sengbe is taking action as the co-founder of her upcoming organization Black Minds Daily.

Mental illness is often wrongly portrayed in the United States’ media creating stigmatization and misrepresentation. Mental illness “refers to a wide range of mental disorders that affect your mood, thinking and behavior” (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2015). Examples of disorders include anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Any “negative attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors are called stigma” (Wilson et al., 2016, p. 2) and stigma can contribute to progression of mental illness because of its harmful effects due to misrepresentation in the media. In the recent years, the United States media has began to address the reprehension around the topic of mental illness, as it has began to develop into a rising problem in citizens across the nation. In the past, any portrayal of a figure or character with a mental disorder would be wrongly depicted, therefore, creating a distorted perception for the viewers (Stout et al., 2004, p. 1). Television shows have started to establish characters with mental illness in hopes to lessen the stigma behind ill characters due to the wrongful associations viewers may make. The way media viewers’ stereotype the mentally ill into categories can be harmful to the well being of those with disorders. Stereotypes can be so harmful that even medical professionals “contend that stigma is a major reason why one-fourth of the estimated 50 million Americans experiencing mental illness yearly will not seek

John is an antagonist of the story. He feels he is doing his wife good; by locking her away in this mansion. However, the reader soon realizes, this treatment is only worsening her mental state. He is never home with her; he always has patients to see in town, leaving her locked in this house; alone with her thoughts. He ensures that she gets rest and fresh air to get well. To him, it may seem as though he is doing his wife good; by locking her away in this mansion. However, this seclusion she experiences causes serious damage to her mental state. Her husband has control over her that women

Soon enough Lucy wants more from John of being in there own house and living better. As John is away Lucy gets sick and eventually dies. John seems to think he need to find someone else to be with. He do not take any time of feeling sad about Lucy death. Even though the whole town is mad at him for being too quick about finding another wife he still does it. Show that John cannot be alone, he needs someone there with him as a guide. His new wife Hattie is just someone one he brought into his life, even though he knows she could never take Lucy place. John does whatever he wants, no matter what Hattie wants him to do or does not want him to do. John still has not matured because a responsible man and matured man do what they're supposed to do the right way. John seem to always want to be an a relationship but not really with someone he truly love. Hattie says “ Well if you do not want me you made lak yuh did.”(143). Showing he give signs that he need someone to be around him. Eventually John no longer want Hattie anymore and also hits her. He tries to be on his own for awhile to get his mind straight after all the drama and court dates with Hattie. John after a while goes right back to

Survival may be one of the natural instincts in human beings, but it can and sometimes will be overcome by other powerful emotions. John's initial struggle for survival is suppressed by his overwhelming love for his wife. He becomes involved when his wife's name is mentioned in court, and her life becomes endangered. John does a complete turn around on his perspective of the situation. He goes from being completely isolated, to attempting to take control of the situation. However, his initial failure to do the right thing from the start caused this plan to fail.

In 1961 Thomas Szasz penned a book by the title The Myth of Mental Illness that would go on to cause quite the stir in the world of psychiatry. In the book, Szasz stated his belief that what most psychiatrists would label as mental illnesses are in fact not illnesses at all, but instead what he would go on to call “problems in living.” This article will take a critical approach at Szasz reasons for his belief in these “problems in living” including an objective outline of his argument, a discussion on the validity of the argument and its’ premises, and finally the strongest objections to the argument. Szasz is an important figure in modern psychiatry and his opinions are very divisive but certainly worth discussing.

John is determined to get her better through his medicinal means he uses elixirs and different concoctions to get her better. Also taking her to the vacation style mansion just so she can get away

A Beautiful Mind illustrates many of the topics relating to psychological disorders. The main character of the film, John Nash, is a brilliant mathematician who suffers from symptoms of Schizophrenia. His symptoms include paranoid delusions, grandiosity, and disturbed perceptions. The disease disrupts his social relationships, his studies, and his work. The more stressful his life becomes the more his mind is not able to distinguish between reality and fantasy.

While “movies, newspapers, magazines, television shows, books, radio programs, and advertisements have all been vehicles for communicating the experience of…mental illness” it usually “[tends] to be a misrepresentation of the experience” (Corrigan 201). This has a major negative impact on people suffering from mental illnesses because they feel sentiments of “societal scorn and discrimination” which ultimately “leads to diminished self-esteem, fear of pursuing one’s goals, and loss of social opportunities” (Corrigan 201). There seems to be a revival in the world of movies and television of depicting forms of exploring the minds of serial killers which started in the 60s with the creation of the Horror film genre. There is almost a strange fascination amongst audiences to know more about the minds of murderers and those who are too sick to see the wrong they are doing. Films depicting mental health have a great impact on the lives of those suffering from mental illness and also the perceptions of those who do not suffer from mental illness. The mostly negative stigma surrounding those who suffer from mental disorders gives them a bad reputation that impacts most aspects of their lives.

Understanding mental illness for the average person can be challenge or even unattainable. Unknown aspects from each individual illness grasps differing urges that are unrelated to the majority of people. The film industry, however, is used as a productive machine of creating empathetic relationships between its audience and the people being portray in the film. A combination of the film industry and the implementation of characters struggling with mental illness delivers a provoking message to an audience of people willing to learn the situations of all people. The movie A Beautiful Mind manages to fulfill the dramatic effects of a film and the realities within an individual suffering through mental illness.

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.

John did not realize that Charles, Marcee, and Parcher were never there. His delusions were everywhere and also helped make some decisions. When John proposed to Alicia, it was Charles his delusion who suggested it. The whole time John thinks he is fine. When he would actually take his medication he would be zone out like a zombie. While John was in his own world, Alicia had to keep things stable around this house. Alicia worked and also took care of their young son. She was a huge support for John. When things really gotten bad, she could have left John but she did not. In the movie, John was so into his delusions he did not realize his son was under water. John thought Charles was watching over the young boy. Alicia felt enough was enough because he was not changing, and he had also secretly stopped taking his

While there John started dating a local high school senior and before he knew it he was dropping out of college with a wife and a child on the way. John moved back to his home town where he got a job working at the local factor as a labor. He worked hard for 8 year in the factory never moving up. The factor had down sized throughout the year and in order to move up someone had to retire or die. It was hard and strenuous work which aged his appearance to double his true age. Although it was hard work John never complained or held any resentment towards his family for diverting his life. Occasionally during brief moments of his day would become melancholy about the life he could have had. He would question his decision about leaving college and go back home he thought to himself maybe I should've stayed in college and got a job and work my way through and sometime at the end of that thought he would utter out load, "that all behind me". The one thing that would jerk him out of his glum was the thought of going home and being with this