[meowface]

Excellent point. Many schizophrenics have poor quality of life, but support from friends, family, and society and large can prevent it from degrading further, and even make it a lot better. Some people with schizophrenia can even be relatively functional, even without medication, if they have a good social structure. I could be wrong, but from what I've heard, with therapy and decent support, they can basically recognize their hallucinations and most of their delusions as internally generated and try to ignore them. That's still a terrible way to live, and they also still have the negative symptoms (which even most serious medication can't treat very well, if at all), but schizophrenia isn't necessarily a doom sentence.

And especially with medication, it can be manageable. John Nash, for example.

[alexbecker]

John Nash fairly famously refused medication (although this is not portrayed in the movie).

[meowface]

You're right. That makes the case even more interesting.

He claims he was able to eventually rationally reject all delusions and voices.