> everyone would be much better off emotionally if he just took his medication
You say that as if the schizophrenic person, someone who lives in an alternate reality due to psychosis, has any kind of agency over taking his medication. You can only make that choice when you're sane, and even then the drugs aren't perfect and people routinely decide to come off them for some psychotic reason - yes, you can become psychotic while on anti-psychotics - and failing that they come off them because they're so ashamed of being mentally ill from all those condescending and "well-meaning" (read: superior) people telling them what to do and how defective they are all the time that they want to prove they can handle it. Plus there's the issue that the alternate reality is way more interesting than this one.
Your suggestion that it's somehow Terry's fault is about as helpful as telling a homeless person - who is much more likely to have a psychotic illness by the way - to "just get a job".
It’s generally a bad and dangerous idea, especially for someone who is schizophrenic, but antipsychotics can have very serious side effects, and I think it’s painting with a brush that’s a bit too broad to suggest that someone would only stop taking them for “some psychotic reason”. People who take these medications are often facing some very difficult trade offs.
"Voices hearer" here. I've been mostly off antipsychotics for 7 years now (over 30 yo). If antipsychotics did just cut "voices" down I would be happy to take them, but unfortunately most of them have sedation and motivational side effects that are harder to bear than the "voices" themselves, which also I don't like.
However, it comes handy to have them at hand during those occasional periods of insomnia, since my health priority is keeping a solid routine in study, sports and sleep pattern.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with you varying your medication in order to manage side effects. That's a very good reason. However, parent said:
> and failing that they come off them because they're so ashamed of being mentally ill from all those condescending and "well-meaning" (read: superior) people telling them what to do and how defective they are all the time that they want to prove they can handle it.
You say that as if the schizophrenic person, someone who lives in an alternate reality due to psychosis, has any kind of agency over taking his medication. You can only make that choice when you're sane, and even then the drugs aren't perfect and people routinely decide to come off them for some psychotic reason - yes, you can become psychotic while on anti-psychotics - and failing that they come off them because they're so ashamed of being mentally ill from all those condescending and "well-meaning" (read: superior) people telling them what to do and how defective they are all the time that they want to prove they can handle it. Plus there's the issue that the alternate reality is way more interesting than this one.
Your suggestion that it's somehow Terry's fault is about as helpful as telling a homeless person - who is much more likely to have a psychotic illness by the way - to "just get a job".