A Beautiful Mind in Psychology, Essay Example

John Nash, Jr., is portrayed by actor Russell Crowe in the movie “A Beautiful Mind.”  He suffered from a common psychological disorder called schizophrenia.  Despite his illness, Nash is known as one of the greatest mathematical and economics minds of the 20^th Century.  He earned a Nobel Prize in Economics and after working for the government, he became a professor at his alma mater Princeton University.  Schizophrenia, electroconvulsive therapy and drug therapies are three main psychological concepts that are quite accurately portrayed in the film.  Due to the excellence of film, these three concepts helped provide the general public with a poignant portrayal of psychological disorders in the United States.

Statistics show that Schizophrenia is the fourth leading cause of disability in the world for people between the ages of 15-44, and Schizophrenia lifetime prevalence varies from 0.5% to 1.5% (MentalHealth.com, par. 6).  Many people believe that this disorder forces people to have split personalities, when in actuality it often forces people to experience split realities.  This is the case in “A Beautiful Mind” where Professor Nash works for the government, has a family and prides himself in his work.  In an alternate reality, he is surrounded by a rogue government operative, his former roommate from Princeton and his roommate’s young niece all of whom are fictional.  Men predominantly experience such symptoms as social withdrawal, lack of motivation and flat emotions, while women predominantly experience depressive episodes, paranoid delusions and hallucination due to this disorder (MentalHealth.com, par. 6).  Within the film, Nash also experiences delusions of persecution, delusions of grandeur and many false perceptions of the life his brain had built around him.

There are many different treatment options available to help ease the symptoms and the extent of the symptoms for individuals suffering from Schizophrenia.  The first method for treatment that is clearly shown in the film is called electroconvulsive therapy (ECT).  ECT has “been shown to be an effective form of treatment for schizophrenia accompanied by catatonia, extreme depression, mania, or other affective components” some of which are shown by Nash in the movie (Papolos et al., 2009, par. 1).  This treatment method is used to help eliminate the depression and paranoid moods that Nash experiences during the film.  Overall, the scene where this treatment is implemented is mostly accurate, especially for the time frame that the film takes place.  Essentially, an electrode is placed above the temple of the brain and a second placed in the middle of the forehead, or one electrode is placed above each temple.  A very small current is passed through the brain, activating it and producing a seizure while the patient is under anesthetic (Papolos et al., 2009, par. 5).  Still, roughly 20-50% of patients relapse after successful ECT treatment within the first six months, which is why additional treatment is often necessary (par. 7).

Other treatment methods can come from drug treatments to help patients reduce the presence and impact of depression and other schizophrenic symptoms.  Antipsychotic medication shortens the duration of psychosis in Schizophrenia, and prevents recurrences and also usually prevents suicide, minimizes rehospitalization, and dramatically improves social functioning (MentalHealth.com, par. 10).  However, the drug treatment can also have many dangerous side effects that make working and performing simple daily actions very difficult.  “Unfortunately, even on antipsychotic medication, most individuals with Schizophrenia can’t return to gainful employment due to the intellectual impairments caused by this illness” (MentalHealth.com, par. 11).  This problem was shown within “A Beautiful Mind” because Nash was sexually impotent, unable to perform work and unable to help his wife take care of their baby.  Although most patients are never allowed to completely stop taking antipsychotic medication, especially after experiencing a relapse, Nash decides to combat his illness with his brain and try to tell reality from insanity.

References

MentalHealth.com (n.d.). Schizophrenia. Retrieved from http://www.mentalhealth.com/dis/p20-ps01.html

Papolos, D., Devanand, D.P., Fink, M., Kanter, S., & Markowitz, J. (2009). All about Ect. Retrieved from http://www.medhelp.org/lib/ect.htm