Hello,   I understand your may not want to take medication if you don't have to.  Also, you may feel upset that you need to take meds.  Rest assured, there's no shame in having schizophrenia.  There are hundreds of thousands of people diagnosed with this illness who do well and go on to achieve their goals in life precisely because they take the medication every day as prescribed.   Schizophrenia is a medical condition that requires life-long management with medication, sometimes therapy as an adjunct [and therapy is a great tool in the toolbox] and support from peers, friends and family.   So that even if the medication doesn't alleviate all your symptoms, the fact that you're on medication prevents further loss of brain tissue and helps you maintain your functionality, which would decrease sharply if you were not on the meds.   I'm proud to take the meds because they gave me back my life.   Best regards, Christina