Controlling behavior is one step shy of abuse and in some cases it signals abuse is to come. Mind you controlling behavior is not a symptom of schizophrenia. He might have paranoid ideas that revolve around you that cause him to be controlling. Yet controlling behavior itself is not a sign of schizophrenia. He will have to take his SZ meds for the rest of his life to have the best chance at a successful life. People with schizophrenia can do great things as long as they take their meds and engage in positive, productive activities during the day. You have to decide how long you want to wait until his SZ symptoms are under control. This is a tricky illness for anyone loved one, including a girlfriend, to navigate when her partner is symptomatic. I realize you love him and want to be with him. Yet I myself draw the line at controlling behavior because it could be a precursor to abuse. I think you deserve better. Because your exact words about the controlling behavior he exhibits mirror almost word-for-word the behaviors of a guy who is physically abusive or verbally abusive to a woman. So the choice is yours: to stay or go. He needs to get his SZ symptoms under control, and when they're under control perhaps he'll stop being controlling. That's a big "perhaps." Having schizophrenia in no way excuses a person's behavior. Sorry to be so blunt,I'm calling it the way I see it. It will take at least a year for him to get stable on the SZ medication, and at least another two to five years or longer for him to reach the stabilization and then stable stages of his recovery. Take control. That's all I can tell you. Regards, Christina