Schizophrenia: characteristics, etiology, and treatment approaches

¶ … Schizophrenia [...] Beautiful Mind directed by Ron Howard, which discusses Professor John Nash's lifelong battle with schizophrenia. The film chronicles Nash's life, but most of all it gives a graphic portrait of what it is like to live inside the mind of a schizophrenic. There are many parts of this movie that seem so real, and yet they all occurred in Nash's mind, showing the difficulties of living and working with schizophrenia. It also brings public awareness to the disease, and that is a positive aspect of the film.

This film follows the progression of schizophrenia, from its roots when Nash was a young man, to the culmination, which leaves Nash able to cope with the disease and still function relatively normally. In between, the disease is a central focus of the movie, giving a good look into what it must be like to live with this terrible disease. As with many people who suffer from this disease, Nash manages to live through the worst of it, and emerge later in life relatively able to continue his work and live his life normally. This is common with this disease, and so is the onset in late adolescence or early adulthood, just as Nash is depicted in the film. Early in his life, he seems normal, if a bit too obsessed with mathematics and solutions to complex problems. He seems more or less like his other friends, except for his preoccupation with his problem solving and educational issues and he seems like he has a bright future ahead of him. However, there always seems to be something shadowy in the background and as the film progresses, it becomes clear that Nash is suffering from something that affects his mind, and that tit could have very dire consequences on his life and career.

The film also puts the viewer right in the mind of Nash at times, and helps show how real his delusional experiences seemed to him. He is convinced that he is helping the government and the CIA, and that he hears voices from other worlds in his head. The disease crept up on him, like it does with so many people, and it did not become formally diagnosed until Nash was older, and already had a career teaching and a wife. This is very important to help the audience understand just what it feels like to have this disease, and it helps people become more aware and more understanding of others with the disease. It has to be extremely frustrating and frightening to experience the symptoms like Nash did, of hearing voices and totally believing things were real when they were not, and to not be able to do anything about these symptoms, or control them. That feeling of helplessness must add to the overall frustration with the disease, and it is easy to see that Nash is at times angry and frustrated with the disease and how it affects his mind. This is especially important for this brilliant mind, because Nash's greatest gifts were his ability to think and solve complex problems, and the disease robbed him of that ability, so it really affected every aspect of his life, and that was frustrating and deeply disturbing to him.

Another important aspect of the film is how it portrays the people surrounding Nash and how they deal with his disease. Clearly, this disease affects family and friends quite remarkably, and can be difficult if not impossible for them to deal with at times. The audiences watches Alicia attempt to deal with her husband's illness and come to grips with trying to raise their son alone while her husband is continually institutionalized. It is clear this is a disease that affects the patient, but also affects everyone who comes in contact with them because it is such a debilitating and difficult disease to manage. In the film, it takes decades for Nash to finally surmount the obstacles his disease represents, and many people may not have that kind of patience, no matter how much they love the person suffering from schizophrenia.

It is easy to see that the son is affected by his father's absence and then reappearance, and repeatedly bizarre behavior in between. People who do not understand mental illness will see this film in a new light, because it not only shows how Nash reacts to his own illness, but how others, from employers to family and friends react. Some of the reactions indicate fear, some loathing, and some just bewilderment and a sense of unreality and hopelessness. Some of the reactions are also based on some of the stereotypes of schizophrenia, such as the disease is a multiple-personality disorder, and it is not treatable. It also breaks apart the myth that schizophrenics are violent. Some can be, but many are not, and this film shows that Nash may have had some bizarre behaviors, but he was not violent or hurtful to his family. Of course, his family suffered, and the film shows this, but they did not suffer physical abuse, really it was more mental abuse and stress and strain from worrying about him and having to make a life without him while he was in treatment.

The film also chronicles the trouble with medications of the time, and psychopathic medications that Nash said "deadened" his mind, so he refused to take them. It also shows some of the other treatments, like insulin shock treatments, that are no longer used in treating the disease, and it shows the horrible environment of mental institutions in the 1950s, after his wife has him involuntarily committed several times in an effort to control his disease. In the end, he did manage to control his disease, and the film shows him hearing voices but learning how to control and ignore them so he can lead a meaningful and worthwhile life. He teaches again, and he and his wife remain together. The film gives hope, but it also realistically shows many aspects of schizophrenia, from the onset that usually takes people by surprise to the end, when often people can function again. It also shows treatments and medications that some people believe can be worse that the disease itself.

Is the film totally realistic in its portrayal of schizophrenia? No, and it never could be. This is a film made ultimately to entertain, not educate, and the film does take some license with some of the attributes and treatments it shows. It shows Nash learning to "manage" his disease mentally, but that is not an option for many schizophrenia patients, and some of them do not recover as they age. It also depicts Nash as having hallucinations and hearing voices that seem very real, but some schizophrenics do not have these symptoms, either. It also shows the accepted treatment of the time - institutionalization, but that treatment is no longer accepted, and most schizophrenics are not institutionalized, although there are exceptions in every case, of course.