John Nash (Russell Crowe) is the main protagonist in the movie A Beautiful Mind . Nash suffers from paranoid schizophrenia, according to Dr. Rosen’s assessment. He experiences positive and negative symptoms of paranoid schizophrenia. The positive symptoms include hallucinations and thought disorders (Comer, 2016). In his hallucination episodes, he thinks Charles, Marcee, and Parcher are watching him, yet they only exist in his mind. He experiences delusions of persecution. He thinks that some Russian agents are after him and want to kill him. His life is also disorganized and affects the way he relates with Alicia Larde and son. At one time he left the baby unsupervised and, in his mind, (hallucinations) thought someone else (Charles) was watching him (the baby).
The negative symptoms include the social withdrawal, unhappy life, and unable to lead a normal life (Comer, 2016). Having lost touch with the reality, Nash cannot work on his school project or give lectures. He has unproductive relationship with his wife and his friends because of his paranoia. As a result, he tends to have a lonely and unhappy life. Dr. Rosen prescribes insulin shock therapy for the management of the paranoid schizophrenia. However, the treatment method had adverse negative effects that included prolonged com and extreme restlessness, prompting Nash to discontinue the treatment process.
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Psychological and Sociocultural Causes of Schizophrenia
Very few theories discuss the psychological and sociocultural factors as the potential causes of schizophrenia (Torgersen, 2012). Nevertheless, the two factors can cause the psychological disorder. Some of the sociocultural factors are physical abuse and extreme poverty (Torgersen, 2012). The two factors lead to psychological effects such as depression and major anxiety, which can lead to schizophrenia. The psychological factors might the posttraumatic stress disorders because of certain traumatic experiences. The loss of loved one, intense life pressures, physical and emotional abuse are some factors that have a psychological effect on victims.
Nash disorder can be attributed by the stress and major anxiety to accomplish his tasks. After winning the scholarship for mathematics, Nash is under intense pressure. He has to publish and wants to be original. Stress and anxiety takes toll on him as he tries to get ideas of what to publish. Slowly, he gets withdrawn from friends and begins to experience positive symptoms, similar to those of paranoid schizophrenia. Therefore, the psychological factors, were the major causes of Nash’s psychological disorder.
Treatment
Nash’s psychological disorder should have been treated using neuroleptics. The drugs are effective in the management of the positive symptoms of paranoid schizophrenia. As a result, the negative symptoms are also managed, which enhances the relationship between the patient and family or friends (Goikolea & Colom, 2012). However, the medical treatment alone cannot might not be effective. The combination of medical treatment and psychosocial support plays an imperative role in the treatment process.
The patient requires social support from family and friends. The family and social workers should show unconditional love for the patient. This leads to improvement in social skills and having a sense of wellbeing. While medical treatment is good, it can also have some adverse side effects. These include diarrhea, anxiety, tremors, sexual dysfunctions, weight gain among others (Goikolea, J. & Colom, 2012). Despite the side effects, the patient should be encouraged to continue to take the drugs. Nash’s experience in managing his disorder is uncommon. After discontinuing the treatment, he struggled, but eventually regained his normal functionalities. It is not normal, as paranoid schizophrenia is difficult to treat. That might explain why towards the end of the movie, he hallucinates again, meaning that he might be having another episode of paranoid schizophrenia. Therefore, it is vital that the patients remain under medication and psychosocial support at all times.
References
Comer, R. J. (2016). Fundamentals of abnormal psychology (8th ed.). New York, NY: Worth
Goikolea, J. & Colom, F. (2013). "Lower rate of depressive switch following antimanic treatment with second-generation antipsychotics versus haloperidol". Journal of Affective Disorders . 144 (3): 191–8.
Torgersen, S. (2012). "Paranoid schizophrenia, paranoid psychoses, and personality disorders". Journal for the Norwegian Medicine Association . New York, NY. 132 (7), 851-852.
