John Nash's Predelusional Phase: A Case of Acute Identity Confusion

This article uses Erik H. Erikson's concept of acute identity confusion to provide a psychoanalytic explanation for why John Nash, the mathematical genius, experienced a mental breakdown at age thirty. Particular emphasis is given to the problem of intimacy, a central feature of identity confusion, especially as this manifested itself in bisexual confusion. Special note is taken of the traditional psychoanalytic emphasis on the regressive pull in cases of preschizophrenic illness, together with Erikson's own emphasis on commitment pressures and consequent psychosocial and psychosexual foreclosures.