Over a century ago in 1913, the poet Gertrude Stein wrote these famous words: sometimes things are just what they are. There has been a recent debate centred around the question whether or not schizophrenia exists. Is there a brain disease that can be called schizophrenia? What difference does it make to patients how we define schizophrenia? This editorial explores said questions, concluding that there is still much to be done to improve the recovery of patients diagnosed with disorders of the schizophrenia spectrum. Regardless of these discussion items, the reality is that it will not significantly change the clinical reality. There remains a subset of patients with severe symptoms that limits their quality of life. Going forward, what should we do with the schizophrenia debate? The challenge is to focus on better understanding and treatment of these patients by all means and through various types of research.