My brother, sister, and I are technically untreated........though we both use cannabis. I've heard from some that it makes psychosis worse--but for me it seems to help all my anxiety/secondary issues RE the schiz. (Plus I have MS so I have to use it for pain/progression of my illness)
I've also heard psychotherapy and CBT can be very effective..........

But I have schizotypal, not schizophrenia--and I would be leery of going entirely off meds if my condition were more severe. I don't think either of my siblings has full schizophrenia either....so it may be why they are more successful off meds and with therapy.

Wish I knew more!

i have an understanding of what my mental health has developed into from being severely schizo... how i learned to deal with it and see it for what it truly is ... drastically reduced my symptoms ...

one way of looking at it is... that it is your inner person... that connection between you and God as LIVING SPIRIT...

denying it in any way... regardless of how you interpret it ... simply suppresses the inner child and compounds the problem ...

it is a natural part of you and is not evil... whatsoever at all...

modern science will deny this and treats it for what they believe it to be...

so much for that angle...

it is necessary when you have no clue as to what is really going on...

but... it still denies the facts... helps to suppress your inner reality that needs attention and love...

i stumbled on this truth and put it into practice... and took it all to the next level...

and do not need medication any longer... it is something that brings me peace and a closer tie to a real understanding with what i believe it is meant to be for... communion with your inner helper called the Holy Spirit !!!!

If you have schizophrenia, chances are you need to be on meds. If you go off of them and get psychotic you might not know you are psychotic and think that you are okay. I think you mentioned once that you have paranoid schizophrenia? If you do there is no "mild" case. Just severe and more severe. I have paranoid schizophrenia and if I dont take my meds it never fails that I end up in the hospital. Instead of quitting medication to lose weight, try exercising and eating lower calorie meals, no snacking or fast food. It takes discipline I know. I struggle too with the weight issure due to meds. But I would rather be mentally at ease and a little overweight than skinny and out of my mind.

Thx all you guys for taking the time to answer. Some informitive stuff!!

Caz that was beautiful what you wrote to Joshua about having a inner communion with the Holy Spirit, So very true, I loved what you wrote and I hope this helps you what he said, As for me I cant smoke marijuana it makes me feel very weird and have psycosis, I have Scitzoeffective Disorder and from my understanding of it, It is a Thought Disorder and a Mood Disorder and that is where the Bipolar comes in, So basicaly I have 2 illness combined in one, I have not found a antipsycotic that has worked for me yet, At least not any of the new ones, They make me feel worse taking them then before I even started, I tried small does of Haldol and that was not to bad, I didnt have any bad side effects, But maybe for me the older ones work better, I dont know, Some days are better for me and some days are worse, I never know what day I am going to have, But I am on alot of Depakote and I think I have read that can work for Scitzoeffective and that is the only drug that has worked for me and even with that its not working 100% I know I need to get enough sleep and rest and if I dont it will start to mess with me, I also have to remain pretty stress free and stay away from negativity and negative people, That will raise my stress level, I am sorry I probably got off the subject, I was just telling you what I have some of your illness and Bipolar 1, I cant take antidepressents or they will throw me right into mania and then into psycosis, I hope you start feeling better soon and find the right meds that work for you

My schizophrenic son would like to get off meds. We are finding zero support for it and his attempts to do it solo have been catastrophic. Please let us know if you find or discover anything.

This self-medicated BP (cannabis and other herbs) gets sensations I describe as, "agitation" which generate from my solar plexus. It sounds allot like what you are describing and has the power to turn me into a hypomanic fool. My most effective relief for it has been "mindfulness" exercises. Google it, if you are interested. There are millions of them. It doesn't make them go away, but it makes them tolerable.

Keep growing that strength, my friend. Peace.

They made me take a ton of drugs when I was locked up throughout my teens. I'm pretty sure they use kids in the system for human drug tests. I'm immune to thorazine now after all the injections I took in the butt back then.
As an adult, I refuse to take any drugs. Nights like tonight when I just want to die and have no one in my life to talk to, I wonder if they might help. Not that I have any way of getting to a doctor, or paying for one if I did...
ANYway, I usually sleep or cuddle my cats when I feel the delusions getting out of hand. I block the voices with music.
Today I tried jogging. I don't know if there was an old lady with me or not, but I talked to her.