A Beautiful Mind: From unreal to the reality

Imagine, you had suddenly learned that the people and places and the moments most
important to you were not gone, not dead, but worse had never been. What kind of hell would
that be? Dr. Rosen, A Beautiful Mind
Ron Howards A Beautiful Mind gives us a glance on the unrevealing look of mental
illness. The movie explained that mental illnesses can struck to anyone, man or woman, without
an exception.
John Nash, a well-known mathematician, was diagnosed with Schizophrenia, a mental
illness in which the person has lost the grip in the reality. He had some of the illness signs such
as being paranoid, having hallucinations, and agitated. He always finds codes and patterns on
magazines and newspapers believing that he could reveal the plans of soviet. He had also seen
and talked to people that only him can see.
I believe some instances in Johns life had triggered for him to have schizo. It started when he
attended Princeton Graduate School up to when he decrypted enemys telecommunication in
Pentagon.
Being one of the recipients of a prestigious scholarship, Nash is pressured on how he will
produce his own idea to be published. That time, he met his bestfriend Charles. When he has
published an article with his original concept, he was invited by the military do decrypt the enemys
telecommunication. To their surprise, John solved the code mentally. After his work on the military,
he was confronted by a person named William Parcher who said to be from the Department of
Defense and gave him a special assignment by searching codes in newspapers and magazines for
them to know what is the real plan of soviet. Charles and Parcher were only living on Johns mind.
Personally, I think what had triggered his hallucinations is the stress and pressure. First, being
a recipient of a prestigious scholarship is not easy. The pressure is on you. You need to prove to the
people why you deserve it. Second, too much thinking or using your brain too much is stressful and
is not good. People who think too much have poor memories and can be depressed. It can damage the
frontal lobe of your brain that primarily controls your planning actions and thought organizing which
can lead to imagining things that never really happened.
When his wife saw his condition, she consulted John in a Psychiatrist. John had received
insulin shock treatment five times a week of 10 weeks with regular taking of meds. John is frustrated
on the effects of the medication so he secretly stopped taking it. Later, his wife noticed that he had
relapse and he can again see people that doesnt really exist.
What I like when he is undergoing the treatment is his wifes support on him. She doesnt
give up on Nash, thinking that they have a child to care to. She always on Nashs back, even when
Nash decided to stop medication and treat his illness on his own, although not recommended by the
doctor. Its a problem with no solution. And thats what I do, I solve problems, John said.
John Nash started again to work as an instructor in MIT. He can still see Charles and William
but he chooses not to notice them. At first, he is struggling ignoring them until years have passed that
he managed to ignore them completely. He received a nobel prize in 1994 and based on the movie, he
can still see the unreal persons but he just ignores them.
Ma. Luella D. Albarado
BAJ 2-1N