“A Beautiful Mind” was the title of Sylvia Nasar’s biography (and eventual award-winning movie) of the famous mathematician John Nash. But despite his “Beautiful Mind” that eventually won him a Nobel Prize in 1994, Nash has been tormented by Schizophrenia since the late 1950’s. As one of the most famous people to be suffering from this disorder, Along with depression, Schizophrenia is one of two disorders that have been found across our planet, in every culture. Schizophrenia is characterized by “extreme oddities in perception, thinking, action, sense of self, and manner of relating to others” (textbook). The DSM-5 states the main criteria for Schizophrenia as “two (or more) of the following, each present for a significant portion of time
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Delusions are defined as “erroneous beliefs that are fixed and firmly held despite clear contradictory evidence” (textbook 446). Nash’s delusions were grandiose and persecutory. Many times, he thought he was either “uniquely powerful or weak and vulnerable” (ABM 325). One of his most famous delusional outbursts, that eventually led to his first hospitalization, was when he walked into the MIT common room, where he worked, and declared that The New York Times contained encrypted messages from outer space specifically directed towards him (ABM 16). Nash described his delusions when fellow mathematician George Mackey asked him, “How could you, a mathematician, believe that extraterrestrials were sending you messages?” (ABM 11) To this Nash replied, “Because the ideas I had about supernatural beings came to me the same way my mathematical ideas did” (ABM 11). Other delusions John experienced included believing he was on the cover of Life Magazine as Pope John XXIII, because his favorite number was 23 (case studies 95). He began to think that many things he saw in his everyday life, such as a telephone number, or a sentence in The New York Times has a significance that was only apparent to him. These delusions eventually lead to avolition, which is the “inability to initiate or persist in goal-directed activities” (textbook 450). John also suffered from severe auditory hallucinations, disorganized thoughts, and multiple …show more content…
The premorbid phase involves “early childhood passivity, little or poor communication, and odd behavior/social withdrawal” (slide 13). John was often teased in school, as “his immaturity and social awkwardness were initially more apparent than any special intellectual gifts” (ABM 31). He preferred to be on his own and did not have many friends. Virginia Nash, his mother, noticed his lack of interest in “childish pursuits” and friends, so she continually signed him up for campus, classes and blind dates in an effort to make her son more social. Fast forward to Nash’s post-grad years at Princeton, a fellow student described him as unusual, “he tended to say whatever came to his mind” (ny times). The next phase in the developmental course of schizophrenia is the predromal phase, which in Nash’s case involved social withdrawal, alogia (lack of speech), and avolition. The predromal phase is when negative symptoms intensify and usually lasts anywhere from weeks to years before the full-blown disorder manifests (slide 13). Joseph Brenner, who was the junior administrator on the admissions ward of McLean Hospital where Nash was eventually admitted, noted Nash’s “blankness of facial expressions, extreme detachment of voice, and reserve which bordered at times muteness” (ABM 258). Need
Delusions are defined as “erroneous beliefs that are fixed and firmly held despite clear contradictory evidence” (textbook 446). Nash’s delusions were grandiose and persecutory. Many times, he thought he was either “uniquely powerful or weak and vulnerable” (ABM 325). One of his most famous delusional outbursts, that eventually led to his first hospitalization, was when he walked into the MIT common room, where he worked, and declared that The New York Times contained encrypted messages from outer space specifically directed towards him (ABM 16). Nash described his delusions when fellow mathematician George Mackey asked him, “How could you, a mathematician, believe that extraterrestrials were sending you messages?” (ABM 11) To this Nash replied, “Because the ideas I had about supernatural beings came to me the same way my mathematical ideas did” (ABM 11). Other delusions John experienced included believing he was on the cover of Life Magazine as Pope John XXIII, because his favorite number was 23 (case studies 95). He began to think that many things he saw in his everyday life, such as a telephone number, or a sentence in The New York Times has a significance that was only apparent to him. These delusions eventually lead to avolition, which is the “inability to initiate or persist in goal-directed activities” (textbook 450). John also suffered from severe auditory hallucinations, disorganized thoughts, and multiple …show more content…
The premorbid phase involves “early childhood passivity, little or poor communication, and odd behavior/social withdrawal” (slide 13). John was often teased in school, as “his immaturity and social awkwardness were initially more apparent than any special intellectual gifts” (ABM 31). He preferred to be on his own and did not have many friends. Virginia Nash, his mother, noticed his lack of interest in “childish pursuits” and friends, so she continually signed him up for campus, classes and blind dates in an effort to make her son more social. Fast forward to Nash’s post-grad years at Princeton, a fellow student described him as unusual, “he tended to say whatever came to his mind” (ny times). The next phase in the developmental course of schizophrenia is the predromal phase, which in Nash’s case involved social withdrawal, alogia (lack of speech), and avolition. The predromal phase is when negative symptoms intensify and usually lasts anywhere from weeks to years before the full-blown disorder manifests (slide 13). Joseph Brenner, who was the junior administrator on the admissions ward of McLean Hospital where Nash was eventually admitted, noted Nash’s “blankness of facial expressions, extreme detachment of voice, and reserve which bordered at times muteness” (ABM 258). Need