“A portion of scizophrenics, after a long period of time, often do seem to get better. And how that occurs remains a mystery.” – A Brilliant Madness: A Genius Descends into Madness, Time Mark: 48:40

So we learn from the story of John ‘the beautiful mind’ Nash who got better after 30 years of psychosis, that he made the choice to quit his meds, he got better, and psychiatry cannot explain how.

After years of reluctance by the Nobel Prize committee to award him for his great work on Game
Theory which revolutionized economics, because they didn’t know if he could handle the attention and pressure, finally was awarded it to him in 1994.1

As Nash began to improve, an old colleague said upon meeting him, “He was pretty sane. He was a much nicer person. The old ego stuff was gone.” Nash acknowledge later in life, “you are really talking to yourself.” From the Youtube story, it appears that unconditional love from his former wife was as instrumental as anything to John Nash. She let him move in only as a friend and promised to never have him committed again. She said, “it made a tremendous difference in his well-being.” After three decades of psychosis, he said, “I began to argue with the concept of the voices. And ultimately I began rejecting them.”

So tell me what good is done by psychiatry? If a few schizophrenics get better, like Nash, and they can’t explain how, then what are they doing? Yes, the meds can calm. Yes, the counseling sessions can help the person to open up. But what is really known about reuptake inhibitors and dopamine levels? It looks like the risky step to give the man love was as instrumental as anything.

God is a refuge. “Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:10. Nash was in a quest to find God. Coming out of the psychosis meant ignoring the voices in his head. He recognized the voices were nothing more than him talking to himself. The way to a sane, clear, rational, and concrete life means abandoning what is not real. Get rid of the voices. Get rid of the fears. Get rid of the false judgments of others. Understand that love originates from God and it can’t be explained with mathematical equations or balancing hormones. To come to a place of healing, get rid of the untested notions and the lies that got hung on your neck so long ago – often times in childhood. God is real. God is the most real “thing” there is. So when you come to God, it begins with peace and rest. It’s waiting and trusting on God. It’s letting God have His say and will in our life. It’s means letting go of the ego and being nice. God does for people what human theories and psychiatry cannot ever do. The world offers a placebo. The world gives a sedative. The world gives you a fantasy. But God satisfies you to the heart, mind, and soul. When you turn to God, you come to experience something solid, reliable, and something that fully satisfies. God puts your feet on solid ground.

One last word. I can personally identify with the struggle of silencing those voices. Early in my adulthood, there were many negative voices in my head which had been around for many years being acquired in my childhood. With the help of God and the love of my wife, I stopped the chatter in my head and put my feet and faith on solid ground.