The life and personality of John Nash were portrayed in the movie “A Beautiful Mind” where actor Russell Crowe played the role of the actual brilliant mathematician (IMDb). Release in 2001, the film picks up on the character as a young adult in college and the symptoms of his mental illness are manifesting. The audience is given no other information on his background, but it quickly become apparent that Nash is displaying symptoms of social isolation, erratic patterns of speech, inappropriate belief systems, and realistic hallucinations that incorporate visual and audio delusions. The signs presented by Nash align with those accompanying a diagnosis of schizoid personality disorder.
It is estimated that about 1 percent of the population of the planet suffers from schizophrenia (McGrath et al.); however, as many people exhibiting a schizoid personality disorder learn to function adequately in society, approximately 30 percent to 50 percent do not believe they have a mental illness (Baier). This is apparently the case for John Nash as the audience shares his struggles with the hallucination over a span of years and his attempts to separate reality from non-reality, endangering his career and relationship with his long-suffering wife, played by Jennifer Connelly. For a time, it seems as though Nash has conquered his mental illness as he becomes a famous professor and founder of innovative mathematical formulae. However, at the end of the movie it is revealed that Nash was not able to dispel his hallucinations. Rather, he learned to suppress his reactions to his imaginary friends to avoid the negative consequences of his behavior.
The actions of a patient with schizoid personality disorder are complicated (Cohen). People with whom Nash interacts are put off by his blunt affect, but one friend does not dissert him and supports him throughout his life. Unfortunately, the friend is revealed as being one of his hallucinations. Although individuals with schizoid personality disorder frequently become agitated and many times exhibit violent behavior, there is often a sensitive aspect to the personality that is baffled by the actions. There are scenes in the film when Nash displays frightening behavior to the point where his wife takes their son and leaves him.
“A Beautiful Mind” does an accurate job of showing the symptoms and challenges John Nash and other schizophrenic patients experience. The audience is as shocked and dismayed as Nash when his hallucinations prove to be false. The knowledge that he is prescribed medication is not helpful because the audience does not know what kind it is, if it is helpful with his coping with his illness, and if there are unpleasant side effects. Finally, as he learns to function with his personality disorder and the support of his wife and the staff at his university, Nash fits into society and is actually awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Physics.
The entertainment industry has a strong influence on the minds of the general public. Movies such as “A Beautiful Mind” have the ability to education and foster tolerance toward individuals suffering from mental illnesses. In the case of schizoid personality disorder, patients appear to be out of “sync” with the world, but see the world as being dysfunctional rather than themselves and isolate themselves as observers (Esterberg, Goulding and Walker). Current treatment regimens include psychotherapy, but rarely medication as seen in the movie.
Works Cited
Baier, Marjorie. "Insight in Schizophrenia: A Review". Current Psychiatry Reports 12.4 (2010):
356-361. Web.
Cohen, A. "Affective Reactivity of Speech and Emotional Experience in Patients with
Schizophrenia". Schizophrenia Research 69.1 (2004): 7-14. Web.
Esterberg, Michelle L., Sandra M. Goulding, and Elaine F. Walker. "Cluster A Personality
Disorders: Schizotypal, Schizoid And Paranoid Personality Disorders In Childhood And
Adolescence". Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment 32.4 (2010): 515-
528. Web. 4 July 2016.
IMDb. "A Beautiful Mind (2001)". IMDb. N.p., 2016. Web. 4 July 2016.
Kneisl, Carol Ren, Holly Skodol Wilson, and Eileen Trigoboff. Contemporary Psychiatric-
Mental Health Nursing. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2004. Print.
McGrath, J. et al. "Schizophrenia: A Concise Overview of Incidence, Prevalence, And
Mortality". Epidemiologic Reviews 30.1 (2008): 67-76. Web.". Current psychiatry
reports 12 (4):
