Could you imagine not knowing what's real or imagined; not knowing that the little girl you've been having a conversation with for hours is just imagined; not knowing that your roommate you've shared the most stories with doesn't exist; not knowing that the loyal pet dog you've had all your life is just a figment of your imagination?
That's how schizophrenics live their daily lives. Due to an excessive amount of dopamine levels in their brain, they are overly sensitive to stimuli and perceive things that aren't truly there.
The movie A Beautiful Mind, directed by Julian Schnabel, helps capture the life of a schizophrenic. John Nash, played by Russell Crowe, is a Nobel Laureate in Economics who suffers from schizophrenia. He isn't the average schizophrenic though, he discovers that he has a mental illness on his own.
Russell Crowe, to better understand the character he was portraying, spent some time with John Nash. He said that John Nash is super intelligent and he would've never known that he was a schizophrenic because he acted so normal.
John Nash asked to stay off medicine because he knows he can handle his hallucinations. Still to this day he sees them, but they are part of his past now that he knows they are in his mind.
Normal schizophrenics need help to overcome their delusions and hallucinations. They need the assistance of strong prescribed drugs that will help them live their lives as normal.
The movie A Beautiful Mind really opened the eyes to people to know how schizophrenics are, and how they live their lives. Most schizophrenics are even more less fortunate than John Nash because they can't tell what is real or what is imagined.
Word of the Week: Schizophrenia: a severe mental disorder characterized by some, but not necessarily all, ofthe following features: emotional blunting, intellectualdeterioration, social isolation, disorganized speech andbehavior, delusions, and hallucinations. (dictionary.reference.com)
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