Some of those who refuse meds have in the past had very bad interactions with Pdocs and traumatic psychiatric experiences, and may have been over medicated with no one listening to them. As a result they won't try meds again. Not everyone who had bad experiences will do that but plenty do. In some cases it's the psychiatric field itself that turns people off as well as the stigma of being on meds. Yeah some people would rather lose everything than take medications that are perceived as meaning they are weak.