Dr. Jon Nash

A True Success Story

It is a common phenomena that patients who strive to get well do get well. One of the best known and the most striking examples is that of a Professor of Mathematics at the Princeton University, Dr. Jon Nash, JR. Born in 1928, Dr. Nash was afflicted by Schizophrenia possibly from his undergraduate student days, from which he suffered for many decades. He almost never stopped suffering from symptoms of schizophrenia except possibly during a few intervals

His adjustments to schizophrenic illness were achieved only when he was able to convince himself that he had a mental disorder. It was only then that he decided to live peacefully with this illness. He realized the need of for continuous medication; he also realized that the symptoms, particularly his hallucinations and delusions (“that he could communicate with aliens and communists”, “that he was about to become the emperor of Antarctica”) arose from his mental illness and those where not real or true. “I began arguing with myself and began disputing my thoughts and the concept of the voices. And ultimately, I began to reject my thoughts and decided not to listen to the voices”. With the great determination and grit he stopped acting on those hallucinations and delusions. Prof. Nash Calmly but with firm resolve withstood ridicule from his professional colleagues, students and the public.

He also put up with side effects of medication, and with symptoms like persistent hallucinations and delusions, and adjusted to these. He never hide his illness from anybody and when asked talked openly about it. Another important factor in this adjustment was the professional support Prof. Nash received from his wife, Alicia Larder. Prof. Nash Had, infact, divorced Alicia once because she had got him admitted to a mental asylum against his wish. Later on his mental condition improved he was reunited with Alicia.

He went on to become a great and popular teacher of mathematics. This was a tremendous achievement for somebody who suffered from schizophrenia for so many decades. The crowing glory came when he was awarded the Nobel Prize in economics in 1994. Prof. Nash 78 years old brain is just as razor sharp as before and is considered as one of the most brilliant minds of the last century.