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In my three-plus decades since I was diagnosed with Schizophrenia, I've found that meditation and/or mindfulness will not cure the condition. Meditation and mindfulness could, to a limited extent, improve brain structure. However, the origin of a psychotic condition is in the human brain, as an organ in the body. Mindfulness primarily helps the mind, which is merely a nonphysical product of the brain's function. 

An analogy: going on a ten-mile run every morning doesn't cure Type I Diabetes. Type I, (as opposed to type II, which could actually be helped by a ten-mile run) is an organic lack of production of insulin. If you have Type I, you have to take insulin, period. Exercise, no matter how much you do, is not a substitute. 

When medicated, a person with mental illness has an opportunity to better the function of the mind and emotions through mindfulness. The mindfulness could be seen as the walls of a house, while the medication could be seen as the concrete foundation. To do well, we probably need both medication and meditation. 

If you are on psych meds for three years and practice mindfulness with a lot of focus, you could have good results. If you then discontinue medication because you believe the mindfulness fixed your problem, the result will likely be disastrous. 

Additionally, a full-blown psychotic episode often erases the progress made in meditation practices. That is something you'll discover when you are back on medication and recovering from the inevitable relapse. 

Medication works imperfectly. This is unlike the scenario of taking Synthroid for hypothyroidism. In the case of thyroid, the chemical match is exact or nearly so. On the other hand, brain research hasn't discovered enough about schizophrenia to accomplish treatment at that level. That is why many people with severe mental illnesses don't function at a level considered normal. Sometimes mindfulness can help fill the gap. 

Although mindfulness can potentially help mentally ill people, the illnesses often make it harder to meditate. It is harder to approach mindfulness when the brain is yet, to an extent, malfunctioning. Extra effort and extra focus will help, but not entirely. In some instances, if life gets too frustrating or difficult, we just need to take a break, from whatever it is we're doing that seems to be difficult. 

Life isn't perfect. Meditation can help. And for people with severe schizophrenic illness, medication is a must. 

A person taking psych medications can reach meditative attainment. The more years we go with uninterrupted treatment and an uninterrupted regimen of meditation, the better off we may be. We don't have to do as well as, or compare ourselves to, other meditation practitioners. We are making progress if we are doing better than we would otherwise. 

We won't at all times have the ability to meditate. In some instances, we are going to feel crappy, and there is no way around it. 

Mindfulness can help us deal with life situations that require behavior changes. And that alone makes it worthwhile. Mindfulness, if practiced enough, with enough skill, can allow us to deal with adverse and unfair circumstances, in a constructive, problem-solving mode. It can allow us not to feel sorry for ourselves, and to instead do things that work to better our lives. 

The above isn't automatic, since mindfulness is no more than a tool. It is a tool that works according to how it is used. And having a tool is better than not having a tool. If we entirely lack mental resources to deal with hard situations, it could be a temptation to resort to street drugs or destructive behavior. 

I credit not having resorted to drugs with the fact that I've studied meditation since early adulthood. I began my studies by reading "Handbook to Higher Consciousness" by Ken Keyes Jr. I also studied the writings of D.T. Suzuki, namely "An Introduction to Zen Buddhism." I've studied "The Miracle of Mindfulness" by Thich Nhat Hanh, who I believe is still alive. And I've studied many other works. In the 1980's, I went a few times to the Berkeley Zen Center. And I've been involved in many other activities. 

However, the main form of mindfulness I've practiced has been an exercise in which I've done journaling in combination with learning (on my own) about the workings of my mind.  

(If the reader is interested in beginning mindfulness practices, I recommend you read any book by Thich Nhat Hanh.) 

Medication is also no more than a tool. It is not a good thing or a bad thing. It can often restore the capacity for basic sanity. It will not solve your problems. It has side effects. A reader wrote to me claiming that medication shrinks the brain. I could not disprove that. However, if the alternative to medication is that I'm going to be permanently locked up and not functional in society, my choice is to take the chance of the medication, since without it, I'd have no chance at life. 

(E. Fuller Torrey, a psychiatrist vilified by many mental health consumers, laments that there is a lack of progress in the development of better medications to treat schizophrenia. It is clear, to anyone who can think, that the current medications could massively be improved upon.) 

So, we have tools: medication and meditation. Medication works through a substance ingested into the body and meditation works through the efforts of the practitioner. Meditation can take years to develop to the point where it becomes a substantial help. It is a skill like any other skill, except that it is largely invisible. It can be discerned when someone is better able to handle a challenging situation.