Beautiful Mind's Portrayal of the Schizophrenic Experience

This movie helped me to understand my best friend.  He has mild schizophrenia.  Before he ever became ill he; in a way, saved my life.  I feel I owe him and I pay back by remaining his friend even when he got sick.  He's fine now because he takes meds.  We (his family and I) were lucky in that he would openly tell us when he heard voices and what they said.  He never hid or kept secret what he was hearing and thinking.  He did have a couple flip outs but nobody got hurt and he went to hospital.  I love him.  I do.  My best friend.  This movie helped me understand that part of him and what he lives with.

To be fair on Nash's part, his friend was wearing one of the worst ties ever created by man like was he thinking?

I was recently diagnosed with schizophrenia, and I think this has put a lot of my experiences into words and visualisations of that. Thank-you for this.

I had to take care of my grandma who was schizophrenic, blind, and half deaf... she would laugh and cry and scream out of the blue, she would tell me to bring food for her brother who wasn’t there. She would tell us to be quiet because she’s talking to “someone”. The first day she was brought to our house she yelled “why am i doing here? Im going to be killed aren’t i?! Youre going to kill me!” The medicine that was given to her made her body weak so we had to carry her all the time to the bathroom. But she would always apologise at the end of the day for tiring us out and being a burden. My name is always the first name she would call for help because my room was the nearest to her, and she would always have this bright smile whenever i help her out. She died a year ago and i still regret everyday for not taking care of her better...

I don't have schizophrenia, but I've had a manic-psychotic episode before, and it made me realize how truly stigmatized people with mental illnesses are. I thought I knew, but boy was I wrong. We are treated like monsters. And if you are told you are monster enough, you will begin to believe it. And that feels a bit dangerous, right? The idea that you can taunt someone, break someone, cut someone down and it doesn't matter? That there are no repercussions for ostracism? What does a society get when you tell groups of people that they're mean and scary and bad and beyond redemption? But even with this rejection and dehumanization, mentally ill people are much more likely to be harmed, abused, or killed than we are to ever do those things to people. If you can't trust your own mind, you'll trust others and how they see you. It takes a strong spirit to resist, and my heart goes out to everyone who is fighting and losing this battle. I hope you all find your anchor and sense of self.

My mom has mental issues since time immemorial. It became evident since 2006, but she was diagnosed having schizophrenia in 2015. I think it's not schizophrenia but something else. But nonetheless, when you have a family member struggling with mental health issues, it's really difficult to run the family and take care of your own health as well. Power to all the people who are going through a similar difficulty. 🙌

i was really touched by this movie years ago when I watched it. but now as an adult my own daughter being diagnosed with schizo-effective disorder..this movie sheds a whole new light and allows me to see it and empathize with her in a whole new way.

This makes me so sad to know my brother suffered from schizophrenia to a level where he’s explaining to me that he’s a vampire, he’d almost cry if you didn’t believe him. He had 9 personality disorders in total. He ended up in broadmoor where he passed away from cancer last year. He also told me his dead friends told him to do allot of the things he did, example attempt his life, so on. It really is terrifying.

I also recommend reading the beautiful mind book, there are a lot of details that helps understanding the movie and also about John Nash particular struggles - his son also developed schizophrenia

It's a tragic illness. My brother has severe schizophrenia, and it was a sudden onset case. Within a couple years of diagnosis, he had disappeared and was living homless in the woods a thousand miles away. Eventually got picked up by the police while trying to steal food. He was emaciated, in failing health, and mentally far far gone. State mandated medication saved his life, but even when heavily medicated, the paranoia and delusions are still very present.

I'm 1:31 in so far. Nash never had visual hallucinations, only auditory. He also had good reason to believe he was superior.

It’s interesting that common sense began to challenge his delusions. It dawned on him, seemingly out of nowhere, that the little girl never gets any older. He had supposedly known her for years, but if I recall, at that point in the film, she should be a young woman about 20 years of age.

This movie is so good and it gets me every time 😭 I can’t imagine a worse hell than fighting within your own mind to know what’s real and what isn’t, one of my favorite films by far

I once had a severe panic attack in the shower from anti-depressants. I never experienced anything like it. There was no reason behind the panic it was just fear which had a paralysing effect. I lost any sense of time in that moment. The brain and our mind can be such a weird construct.

My mother is facing this disease and I can imagine how much support is required from family to get out of this disease otherwise you became addicted to drugs but can never recover

My older sister has been diagnosed for sz for over 8 years now. By the time that she’s taking the meds that makes her free from the voices and the faces, she’s way eager to have friends and to be into a relationship. Her utmost wish is to go back to study or to look for a job. Her biggest struggles are the auditory and visual hallucinations caused by this disorder.

Einstein also had schizotypal personality features but these people had special talents

This man was searching for love his entire life. He’s not a monster. He’s not a machine. He wants love, which he never really got. He was trying to hard to get that love, by trying to create something that would make him worthy of it. But why wasn’t he worthy of it, even if he didn’t accomplish something extraordinary? How have we become as a society when we forget how to love people?

I am horrified by people who have no education of mental illnesses like schizophrenia or bipolar illness. These are debilitating psychiatric disorders and to call someone a looney is very disrespectful and actually a very harmful stereotype towards them. It’s a form of discrimination towards those who suffer a mental handicap. What if you had a schizophrenic family member would you call them loonies?

wow...just fucking wow. I was diagnosed as schizophrenia paranoid type, by a psychologist and a psychiatrist... this is a very accurate description of what I have been though, even including the 'recovery' phase, which I am starting to recognize now. I was told to see this movie just the other day by my doctor, so I looked it up on YouTube this is such an incredible awakening for me...I want to thank you. wow, just wow.