A Beautiful Mind is a film that is based on a true story and was released in 2001, starring Russel Crowe as John Nash. The film begins as Nash is beginning a graduate program in mathematics at Princeton University in 1947. From the beginning of the film it is clear that Nash does not easily get along with his classmates or anybody else for that matter. However, it is clear to everyone at Princeton that Nash has exceptional mathematical gifts, and does gain their respect.
Nash is also introduced to his roommate, Charles who is an english major, and is very eccentric, and quickly breaks through Nash’s hard exterior. Charles also introduces Nash to his niece Marcee. While teaching undergraduate classes, Nash meets his future wife and they have …show more content… Show
The Princeton mathematician, who along with his wife died in a car crash last month, claimed that aging as opposed to medicine helped improve his condition Mathematician John Nash, who died May 23 in a car accident, was known for his decades-long battle with schizophrenia—a struggle famously depicted in the 2001 Oscar-winning film "A Beautiful Mind." Nash had apparently recovered from the disease later in life, which he said was done without medication. But how often do people recover from schizophrenia, and how does such a destructive disease disappear? Nash developed symptoms of schizophrenia in the late 1950s, when he was around age 30, after he made groundbreaking contributions to the field of mathematics, including the extension of game theory, or the math of decision making. He began to exhibit bizarre behavior and experience paranoia and delusions, according to The New York Times. Over the next several decades, he was hospitalized several times, and was on and off anti-psychotic medications. But in the 1980s, when Nash was in his 50s, his condition began to improve. In an email to a colleague in the mid-1990s, Nash said, "I emerged from irrational thinking, ultimately, without medicine other than the natural hormonal changes of aging," according to The New York Times. Nash and his wife Alicia died, at ages 86 and 82, respectively, in a crash on the New Jersey Turnpike while en route home from a trip on which Nash had received a prestigious award for his work. Studies done in the 1930s, before medications for schizophrenia were available, found that about 20 percent of patients recovered on their own, while 80 percent did not, said Dr. Gilda Moreno, a clinical psychologist at Nicklaus Children's Hospital in Miami. More recent studies have found that, with treatment, up to 60 percent of schizophrenia patients can achieve remission, which researchers define as having minimal symptoms for at least six months, according to a 2010 review study in the journal Advances in Psychiatric Treatment. It's not clear why only some schizophrenia patients get better, but researchers do know that a number of factors are linked with better outcomes. Nash appeared to have had many of these factors in his favor, Moreno said. [5 Controversial Mental Health Treatments] People who have a later onset of the disease tend to do better than those who experience their first episode of psychosis in their teens, Moreno said. ("Psychosis" refers to losing touch with reality, exhibited by symptoms like delusions.) Nash was 30 years old when he started to experience symptoms of schizophrenia, which include hallucinations and delusions. In addition, social factors—such as having a job, a supportive community and a family that is able to help with everyday tasks—are also linked with better outcomes for schizophrenia patients, Moreno said. Nash had supportive colleagues who helped him find jobs where people were protective of him, and a wife who cared for him and took him into her house even after the couple divorced, which may have prevented him from becoming homeless, according to an episode of the PBS show "American Experience" that focused on Nash. "He had all those protective factors," Moreno said. Some researchers have noted that patients with schizophrenia tend to get better as they age. "We know, as a general rule, with exceptions, that as people with schizophrenia age, they have fewer symptoms, such as delusions and hallucinations," Dr. E. Fuller Torrey, a psychiatrist who specializes in schizophrenia, said in an interview with "American Experience." However, Moreno said that many patients will get worse over time if they don't have access to proper medical care and are not in a supportive environment. "When you have a schizophrenic who has had the multiple psychotic breaks, there is a downward path," Moreno said. Patients suffer financially because they can't work, physically because they can't take care of themselves, and socially because their bizarre behaviors distance them from others, Moreno said. It may be that the people who have supportive environments are the ones who are able to live to an older age, and have a better outcome, Moreno said. Still, there is no guarantee that someone will recover from schizophrenia—a patient may have all the protective factors but not recover, Moreno said. Most patients cope with their symptoms for their entire lives, but many are also able to live rewarding lives, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. Future research into the causes of the disease may lead to better ways to prevent and treat the illness, NIMH says.
Copyright 2015 LiveScience, a Purch company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. ABOUT THE AUTHOR(S)What are the positive symptoms of schizophrenia?positive symptoms – any change in behaviour or thoughts, such as hallucinations or delusions. negative symptoms – where people appear to withdraw from the world around then, take no interest in everyday social interactions, and often appear emotionless and flat.
What symptoms of schizophrenia does Nash possess in A Beautiful Mind?Nash was 30 years old when he started to experience symptoms of schizophrenia, which include hallucinations and delusions.
What type of schizophrenia is in A Beautiful Mind?John Nash was played by Russell Crowe who received a nomination for Best Actor. The movie focuses on Nash's struggle with paranoid schizophrenia during the 1940s and 1950s. While the movie takes a few dramatic liberties with its depiction of schizophrenia, it also provides a fairly accurate portrayal of the disease.
What are two positive symptoms of schizophrenia?Positive and negative symptoms are medical terms for two groups of symptoms in schizophrenia. Positive symptoms add. Positive symptoms include hallucinations (sensations that aren't real), delusions (beliefs that can't be real), and repetitive movements that are hard to control.
How does the person in the movie A Beautiful Mind control his schizophrenia disorder?In the film, Nash relies on anti-psychotic drugs during the worst periods of his illness, and his illness flares up when he is not taking them, then seems to improve. "The truth is, the vast majority of schizophrenics will only have partial recovery, and that only with the help of the medication," ABCNEWS' Dr.
Is A Beautiful Mind accuracy of schizophrenia?While many films portray Schizophrenia as multiple personality disorder, A Beautiful Mind does not, it accurately portrays the symptoms of Schizophrenia.
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