In the movie A Beautiful Mind, the depiction of schizophrenia is shown in many accurate ways. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) states that the symptoms of this disease are delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, or disorganized or catatonic behavior. People with schizophrenia are also socially withdrawn and awkward when coming into contact with other people. These traits of the disease are shown in detail in the film through the character John Nash's struggle with the disease. Nash is a very intelligent professor but believes he is working with the government to foil a Soviet attack plot. Nash eventually wins a Nobel Prize for one of his theories. The film shows the effects of schizophrenia not only on a man, but also on the friends and family of the sufferer. Treatment is discussed but not for long because he ignores the doctor's orders about medications. Overall the film shows some very prevalent traits of the disease in great detail during certain parts of the film. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) is the authority on diagnosing mental illnesses. It is a manual that provides all the lists of symptoms and criteria for a certain type of disease. This manual lists the symptoms of schizophrenia as characteristic symptoms (hallucinations, delusions, disorganized speech, and catatonic behavior), vocational/social dysfunction (inability to maintain social skills). Other areas are the duration of the disease (6 months or more), the exclusion of schizoaffective and mood disorders (excludes the effects of other possible diseases). Also exclusion of general medical substances/substances (excludes effects based on drug effects), and finally... half of the document... for Nash developing the disease. In real life, however, schizophrenia is believed to be triggered by a combination of a person's genetics and the person's environment. The onset of this disease is usually shown in males between the ages of 15 and 25. This is accurately shown in the film by Nash's symptoms getting increasingly worse as he enters adulthood while at Princeton. This film shows schizophrenia as a difficult, but conquerable disease. It shows the harshest aspects of it, but also the glory of triumphing over it. For the most part Russell Crowe provided a fairly accurate portrayal of the life of a schizophrenic. Some parts were very “Hollywood”, while most aspects of the film were perfectly tied to the nature of the disease. A Beautiful Mind is a film that shows the wonderful effects of unbridled love and support for someone suffering from schizophrenia.