" Pandora opened the box from which The Evils flew out over the earth. Hope alone remained inside. "

In a popular retelling of a Greek myth, Pandora was the first human woman. A special box was put into her care by the god Zeus. When opened, the box released all of the evils out into the world. Only hope remained inside.

People with bipolar have a complicated relationship with their medication, as many people diagnosed with mental illnesses do. To some they are a blessing that gives them the hope of a normal life, but sometimes their unpleasant side effects coupled with the often oppressive obligation to take them turns them into a curse. Medication can represent stability and freedom from illness, but they can also be an instrument of control and psychiatric violence.

For a while I used to hoard my medication rather than taking it. I would collect them from the pharmacy as always, so that no one in charge of my care would know I wasn’t taking them, and I would stash them in a box under my bed. In some way, to a bipolar person, they represent all of the evils of the world, and hope.