A Beautiful Mind Mental illness is a disorder of the brain that results in disruption of a person's thinking, feeling, mood, and ability to establish relationships with others. For someone who has never suffered from mental illness, it can be difficult to imagine what life would be like for someone who does. The movie “A Beautiful Mind” is about a mathematician, John Nash, who suffers from schizophrenia. Through his anguish, we gain knowledge of living with mental illness. It affects every aspect of your life and that of your loved ones. Say no to plagiarism. Get a custom essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essay The film begins in the late 1940s in Princeton, where John Nash is a young graduate student in mathematics. Nash produced original and brilliant work there, but its importance was not immediately widely recognized. His best friend is his roommate, Charles Herman (fictional). In the early 1950s, Nash accepted a job at MIT that involved both working in the (fictional) Wheeler Defense Laboratories and teaching classes. He believes he is a CIA spy and that William Parcher (fictional) is his superior. At MIT, he fell in love and married a physics student named Alicia Larde. However, Nash's behavior becomes increasingly bizarre and he is diagnosed with schizophrenia. With Alicia's help, he struggles with mental illness for many years and eventually recovers enough to live a more or less normal life. Meanwhile, the importance of the work he had done four decades earlier was widely recognized, and in 1994 Nash was awarded a Nobel Prize. The turmoil that John Nash feels in the film is reminiscent of the feelings that many people experience. My experience of mental illness has recently broadened. A good friend was admitted to a psychiatric hospital with borderline personality disorder. I visited him and now have a better understanding of mental illness. I was afraid to go to the hospital. I had visions of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” but my fear was irrational. No one fits the stigma of “crazy”. These were people trying to help themselves. The hospital is a safe environment to get away from the stresses of life which can be even more detrimental for someone with a mental disorder. The hospital can also help psychiatrists correct medications by constantly supervising the patient. Like John Nash, my cousin Peter is schizophrenic. I've only heard stories about his erratic behavior and paranoia, but I know he loves his family and friends, regardless of the severity of his symptoms. Borderline personality disorder, my friend's condition, is characterized by depression, manic mood swings, and suicidal tendencies. I just learned of his illness and its seriousness. She attempted suicide and had to be resuscitated. She is afraid of going public with her disorder because of society's opinion of people with mental illness. People with psychiatric disorders are stereotyped as crazy and dangerous. Everyone is affected by mental illness, not just sufferers and their loved ones. People who label mentally ill people as “crazy” have a negative impact on these patients, making it more difficult for them to seek help. This is highlighted in "A Beautiful Mind" with the students' looks of disgust when John is taken to a mental institution. He was even ashamed to show his face at school for years. When he returns, the students make fun of his behaviorodd. Mental illness not only affects the physical body, but also the mind. You may believe things that are not true, or you may experience feelings of despair and commit suicide. Imagine not even being able to trust your own thoughts and feelings. This is seen in “A Beautiful Mind”. John Nash thinks he works for the CIA, but that doesn't mean it's true. It can sometimes be impossible to distinguish fantasy from reality with mental illness. It's important in the film. John's schizophrenia creates an alternate reality in his mind. He was faced with the realization that the people and memories he held dear had never really existed. This understanding is difficult to accept and John returns to his old habits. It is not clear how mental illness occurs. There is evidence that the cause is genetic, but there is also evidence that it comes from the environment. Sometimes both are factors. If your family has a history of depression, you are more likely to suffer from it. You might be the only person you know who suffers from depression. Science shows that the disease is sometimes caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain. Medication can help, but finding the right medication, dose, and combination can take years. Therapy is also very helpful in the healing process. Patients must understand, as in the case of John Nash, that not everything they know and feel is true. The problems may stem from something in their past. These environmental factors must be taken into account by professionals for maximum recovery. Parents play an important role in the mental health of their children. Children should be loved and nurtured. They should never be mistreated or made to feel unwanted. This can reduce the risk of mental illness caused by the child's environment. Mental illness does not challenge my belief in God. Whether the affliction is physical or mental, cancer or schizophrenia, it is God's will. I believe we all have a purpose in our lives and death comes when our destiny is fulfilled. God wants us to be home with him. He is omnipotent and all-powerful. He wants it and that's how it is. Many people believe that prayer can help cure any illness. Praising God’s name and living His testament leads to a better life in all aspects. In the film, what really saves John is Alicia's love for him. John Nash is arrogant when we first meet him. He is rude, narcissistic and believes himself to be intellectually superior. It's not until John meets Alicia that we begin to see his true colors. His kindness and compassion become evident. I don't think he's the bad guy. John overcoming schizophrenia can be considered a heroic act, but I believe Alicia is the heroine of this story. Without her love and dedication, John may never have recovered from his illness. It took a lot of strength and courage to support him in these difficult and sometimes frightening times. Alicia is not a narcissist; she is optimistic. Alicia never lost confidence in her husband. John's illness affects Alicia as much as he does. Seeing her husband suffer is as if she were suffering it herself. We see this when John receives his first electroshock therapy. Alicia can't even watch the treatment. Losing it to illness means losing a part of her. In this way, they are interdependent. John's schizophrenia also alienates him from his wife. When he returns from the hospital, it is obvious that there is: