Schizophrenia is a mental illness in which the boundary between imagination and reality is blurred. Most schizophrenics suffer from hallucinations and persistent delusions. Although patients are distinguished by strange behavior, they are not aggressive and do not suffer from a split personality. This disorder affects millions of people worldwide, and one of them is John Nash, a mathematician played by Russell Crowe in the film A beautiful mind.
Paranoid Delusions and Delusions of Grandeur
When it comes to clear signs of schizophrenia, delusions of grandeur are one of the most apparent signs. This type of delusion is based on the mentally ill person’s exaggerated sense of significance, authority, or knowledge. A person with this illness may think that their persona is superior and their abilities are incomparable. For example, John depicts his delusion of grandeur by insulting his classmate and their work, asserting that only he can make “the most important discovery” (Howard, 2001, 02:06:05). Another type of delusion Nash experienced was a paranoid delusion. The character believed he was doing top-secret government work to save the entire nation and that the Russians were watching him (Howard, 2001). John was constantly afraid of being followed and worked desperately to decrypt non-existent codes and ignored the family’s needs.
Visual and Auditory Hallucinations
Another common sign of schizophrenia is hallucinations which can be not only visual but auditory. Visual hallucinations supplemented auditory hallucinations in the movie, which caused Nash to see people who were not present or see them as somebody else (Howard, 2001). Thus, hallucinations represented an image and sounds that involuntarily appeared in the character’s consciousness, but the forms of this interaction with these hallucinations were individual.
Manifestations of Schizophrenia Symptoms
One more sign of schizophrenia that deserves attention is the age of people when symptoms start manifesting themselves. In the movie, John starts experiencing symptoms of this illness in his twenties. This period is the most common during which schizophrenia reveals itself. This can be tracked by delusions and hallucinations and a change in how a person speaks or reacts to certain situations. For example, when John tells Charles that he doesn’t like people much, a viewer can observe that the character did not show any despondency or other emotions (Howard, 2001). Thus, people who have schizophrenia have a problem expressing emotions, and their voice sounds almost indifferent.
Shock Therapy as a Treatment of Schizophrenia
One of the treatments that Nash was subjected to was insulin shock therapy. This is an aggressive treatment method with a high mortality rate. Patients were artificially induced into a coma; a patient had convulsions, turned pale, and sweated profusely. Each coma lasted up to an hour and was stopped by an injection. Nash underwent this kind of treatment five times a week for ten weeks. Nash also continued treatment with antipsychotics after leaving the clinic. However, because of the side effects, he decided to quit therapy (Howard, 2001). The pills dulled emotions, sexual desire, and according to Nash, he could not function normally and be present around his family.
Hence, A beautiful mind successfully depicted a person who struggles with such a common illness as schizophrenia. Among the most common symptoms of people with schizophrenia are hallucinations, delusions, and lack of emotions. The movie does not reject the idea of showing a real battle of a person and shows how people are affected by this disorder and have to live with it for the rest of their lives. Special attention was also paid to the harmful treatments of patients, which raises awareness and raises a problem of new treatments which will reduce the suffering of patients and make them feel serene.
Reference
Grazer, B. (Producer), & Howard, R. (Director & Producer). (2001). A beautiful mind [Motion picture]. United States: Universal Pictures.