Paranoid Schizophrenia In The Film A Beautiful Mind

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1) Introduction and 4 D’s (1/2-1)
John Nash, a mathematician at Princeton University, is the main character in the film A Beautiful Mind. Beginning in his early college years and onward, Nash experiences hallucinations and delusions that meet the requirements for a psychiatric disorder. The 4 D’s will be used to further explain the abnormality of these behaviors.
Deviance is defined as behaviors that are considered “different” and deviate from social norms. Nash displays deviance when he acknowledged his hallucinations, and proceeded to fight and communicate with them publicly. His behavior would be considered deviant because it is not within societal norms to talk and fight with imaginary friends. Distress is defined as having unpleasant and upsetting feelings. Nash experiences distress when no one believes him about his hallucinations of spies stalking him outside his classroom while he is teaching, and he starts seeing soldiers working in his backyard shed. Because what he is seeing are hallucinations, any attempt Nash has to convince others that what he is seeing is real causes him more distress when no one believes him. Dysfunction is defined as experiencing an interference with daily functioning. The hallucinations and delusions Nash experienced began to take over his life. He was not able to …show more content…
Schizophrenia is the “deterioration into isolated wilderness of unusual perceptions, odd thoughts, disturbed emotions, and motor abnormalities.” (Sterling, 2016) More specifically, Paranoid Schizophrenia involves organized delusions and hallucinations which guide a person’s life. The DSM-5 lists 5 symptoms: hallucinations, delusions, disorganized speech, grossly disorganized or catatonic behavior, and negative symptoms. Two or more of these symptoms must be present for a significant portion of time during a 1-month period in order to diagnose a person as

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