Sunday, May 18, 2014

Some Famous People With Schizophrenia


When we find out that a person suffers from schizophrenia, we get afraid for the person and ourselves. We know that schizophrenia is a mental disorder, but many of us are not sure what this disorder is all about. People, who suffer from schizophrenia, experience hallucinations and delusions, and do not have organized speech or thoughts. Along with the mental disorder, many schizophrenics also suffer from anxiety problems and depression. They are also known to be suicidal and because of this the life span of schizophrenics is not very long.

While schizophrenia can cause a lot of problems in a person's life, there have been famous personalities who have managed to somehow overcome the disorder and still carve a niche for themselves in their chosen occupation.

John Nash was a mathematician who was responsible for the differential game theory. While he was studying in college, he shows symptoms of being a schizophrenic. It was only later that a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia was made. However, he did not let this come in his way. He went on pursuing his interests in math and was awarded the Noble Prize in math in 1994. He is also the proud recipient of Leroy P. Steel Prize and the John von Neumann Theory Prize. A movie entitled Beautiful Mind was made on his life. The movie clearly highlights his intelligence and his continuous struggle with the disorder.

Imagine being a surgeon and Oxford English Dictionary contributor, and yet having schizophrenia? The person in question was William Chester Minor. He was in the Union army and took part in the American Civil War. However, after the war ended, he was known to frequent prostitutes. Thereafter, his condition deteriorated and as result he was committed to a mental asylum. In an incident of paranoid delusion, he ended up shooting a man because he believed the man was trying to break into his room. However, Minor was found not guilty on account of insanity. Minor's condition kept going from bad to worse and ultimately he passed away in 1920.

1 comment:

  1. Thanks for sharing the information on schizophrenia. I have heard a lot and these days’ lots of people are facing this problem. Do you know famous people with schizophrenia also?

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