Big Screen Prognosis: Oscar-Winning Film, 'A Beautiful Mind', Depicts What It Is Like Living With Schizophrenia

Imagine a mathematician working for his country on a secret mission to decode some high-profile messages hidden in secret numeric codes coming from an enemy country for over a year, only to end up finding that the entire political, secret agency drama was just his hallucination, not a reality. This is not just the plot of the Academy Award-winning movie 'A Beautiful Mind', but also a real case of American mathematician John Nash, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia.

The iconic biopic, A Beautiful Mind, released in 2001, is based on the real-life story of the renowned mathematician John Forbes Nash Jr. (1928 - 2015), who later in life won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1994 for his pioneering work on game theory, sharing the prize with John C. Harsanyi and Reinhard Selten.

The movie shows Nash suffering from schizophrenia, a severe mental disorder that substantially changes the way an individual thinks, feels, and perceives the world. To understand the potential risks of schizophrenia and whether a person suffering from this mental disorder can live an extraordinary life like John Nash, we spoke to Mr S Giriprasad, Psychologist, Aster Whitefield Hospital, Bengaluru.

John Nash’s Battle With Schizophrenia

The film shows Russell Crowe as John Nash, wonderfully capturing the brilliance and the profound tragedy of a man who lived simultaneously in illusions while managing his original life. The movie's plot begins at Princeton University, where Nash arrives for his graduate studies as a socially awkward but fiercely competitive person. Since the beginning, Nash has denied the traditional way of learning and relentlessly searches for an 'Original Idea'.

His first major, persistent hallucination comes in the form of a supportive roommate, Charles Herman. Surprisingly, this imaginary person turns out to be a good thing for Nash, offering him emotional support and encouragement to deal with the college environment. Later, the film brilliantly shows Nash demonstrating his exceptional mind in mathematics with the development of the Nash Equilibrium in a scene where a group of men tries to impress a woman.

In the second major hallucination, which persists longer, Nash imagines a mysterious and intense government agent named William Parcher while giving a lecture. Nash assumes himself working on a top-secret code-breaking mission to defeat the Soviets. Nash marries his physics student, Alicia Larde, who works as his vital anchor to reality, though his symptoms become extreme, impacting his marriage life as well career.

Following his diagnosis with schizophrenia, Nash is subjected to insulin shock therapy and powerful anti-psychotic medication. The movie painfully depicts the cost and side effects of treatment, leading Nash to feel that he has lost his ability to do mathematics.

In the end, Nash finally figured out the reality of the imaginary characters and tried to manage his illness through therapy and medical treatment. Years later, Nash not only successfully managed the symptoms of the disorder, received the Nobel Prize for his work in Game Theory.

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What Exactly is Schizophrenia and The Causes Behind It?

According to Dr Giriprasad, schizophrenia severely impairs the brain's normal functions, thus leading to symptoms such as hearing or seeing things that do not even exist, false beliefs, confused thinking, lack of emotions, and difficulty in performing daily tasks.

“It is a common misconception that the disorder is 'split personality'; rather, it is a disorder that primarily affects the individual's perception, thinking, and behaviour, resulting from alterations in brain circuits and neurochemistry,” Dr Giriprasad explained. Schizophrenia is considered a result of a combination of genetic susceptibility and environmental stressors.

Genetic Factors

The role of genetics is very significant, as those who have a close relative with schizophrenia
are more likely to develop the disorder. However, D Giriprasad stated that there is no single gene that causes the disease. Instead, multiple genes contribute to one's susceptibility, suggesting a complex, polygenic inheritance pattern.

Environmental Factors

Dr Giriprasad mentioned that various environmental factors contribute to the risk, such as adverse events in the period before and during delivery, maternal infections, and malnutrition. Besides that, traumatic events in early life, chronic stress, and major psychosocial adversity can also act as mechanisms of origin.

"The use of substances, especially cannabis during adolescence, can significantly raise the risk in individuals who already carry a genetic vulnerability," Dr Giriprasad warned. Dr Giriprasad also clarified a common concern regarding treatment, "When medication is prescribed in the right dosage, and the patient is under regular supervision, most people do not experience major side effects. Even if someone is sensitive to medicines and develops any discomfort, psychiatrists usually adjust the dose or switch to another molecule immediately to manage side effects effectively."

Symptoms And Warning Signs of Schizophrenia

The onset of schizophrenic symptoms is mostly in late adolescence or early adulthood. Dr Giriprasad shared, “Symptoms usually start from the late teens to mid-20s in males, while most females experience symptoms from their early 20s to early 30s. Early diagnosis has a very great impact on the outcome. Identification and treatment of schizophrenia at the earliest stage result in a much lower extent of degeneration of the brain over time.”

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As per medical reports, early intervention diminishes the intensity of the symptoms and increases the chances of managing education, career, and relationships. When the person is left without treatment for an extended period, the symptoms become deeply rooted, making it significantly more difficult to recover.

• The most common and beginning symptoms may be diagnosed as stress, depression, or personality changes.
• Social isolation, withdrawal from the activities in which one was previously interested, and a visible decline in work or school performance may be the initial warning signs.
• Other subtle symptoms include lack of motivation, poor hygiene, and emotional expression that may become flat or diminished.

Dr Giriprasad shared the more prominent features mentioned below:

• Hallucinations: Most commonly hearing voices (auditory hallucinations), but also seeing things that are not there (like Nash’s visual hallucinations).
• Delusions: Firmly held incorrect ideas such as feeling watched, controlled, or targeted (persecutory delusions, like Nash’s spy plot).
• Disorganised Thinking: The person’s thought process may become so disorganised that following conversations or expressing one’s thoughts becomes difficult.

The above symptoms may take months or years to progress before a frank psychotic episode is evident.

Living Life with Schizophrenia

Dr Giriprasad noted, “John Nash's life was beyond the ordinary, but his case conveys a very important idea that schizophrenia does not strip away one's intellect, creativity, or potential.”

Many individuals with schizophrenia live stable, meaningful, and highly functional lives when they have Early Diagnosis, Strong support, and Consistent Treatment.

In most cases, symptoms become markedly better with proper treatment, and many patients take up further education, start careers, maintain relationships, and live independently. "Although not everyone will be able to achieve as much academically as a Nobel Laureate like Nash, it is nevertheless quite possible to live a satisfying and productive life with schizophrenia," Dr Giriprasad highlights.

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Bottomline

A Beautiful Mind is a powerful film that showcases the struggle of Mathematician Josh Nash, a brilliant personality in the world of maths and physics. The movie’s timeline vividly helps you understand how someone with a severe mental disorder, such as Schizophrenia, struggles daily with their own brain-child scenarios. The movie received four Oscars for its brilliant storytelling and screenplay.