> I often wonder myself how I would handle schizophrenia, and if the heroic mental gynmastics it creates are merely a product of a large ego, unwilling to admit one can be wrong in their judgement...or are genuinely organic/structural in the brain.

I don't know how accurate the movie was, but the movie A Beautiful Mind explored the topic of thinking your way out of schizophrenia. Its well worth a watch if you haven't seen it.