Beautiful Mind and the Mental Illness Experience Essay Answer

Introduction:

Schizophrenia is a mental disorder that is characterized by impairment in the cognitive and thinking abilities of an individual. It is associated with symptoms of hallucination, delusion, withdrawal, thought impairment and cognitive impairment (McCutcheon, Marques & Howes, 2020). The movie ‘A beautiful mind’ depicts the journey of John Nash through life with schizophrenia. He was a nobel prize winner and mathematician. The movie accurately portrays the symptoms of schizophrenia through the main character and raises awareness regarding the experiences and challenges of a person living with the disease (Arfani, 2018). The essay aims to evaluate the experiences of John Nash as shown in the movie and evaluate its impact on the person and the community. The essay will discuss the etiology and pathophysiology of the condition. In addition, it will provide a brief insight into the role of mental health nurses in implementing non-pharmacological interventions.

Discuss the Aetiology and Pathophysiology of the Mental Illness Experienced by the Main Character:

In the movie ‘A beautiful mind’, the main character John Nash is diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, a mental disorder where an individual experiences delusion and hallucination. Nash mainly experienced both auditory and visual hallucinations. He had the delusion that a government agency has appointed him as a code breaker and he tried to gain information on plans for a potential attack in the United States. He developed an obsession with code-cracking due to this delusion. Other common signs and symptoms of schizophrenia are disorganized thinking, negative symptoms such as social withdrawal and neglecting personal hygiene. They face challenges in dealing with emotions and handling relationships (Harvey & Strassnig, 2019). In the movie, Nash was found to struggle with his emotions and does not know how to express them.

The etiology of schizophrenia is multifactorial and it may take place due to a combination of genetic and environmental factors. According to Boston (2019), genetics plays a fundamental role as a 46% concordance rate has been found in monozygotic twins and children with both parents affected have a 40% risk of developing the disorder. Thus, genetics is one of the crucial risk factors and it has been proved by twin studies. The study by Henriksen et al. (2017) revealed that the concordance rate was high in monozygotic twins compared to dizygotic twins. In addition, adoption studies revealed that children of healthy parents who were adopted by a parent suffering from schizophrenia did not have the risk of developing schizophrenia. The study by Zwicker, Denovan-Wright and Uher (2018) discussed the role of gene-environment interplay in the etiology of schizophrenia. Multiple environmental exposures have been associated with psychosis. Some of the environmental exposures that have been implicated in the development of the disorder are inadequate nutrition, maternal anemia, maternal stress, low socioeconomic status, preterm birth, migration and tobacco use. For instance, exposure to adversities or trauma in childhood has been associated with psychotic illness in adulthood. Similarly, substance abuse increases the likelihood of developing schizophrenia.

In the movie, John Nash was struggling with different symptoms of schizophrenia. There are many hypotheses behind the development of schizophrenia. According to Park, Choi and Leem (2021), neurotransmitters such as dopamine, serotonin, glutamate and GABA play a role in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. The positive symptoms of schizophrenia are attributed to the hyperfunction of the mesolimbic dopamine pathway and an increase in the dopamine receptor activation in the limbic region. This change is associated with the release of dopamine. In addition, negative symptoms such as anhedonia and flat affect take place due to the hypofunction of the mesocortical dopamine pathway. It results in a decrease in the D1 receptor. In patients with schizophrenia, the pH of the brain is low compared to normal individuals. It is an important biological factor that can alter the function of the brain and thus, abnormalities in pH could play a role in the pathophysiology of the disorder. Any form of pH change can have an impact on membrane excitability, signal cascades and action potential properties. It can also affect synaptic activities within the brain (Sonnenschein, Gomes & Grace, 2020). Similar pathophysiology could be the cause behind the development of schizophrenia for Nash in the movie.

Psychosocial Impact of Mental Illness on the Individual, Family, and the Community:

The symptoms of schizophrenia are associated with many psychosocial impacts on the individual, their family and the community. In the movie, Nash was found to be withdrawn from society and he had difficulty expressing his emotions. The study by Suttajit et al. (2015) argues that psychosocial functioning is impaired in people with schizophrenia. Psychosocial functioning relates to self-care, socially useful activities and social relationships. The study revealed that the presence of negative symptoms was associated with social withdrawal, poor personal and social relationships and poor engagement in self-care. Patients with severe negative symptoms experience the worst social adjustment and disability. The study by Eglit et al. (2018) further supports that self-reported loneliness is common among individuals with schizophrenia. It affects their quality of life. The main cause behind loneliness is internalized stigma, lower self-efficacy, lower self-esteem, depression and paranoia. Hence, social isolation and impaired social functions are some challenges for patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia.

Patients with schizophrenia seem to struggle in their personal relationships. A similar issue was found for the main character, Nash in the movie. However, her wife did her best to cope with his illness and support him. The study by Budziszewska, Babiuch-Hall and Wielebska, K. (2020) gave the argument that the diagnosis of schizophrenia creates barriers to maintaining close relationships. Feelings of self-stigmatization are common in such patients too. Problems like social isolation, loss of romantic interest and challenges in maintaining personal relationships are common challenges for patients with schizophrenia. In addition to personal relationships, the disorder significantly influences people’s ability to live independently. They had different coping mechanisms to deal with frustrations. Some patients engaged in spiritual practice to feel more optimistic whereas some tried to cope with a self-assurance statement (Rani et al., 2019). Thus, the social and family relationship is severely affected due to schizophrenia.

The diagnosis of schizophrenia put a major burden on the family members or carers. In the movie, Nash’s wife Alicia was her primary caregiver. She experienced the burden of caring for him and his son. Due to the symptom of aggression and paranoia, she was also worried about the safety of his son. Rani et al. (2019) argue that disruptions in family life are common for such patients. In addition, various other studies have reported caregiving burdens for family members. According to Rahmani et al. (2020), the diagnosis of schizophrenia in any family member affects the function of the whole family. It disrupts their engagement in careers or taking part in recreational activities. Prolonged caregiving responsibility often depletes the energy of family members and results in negative emotions such as feelings of depression, despair and grief. Similarly, the study by Rahmani et al. (2020) gave insight into the needs of family members. They had psychological needs due to household burdens and limited opportunities for social interaction. The study suggests the need to provide support to family caregivers of schizophrenia.

Role of Mental Health Nurse in Non-Pharmacological Intervention

The mental health nurse has a vital role in all aspects of the care and management of patients with schizophrenia. The common clinical role is related to the assessment of the patients, management of pharmacological intervention and patient education. However, they play an important role in the non-pharmacological management of the disorder too. The use of non-pharmacological intervention in combination with a pharmacological approach is important to promote symptom control, decrease the risk of relapse and promote good quality of life. Mental health nurses can collaborate with the client to choose the best non-pharmacological intervention. Evidence shows using psychosocial therapy as a maintenance treatment along with antipsychotic medications in patients with schizophrenia. Psychosocial interventions may include self-management of illness, social skills training, family psychoeducation and case management process. The main goals of such interventions are skill development and empowerment of patients (Mahone, Maphis & Snow, 2016).

The goal of non-pharmacological intervention is to enhance the potential of people with mental disorders in their daily life activities. Psychosocial interventions are classified into three types namely education and support, life and social skills training and problem-focused interventions. Other highly recommended non-pharmacological interventions are cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), psycho-education, social and coping skills and family interventions (Stevović et al., 2022). Mental health nurses have a role in guiding patients, educating them about the disease as well as counselling patients. CBT is found to be effective in reducing auditory hallucinations in the patient. Psychiatric or mental health nurses are often involved in administering the therapy and this practice has been found to be cost-effective. Nurse-led CBT is mostly applied in primary care settings and they mainly target schizophrenia and mood disorder symptoms (Shukla et al., 2015; Yoshinaga et al., 2015). Thus, research evidence shows the efficacy and feasibility of CBT along with pharmacological intervention in treating patients with functional impairments.

Family psychoeducation, skills training and cognitive remediation are other non-pharmacological interventions for patients with schizophrenia. Psychoeducation provides the patient with psychological support, gain knowledge about the disease, supports them in their recovery and enables the development of coping skills in an individual (Maheshwari et al., 2015). Nurse-led psychoeducational programs have been found to improve medication adherence, increase patients’ awareness about symptoms, develop their coping and social skills and decrease the likelihood of relapse and rehospitalization. Nurse-led implementation of such programs has resulted in the acceptance of medication among patients (Matsuda & Kohno, 2016). The study by Verma et al. (2019) gave insight into the role of psychoeducation in providing support to family caregivers. This intervention has been designed to increase knowledge and insight about illness among both patients and caregivers. Family caregivers taking part in the intervention were hesitant about disclosing their problems in the initial period. However, after forming a rapport with mental health nurses, they were able to release or vent out their frustration. These sessions have supported family members to learn new coping and problem-solving skills (Verma et al., 2019. Thus, such treatment can be useful in promoting compliance with medication and supporting patients to learn positive coping skills.

Coempowering

The essay evaluated the main character of the movie ‘A Beautiful Mind’ and his experiences with schizophrenia. He was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and the movie depicted his experience of living with the disease. The essay discussed the etiology and risk factors of schizophrenia and gave insight into the role of dopamine and pH on the pathophysiology of the disorder. In addition, the impact of schizophrenia on Nash’s individual and family life was explored. This was further supported by evidence from the recent research literature. In addition, the study reported on different ways in which a mental health nurse can support such individuals by implementing non-pharmacological intervention.

References:

Arfani, S. (2018). The Schizophrenia in The Main Character of A Beautiful Mind movie Directed by Ron Howard. Wanastra: Jurnal Bahasa dan Sastra , 10 (1), 9-16.

Bosman, R. (2019, October). Finding the right treatment for schizophrenia. In The Specialist Forum (Vol. 19, No. 9, pp. 18-22). New Media Publishing. https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC-193cada31d

Budziszewska, M. D., Babiuch-Hall, M., & Wielebska, K. (2020). Love and romantic relationships in the voices of patients who experience psychosis: An interpretive phenomenological analysis. Frontiers in Psychology , 11 , 570928. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.570928

Eglit, G. M., Palmer, B. W., Martin, A. V. S., Tu, X., & Jeste, D. V. (2018). Loneliness in schizophrenia: Construct clarification, measurement, and clinical relevance. PLoS One , 13 (3), e0194021. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0194021

Harvey, P. D., & Strassnig, M. T. (2019). Cognition and disability in schizophrenia: cognition‐related skills deficits and decision‐making challenges add to morbidity. World Psychiatry , 18 (2), 165.

Henriksen, M. G., Nordgaard, J., & Jansson, L. B. (2017). Genetics of schizophrenia: overview of methods, findings and limitations. Frontiers in human neuroscience , 11 , 322. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2017.00322

Maheshwari, S., Manohar, S., Chandran, S., & Rao, T. S. S. (2020). Psycho-education in schizophrenia. Schizophrenia Treatment Outcomes: An Evidence-Based Approach to Recovery , 275-284.

Mahone, I. H., Maphis, C. F., & Snow, D. E. (2016). Effective strategies for nurses empowering clients with schizophrenia: Medication use as a tool in recovery. Issues in Mental Health Nursing , 37 (5), 372-379. doi: 10.3109/01612840.2016.1157228

Matsuda, M., & Kohno, A. (2016). Effects of the nursing psychoeducation program on the acceptance of medication and condition-specific knowledge of patients with schizophrenia. Archives of Psychiatric Nursing , 30 (5), 581-586. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apnu.2016.03.008

McCutcheon, R. A., Marques, T. R., & Howes, O. D. (2020). Schizophrenia—an overview. JAMA psychiatry , 77 (2), 201-210. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2019.3360

Park, H. J., Choi, I., & Leem, K. H. (2021). Decreased brain pH and pathophysiology in schizophrenia. International Journal of Molecular Sciences , 22 (16), 8358.

Rahmani, F., Roshangar, F., Gholizadeh, L., & Asghari, E. (2022). Caregiver burden and the associated factors in the family caregivers of patients with schizophrenia. Nursing Open , 9 (4), 1995-2002.

Rani, A., Raman, K. J., Ammapattian, T., Antony, S., Prabhu, S. G., & Basavarappa, C. (2019). Lived Experiences of Persons with Chronic Schizophrenia Living in the Community. Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine , 02537176221084500.

Shukla, P., Padhi, D., Sengar, K. S., Singh, A., & Chaudhury, S. (2021). Efficacy and durability of cognitive behavior therapy in managing hallucination in patients with schizophrenia. Industrial Psychiatry Journal , 30 (2), 255. doi: 10.4103/ipj.ipj_94_20

Sonnenschein, S. F., Gomes, F. V., & Grace, A. A. (2020). Dysregulation of midbrain dopamine system and the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. Frontiers in psychiatry , 11 , 613.

Stevović, L. I., Repišti, S., Radojičić, T., Sartorius, N., Tomori, S., Kulenović, A. D., ... & Jovanović, N. (2022). Non-pharmacological interventions for schizophrenia—analysis of treatment guidelines and implementation in 12 Southeast European countries. Schizophrenia , 8 (1), 10.doi: 10.1038/s41537-022-00226-y

Suttajit, S., Arunpongpaisal, S., Srisurapanont, M., Thavichachart, N., Kongsakon, R., Chantakarn, S., ... & Nerapusee, O. (2015). Psychosocial functioning in schizophrenia: are some symptoms or demographic characteristics predictors across the functioning domains?. Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment , 2471-2477.doi: 10.2147/NDT.S88085

Verma, P. K., Walia, T. S., Chaudhury, S., & Srivastava, S. (2019). Family psychoeducation with caregivers of schizophrenia patients: Impact on perceived quality of life. Industrial psychiatry journal , 28 (1), 19.doi: 10.4103/ipj.ipj_2_19

Yoshinaga, N., Nosaki, A., Hayashi, Y., Tanoue, H., Shimizu, E., Kunikata, H., ... & Shiraishi, Y. (2015). Cognitive behavioral therapy in psychiatric nursing in Japan. Nursing Research and Practice , 2015 . doi: 10.1155/2015/529107

Zwicker, A., Denovan-Wright, E. M., & Uher, R. (2018). Gene–environment interplay in the etiology of psychosis. Psychological medicine , 48 (12), 1925-1936.

You Might Also Like

Mental Illness and Psychotropic Medication Assignment Help

All That You Need To Know About Promoting Mental Health And Wellbeing Assessment Answer!

Abnormal Psychology Mental Illness and Substance Abuse Assessment Answers

Looking For Complete Assignment Sample Get It On WhatsApp