A Beautiful Mind - a about Mental Health - Movie Review Example

Name: Number: Course name: Number: Summary A beautiful mind is an emotional and touching movie featuring the lifestyle of a bright individual who suffered from schizophrenia. This problem soon took over his mind and his life crushed. He left his students, distanced himself from his friends and colleagues and embarked on useless and time consuming obsession. Finally, he was taken to the hospital where he was required with the use of both electric shock and medications as he try to repair his ruined life. He was affected by Schizophrenia which is a brain disorder which affects emotion, the person’s thinking and perception and his/her own behavior such that it will have impact on the individual, family and the society. He later succeeded at his old age, after struggling for many years and he was awarded a Nobel Price. This was based on a true story of John Forbes Nash Jr. He was admitted to Princeton through Carnegie Scholarship in 1947 and in 1950, he completed his doctorate dissertation where he studied the Game Theory, and even making it more relevance (Elder, 2009) The film provides historical fiction which captures many parts of Nash’s life. Loyalty to historical details in many cases followed so as give a more continuous or coherent story. In school, John Nash was projecting his self on others. Self doubt was shown by his insults on others and hate of self was exhibited through violence, where as an undergraduate in Carnegie Institute of Technology, he ripped of the watchman’s shirt in an act of retaliation. Alicia, on the other hand, was aggressive, strong and determined woman who knew what she wants in life. Ignoring the gender role she was the first one to propose for a date. Her love for John sustained him later through his illness. Alicia stood with Nash in spite of his illness. She was moved with pity and she took him believing that no one else would help him. Nash was later treated severally including subjecting Nash to insulin shock treatment. However, she lost faith in the ability of a psychiatrist to assist Nash. The main goal is to present schizophrenia, not the fear and discrimination, but a disease which is to be overcome like other disease. The point is put with a lot of honesty by the actors. Many details of Nash have been omitted by Princeton. Concerning the distortion of character, more of the Nash character was represented. The events which followed showed the character of Nash. There were a lot of dialogue; silent contemplation shows the real character of Nash. He was always muttering to himself, whistling, and thinking. On the screen, Nash was arrogant, asocial and actually accepting his insecurity through his relation with Alicia. Eventually, Nash was unable to perform any useful work. He was just sitting at home as Alicia works to support the family and cares the baby. On medication Nash could not think properly, so as to make calculations, which he could do before the illness. Sol was disappointed and he pitied Nash when he visits them at home. Nash could not even satisfy Nash sexually, such that Alicia was seen screaming and breaking bathroom mirrors out of rage. This scene shows the emotional toll of Nash’ illness, which shows that even those people who live with people suffering with schizophrenia also suffers. Nash could not take this anymore, so he stopped taking medication, and he was soon overwhelmed by delusion. He nearly drowns his son in the bathtub because he was unable to function properly. Although the story is imaginary, it was meant to put across some ideas which are based on historical reality not only for Nash’s problems, but for other people who have experienced suffering due to schizophrenia. The film not only gives the suffering of the mentally ill people, but it also provides insights of the mathematical genius. The genius is unique and more original just like Einstein and Nash. Denial is an example of someone who encounters firsthand the crippling effects of the disease, and this makes the viewers to sympathize with the people who are mental ill instead of scorning. The story also shows that is not easy to ignore the beliefs and the behaviour of the people who are mentally ill because of schizophrenia, or assume that they are mad without looking further into the humanity at the centre of it. Every event is unique in its own way. But the message of the story is clear. It teaches the people to have compassion on the people who are mentally ill. Nash developed the disease after a gradual accumulation of stress due to his secretive and lonely life. This shows that there was serious trouble cooking inside the brilliant surface of his lifestyle. There were serious contradictions in his life which include: his encounter with other men, the neglected illegitimate son and secret lover, the university, the country and fear of failure, all this welled up and spilled over sweeping away the life which had been constructed carefully. This resulted in the anxiety and internal turmoil. Primary clinical diagnosis Schizophrenia is a brain disorder which affects emotion, the person’s thinking and perception and his/her own behavior such that it will have impact on the individual, family and the society. People with Schizophrenia often have a different perception and loss contacts with the reality. They may speak in a confusing way and see things which do not exist. They may also believe that others are trying to harm them making it difficult to do the daily activities. Thus people with Schizophrenia may withdraw from the outside world and may act out of fear. The schizophrenia disorder usually appears at early adulthood, but it can appear later. It rarely affects young children and early teens (Mason & Miller, 2011). Signs and Symptoms The signs and symptoms for schizophrenia varies but the generally reflect inability to function normally. Symptoms may include: Delusion – This is a false belief which is not realistic. An example is being harassed or harmed, the patient can see catastrophes coming, gestures being directed at him/her, or the body may stop functioning normally. Hallucinations – the individual with schizophrenia sees or hear things that do not exist. The person usually acts and has strength like a normal person. The most common hallucinations hearing of voices, but it can affect other senses. Disorganized thinking – This can recognized from speech. The communication can is impaired and answers to the questions asked may not be related or meaningless. Abnormal motor behavior - This may be shown from childlike behavior. The behavior does have goals making it hard to complete tasks. Other symptoms are unusual posture, opposition to instruction, and a lot of movement (Sadock et al., 2008). Negative symptoms - This is the inability or reduced ability to do the usual function. This can be exhibited by lack of emotions like unchanged facial expression, not adding head or hand movement as they facilitate emotions. The individual may also lack ability to perform or plan activities such as reduced conversation, poor hygiene, withdrawal, inability to experience pleasure, and loss of interest in daily activities Weiner et al., 2010). Treatments/ interventions (medications, side effects, counselling, ECT) – If diagnosis has been confirmed, appropriate interventions or treatment may be commenced. Individuals who are violent, suicidal or those who are unable to perform function alone may be referred to psychiatrist immediately. Medication - Patients are given medications appropriately. For example, anti psychotic medications may not work well with older people. They show more side effects or may even risk death. But under close supervision they may work well for older people. Mood stabilizers medications are preferred for long term treatment and reduction to suicidal tendencies. However, it requires close monitoring for toxicity in the body. Tranquilizers are used for relaxation of patients. Breastfeeding is not allowed due this medication and would be fed through the bottle (Liu, 2013). Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) - This may be recommended during rigorous postnatal depression, but it should for last resort. This is normally used to treat patients who are resistant to treatment of antipsychotic treatment. It is faster, safer, and effective in treating cases of low side effects, but may cause temporary cognitive impairment. ECT is normally used to relieve depression. It is believed that the electricity elevate the mood by changing the chemical composition in the brain. Some side effects include: headache, and short and long term memory loss. In case of adverse side effects, the ECT can be stopped (Cutler, & Marcus, 2010). Insulin Shock Therapy – This is done by administering stronger or more quantity of dose by injecting Insulin hormone control the blood sugar in the body. The shock can be administered more than once in a week, and can be done for several weeks. Some dangers associated with the shock treatment include fractured bones due to convulsion, or can even cause brain damage. Electro-convulsion has been use to treat schizophrenia (Shorter, & Healy, 2013). Psychosocial issues There are various issues in psychosocial treatment. The treatment process may be slow and may encounter regression and interruptions. Therefore, the treatment may take a long time, which can be months or years. The treatment should focus on short term achievable goals, for example attending the clinic once every week. Although the characteristic of illness for different individuals may appear similar, there are individual differences over time, and also the changes in response by an individual with time. The treatment therefore is design to accommodate each individual as well as to fit the changes to the response to treatment by an individual (Lauriello & Pallanti, 2012). All the patients who are to be treated regardless of how severe the condition is, must b treated as partner in treatment plan so as to secure cooperation from the patient. This is done in collaboration with the patient. The treatment should also focus on specific problems that the patient agrees to work on, like drug use. Since the illness causes memory impairment, reduced attention, and decreased functioning, the treatment should be fitted to these impairments especially if the patients can learn and retain what has been discussed. Actually, psychosocial treatment involves a comprehensive treatment program (Falvo, 2014). Discrimination / labelling issues Poor mental health has considerable economic and personal impacts. Discrimination and stigma worsen the situation. Apparently, there is a strong negative attitude towards the individuals with poor mental health, by the public and even among the professionals. These problems amplify the social distance, leading to social exclusion, and the likelihood for individuals who may have accessed health care may be reduced (MacBeth et al., 2011). The anti discrimination campaign are not easy to evaluate, but evidence suggest that some specific groups like school going children may be more effective. The individual may also be assisted to get employment and the schemes which provide empowerment to the patients should be increased. The appropriate treatment should be chosen as per person response. The stigma and discrimination can be tackled using legal means (Thornicroft, 2011). Ethical issues The Schizophrenia is a mental disorder which causes interrupt the person occupation, functionality and social interaction. This brings a heavy burden on the individual and the family. The treatment of such patients may be challenging. The introduction of new treatment requires the volunteered cooperation from the patients. Different ethical conduct of research on Schizophrenia depends on ethical principles. Ethical principle is the extension of individual right for research work and in hospital. A variety of ethical issues are encountered in the process of treating Schizophrenia. The issues are related to medical as well as psychiatric treatment of the patients (Nakamura, 2013). Although informed consent is important for all patients, it provides special changes for Schizophrenia patients. This illness impairs the brain and thus makes it difficult for patients to get insights and inability for them to make informed decisions about their care. The process of getting the consent from these individuals is especially challenging. The ethical decisions for treating the patients with Schizophrenia are the same as those of other patients. The informed consent as one of an ethical principle represents the right of the expression of the rights of an individual. Person with Schizophrenia not only provide informed consent for legal reasons but it also promote clinical – patient relationship. Thus, seeking informed consent not only provide a chance to give information as well as negotiate about the available options, preferences and value (Gaebel, 2011). Conclusion The theme in the story, A Beautiful Mind, is very clear. It portrays a person in the image of John Nash, who despite of all the distortion of his life, he remained a person. It portrays the nature of enduring love even for the mentally ill. John Nash is among one the few individuals who experience schizophrenia healing at old age for reason not known. Love does not provide the entire cure to this problem, it only ease the life suffering. The film challenges the viewer to study the rich historical events and research on the historical basis of the film. References Cutler, J. L., & Marcus, E. R. (2010). Psychiatry. Oxford: Oxford University Press. West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell. Elder, R., Evans, K., & Nizette, D. (2009). Psychiatric and mental health nursing. Sydney: Mosby Elsevier. Falvo, D. R. (2014). Medical and psychosocial aspects of chronic illness and disability. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning. Gaebel, W. (2011). Schizophrenia: Current science and clinical practice. Chichester, Lauriello, J., & Pallanti, S. (2012). Clinical Manual for Treatment of Schizophrenia. Washington, D.C: American Psychiatric Publishing. Liu, W. M. (2013). The Oxford handbook of social class in counseling. New York: Oxford University Press. Mason, S. E., & Miller, R. (2011). Diagnosis: schizophrenia: A comprehensive resource for consumers, families, and helping professionals. New York: Columbia University Press. MacBeth, A., Gumley, A., Schwannauer, M., & Fisher, R. (March 01, 2011). Attachment states of mind, mentalization, and their correlates in a first- episode psychosis sample. Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice, 84, 1, 42-57. Nakamura, K. (2013). A disability of the soul: An ethnography of schizophrenia and mental illness in contemporary Japan. Sadock, B. J., Sadock, V. A., & Sadock, B. J. (2008). Kaplan & Sadock's concise textbook of clinical psychiatry. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Thornicroft, G. (2011). Oxford textbook of community mental health. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Thomas, D., & Woods, H. (2003). Working with people with learning disabilities: Theory and practice. Philadelphia, PA: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. Weiner, I. B., & Craighead, W. E. (2010). The Corsini encyclopedia of psychology. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Read More