Perception Versus Reality : The Film A Beautiful Mind

Seeing as Nash's experiences in the film follow the Type II diagnosis (DSM-IV-TR) one could reasonably expect that his symptoms would follow in the same diagnostic pattern. But, instead of coming on slowly and consistently, these auditory and visual hallucinations come on acutely (actually almost immediately). This extremely acute onset of serious symptoms is out of line with what should be occurring. What should be shown is slowly deteriorating symptoms that are in line with increasingly complex delusions. The onset of delusions after the hallucinations is also outside the norm of the differential of Schizophrenia, although not impossible.

John Nash’s needs of belongingness, safety, and self esteem were met by his hallucinations. His hallucinations of his room mate Charles drove his need of belongingness because Charles was always seen when John needed support or extra confirmation. For example, while John experiences a meltdown in his dorm room, Charles appears and relaxes John by helping/ insisting him to throw out his work and his desk. The action proved symbolic because it acts as a symbol of releasing stress. Charles reaffirmed John that his work was not everything that mattered in the world.

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.

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

The insulin shock therapy was hard to watch because he had to have the injections five times a week for ten weeks with the shock treatments. When he was finally able to come home, he was just on oral medication. After a while, he decided on his own to stop taking the medications and the hallucinations returned to his mind. He has a moment of clarity, because he realizes one of his hallucinations can’t be real because she never ages. He returns to the hospital on his own and receives additional therapy. At this point in his illness, he chooses to ignore the hallucinations and not feed into them so that he is able to go back to work to some degree. I agree and disagree with the treatment that Nash received. I think the insulin shock therapy probably could have been discarded as it seemed the medicines he was on when he came out worked fine. I do think that he needed a caretaker to make sure that he took his medicine, instead of like his wife in the movie, giving it to him and walking away. She was entrusted with his care when released from the hospital, so must show some accountability to make sure he takes the medication. Cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy has been shown to be the most promising in helping patients with this disease (Franklin, 2004). I think with his treatment, it would have been beneficial to have some type of cognitive and behavioral management skills that would teach him how to

This was a perfect example of the psychological disorder schizophrenia. Although, each person with the disorder differs in type of symptoms and intensity of symptoms, John Nash is a perfect example of a severe case, as well as the capability of the human mind to overcome this disorder. We briefly discussed psychological disorders during our Neuroscience and Brain unit in class. This movie provided a good display of schizophrenia and taught me new information that we weren't able to cover. Each psychological disorder is different and each brain differentiates with the capability of with dealing with them. In the end, John Nash was able to overcome his symptoms and settle down. He continued to pursue mathematics and had a family. His wife stuck with him during the lowest points and raised two children

2.The most highly visible aspects of Nash’s condition are of course his elaborate delusions and hallucinations (creating friends and relationships that don’t in fact exist) and his paranoia (for example, his belief that the hospital is run by the Soviets). DSM-V lists negative symptoms--alogia, anhedonia and avolition--that we don’t see in the film. When Nash is medicated and flailing in his life--unable to focus on his work and unable to respond to his crying child--he asks his wife, “What do people do?” It’s then that we see the most mood disorder-related aspects: avolition, defined as a lack of will and self-direction, and anhedonia, an inability to experience pleasure. Alogia may be indicated when Alicia says to Nash on their picnic date by the lake, “You don’t talk much, do you?” and Nash responds,

In addition to hallucinations and delusions, other symptoms were portrayed in the film. Nash was constantly suspicious of the people around him. This was a result of his belief that the Russians were after him. For example, when Nash was taken to the psychiatric hospital, he thought that Dr. Rosen was Russian and trying to stop him from doing his work. As a result, Nash resorted to violence in order to protect himself.

Alicia and the psychiatrist insist that he go back on his medication to keep him healthy, but Nash refuses, saying that he will ignore the hallucinations because the affects of the medicine are not

The friend looked like he was fearful of John and what he might do. Many times people viewed Nash as dangerous and insane. Most of the characters carried a negative attitude toward mental illness in general, except for John’s wife Alicia. She is supportive and wants John to get better ‘so he can get back to being the man she married’. Alicia’s attitude toward his mental illness was understanding and supportive, while also pushing him to get better. The mental health professional in this movie is Dr. Rosen, who is only seen a few times in the whole movie. He is portrayed as a reasonable, logical man who is only there to help. Hyler’s stereotypes of mental illness can be applied to this movie also. Instead of Nash and his disorder portraying him as a homicidal manic or the like, Nash was portrayed as another stereotype of Hyler’s that is rarely depicted in modern films, the enlightened member of society. Nash is the enlightened member of society who envisions great things and appears to be a well-balanced individual, even with his delusions at the beginning of the movie. This stereotype contradicts our usual view of individuals with mental

In the movie it seemed like he did not have a lack of social involvement with the outside world but once the viewer realized that the roommate and Parcher were not real then it all came together. All of Nash’s symptoms started when he began looking for his original idea to be published. The DSM5 says the reaction to stress causes individuals with schizophrenia to have increases in negative mood and behaviors. I believe the stress of trying to find something new pushed him over the edge and forced him to create a world that helped him cope with the pressure but in reality it created more work for him to do. Nash’s over all functions in everyday life were impaired due to his disorder. After going to the psychiatric hospital and beginning his medication he began to suffer from intellectual paralysis cause by the medication. His delusion might have gone away but his work and overall well-being suffered which caused him to stop taking the medication and have another psychic

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.

Mr. Nash accepts this assignment, and gradually he becomes completely fixated on doing nothing except code extraction. Around this same time he is asked to dinner by one of his students, Alicia, whom he is almost immediately intrigued by. It is while on this date that his delusional content shifts. Up to this point, his delusions and hallucinations had, for the most part, played into his grandiosity, however, this night, a persecutory theme emerges, as he notices suspicious men watching him.

John Nash is well above average in terms of intellectual functioning. He is diagnosed with schizophrenia. He first started exhibiting symptoms of schizophrenia when he attended Princeton University. The symptoms that were observed were hallucinations and delusions. In Nash’s mind, he had a college roommate name Charles Herman. In addition, he stated that he met Herman’s niece named Marcee and a secret agent named William Parcher, whom he worked for at a secret location by breaking Russian codes. He developed persecutory delusions while working for William Parcher because he believe that Russians are trying to kill him for

John Nash is the main character. He is shy and quiet. Nash is also focused and a determined young man. Alicia Nash, John’s wife, is patient and mellow. She took more on herself living with Mr. Nash as he went through his stages of his illness. Charles Herman is his roommate from Princeton in graduate school. He is wild and a