The ‘Hard To Swallow Pill’ Meme Has People Sharing Difficult Truths, And Here Are 30 Of The Most Popular Ones
The template of the meme consists of two WikiHow stock images: one with someone looking at a bottle of pills with a label that says "Hard to Swallow Pills" and another with the pills already in the person's hand, ready to be ingested.
People download it, slap a text of what they think is a universal truth on the second picture, and upload it back on the Internet, waiting for upvotes. And we often have to give it to them. Quite a few of these memes capture some universal law, most of which we know but don't want to accept. Like, "some of your problems are your own fault, and won't get better until you actively do something about it" or "you can't make someone love you."
Bored Panda has compiled some of the most popular Hard to Swallow Pills, so continue scrolling, check out the memes, and upvote your favorites.
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Clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst Mary Lamia, Ph.D., thinks that the notion that one is “in denial” seems to have taken on a life of its own as an agent of many ills and as a catchphrase for people who dismiss the implications of their behavior.
"Although denial is considered to be a defense often used by people with addictive tendencies, its attributions reach beyond those struggling with substances," Lamia pointed out. "Denial is also attributed to people who do not want to acknowledge that bad stuff is occurring in their lives, such as those who are attempting to cope with a tumultuous relationship, a life-threatening illness, obesity, a loss, or anything else that one may attempt to disavow."
Sure, we can deny a fact, deny responsibility, deny the impact of our actions, or even deny what is really going on by hiding from our feelings. But according to Lamia, when we use denial to defend ourselves or cope with what we feel, we contradict the reality of a situation or attempt to adjust to a circumstance by neglecting its impact. However, the extent of someone’s denial may not really be the issue at hand.
"What’s important is not that people recognize their denial, but that they are able to accept what they are feeling that leads to the denial in the first place," Lamia explained. "If someone excessively and habitually uses alcohol to medicate their anxiety, for example, we might emphasize their attempts to dismiss the harm that their use of alcohol will cause, rather than focus on the emotions they feel that motivate their denial. If that person stops drinking, one would hope the emotions that were formerly hidden by denial, which often have to do with shame, would be exposed and accepted by the individual."
Poor people have to work even harder than others, just to get a daily meal and shelter
Being born into privilege/wealth is like playing a video game on easy mode. Most privileged people know this, but hate admitting it.
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Terry Pratchett “The reason that the rich were so rich, Vimes reasoned, was because they managed to spend less money. Take boots, for example. He earned thirty-eight dollars a month plus allowances. A really good pair of leather boots cost fifty dollars. But an affordable pair of boots, which were sort of OK for a season or two and then leaked like hell when the cardboard gave out, cost about ten dollars. Those were the kind of boots Vimes always bought, and wore until the soles were so thin that he could tell where he was in Ankh-Morpork on a foggy night by the feel of the cobbles. But the thing was that good boots lasted for years and years. A man who could afford fifty dollars had a pair of boots that'd still be keeping his feet dry in ten years' time, while the poor man who could only afford cheap boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and would still have wet feet. This was the Captain Samuel Vimes 'Boots' theory of socioeconomic unfairness.
Totally agree. I've been homeless, living out of my car for 5 years now. But in that time I worked freelance to make money and got my Associates Degree, and am now working on my Bachelors degree. I'm not the "odd one out" either, during my time at college I knew 4 other students that were homeless, and 3 of them had jobs in addition to going to college.
It would be totally prejudicial to assume otherwise. There are LAZY poor people and there are LAZY wealthy people. Just as the are HARD-WORKING poor people and there are HARD-WORKING wealthy people.
Less people would be in poverty in the US is we stopped importing unskilled labor from other countries. No entry level job is going to pay a living wage if they can replace you in 5 min flat.
This is only a hard pill to swallow for people who feel smug about not living in poverty
The idea that people who are successful "worked hard for it" is so American, when in face they may have worked hard but they likely had many advantages.
tRump with his small multi-million loan from his daddy comes to mind.
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Most poor people I know work far harder than any rich person I've ever seen.
I was born in a very poor area in my city but am now quite well off. The reason I made it was firstly I joined the army, and that stopped me from going down a really bad path. Secondly I was very bloody lucky. Nothing to do with hard work. We bought a house just before the boom in 1999 and made easy money. Many people have worked harder than me and got less. Having wealthy parents really alters your life. My child will be fortunate without having to work hard, although she bloody best work hard! If you ever find yourself in a rough or poor estate, don't ask what they did to get here, ask what our country are doing to keep poor people poor.
This is true for the majority of people living in poverty . There is no reasonable way out for most people living in poverty.
Yes, and one of the issues is their attitude about themselves and society. With the proper attitude, anyone can raise themselves, but some will still say: "Not me!"
And now you lost the ability to think about anyone but yourself, how f*****g sad
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Working hard is not the answer but thinking about what you do, does make a difference. You can work 24 hours a day but if you do not learn how to manage your income you will always be poor. There are a lot of people who would rather take assistance than go and work for money and the small amount of money that they do have they spend on booze or s**tlike that. You may not get rich but at least you can make a decent living for yourself. If you keep on making excuses for yourself ... it’s the system and no me.. you will never get out of it. Stop making excuses and start doing.
On the flip side...some feel entitled. Forgiveness of student loans? Really?
That one must be especially hard to swallow for Americans and other fellow First World people who firmly believe in the virtue of so-called "personal merit" at the cost of harsh social inequality, and have completely forgotten about concepts such as class struggle. Marx's critical analysis of capitalism was pretty accurate, even though the solutions he proposed never actually worked.
The entire world is rigged against all of us. I think we all push hard to live our lives, and those who rig the whole thing make it harder on certain groups of people to create this "systemic issue" that no one can ever quite put their finger on.
again so true. Poverty hits even the hardest worker when you are trying to make ends meet with mouths to feed and a single mother poverty often prevails and it is not the Mother's fault it is the System.
I've worked hard all my life but the hardest I ever worked was when homeless. It took SOOO MUCH effort to dig out of that hole, but I finally did it. Never again!
Horse Feathers! Do you see past their situation? Catastropic illness, annurism , agent orange, lay offs, flood, nope you can't see all that through hope and determination. We own our home even after we paid all the medical bills and flood damage.
the worst part is that the rich and entitled believe they deserve their wealth despite not really earning it.
Some people choose poverty rather than supporting a corrupt self defeating society that poisons e everything that touches it, or that it touches
It has to do with our education. How we are taught to "make it" by the government run schools. Everyone can be an business owner, they just have to be taught the right mindset, and be willing to be coachable in that you need a successful mentor to teach you how to do it. and you MUST be willing to work hard at what you are being taught to do.
There is no system which is better than the one which we already have here in the USA. The system works only as well as the people who run the system.
I have known poor people and things cost more for them such as credit.
I find both the comments I've see highly debatable. you must live far from the deep South.. It's behavior ( mainly lack of social graces and education, along with issues of drug use and/or violent history which keeps them from getting or maintaining a job.) Also lack of job history, as generations of living on Medicaid and the like continues to be the norm for too many.
Believe it or not, millionaire starts with old money. They have the money to begin with. Poor people doesn't have enough to start any business. They have the money to buy their family basic necessities so don't poor shame those poor people. I hate it when I hear someone you should save money. How can they save money if the money they have isn't even enough for them to stay alive?
You don't believe that systemic change can make things fairer? Better funded schools? Free degree courses? Laws against discrimination? Minimum wages? Renter's rights?
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Congrats you missed the point! Telling others not to ”whine” is essentially attempting to silence the issue so you can be comfortable in your status quo. By not being silent, we can have conversations about inequality and actually change this country for the better. By the way, there's no such thing as investing when you live paycheck to paycheck, and there's no getting an education when you can't afford tuition and don't qualify for loans.
Load More Replies... Please tell that to someone who was fired because of health issues, or because the local plant was bought up and closed down, or any other reason, and then lost their home etc, etc, etc. Or maybe they were born in a poor country, or a poor area, or a poor family. Go look up what 'systemic' means and then sit down for five minutes to cultivate your empathy.
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We not only use denial to hide from any negative emotion, including shame, fear, guilt, or distress but to mute positive emotions as well. "Sometimes feeling positively may be just as threatening as negative feelings. We may want to deny the reality of our emotions, because accepting a reality that is uncomfortable, painful, or incongruous to what we expect means we must also alter our perception of ourselves. Thus, if you are in denial, perhaps you are simply trying to ignore the truth about what you actually feel, rather than about what you are doing or thinking."
But if you want to move forward, you have to swallow the truth.
This applies to both guys and gals. Nobody is as kind as they think themselves are.
I like this one. Re-evaluate your worldview every so often, visit other places, talk to people from other communities, read books, and so on. It's character building too.
This one should not even have to be a thing, but sadly it is.
This is the one thing every teenager (including me) has to understand. Not everyone has to like you, nor do they have to hate you. We just gotta let it be.
Possibly so, but believing that the Earth is flat, or that vaccinations don't work does make you stupid and deserving of ridicule.
The three big things needed in a relationship are trust, compromise and respect. Of course there are more like having each others back, liking the other person etc. Relationships are hard work, you need to make the effort to help it grow.
No but you can tie them up in your basement til stockholm syndrome kicks in.
Note: this post originally had 65 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
One I would add is: choosing to have a baby won't necessarily magically change your life for the better or take away your depression. And even if you do everything right, your child could suck.
Children are not fashion accessories, life accoutrements, or there to fulfill some life's mission. They are children. They are to be loved, taught, protected and guided. They are not there to fulfill your "lost opportunities."
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Hard Pill to Swallow: 95% of diets fail, and yo-yo dieting is actually worse for your health than being overweight.
That's because 'dieting' is the wrong way to lose weight. Sustained, healthy lifestyle change is the only way to do it. You can never 'diet' then stop and hope for lasting results, it's something that you change forever.
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Here's one: For some people, even negative attention is still attention.
Which it why it was such a great decision by the P.M. and the media in New Zeland not to use his name. "New Zealand media put Christchurch gunman in his place with focus on victims" And "after the gunman was sentenced to an unprecedented life in jail without parole, Ardern reiterated her commitment to never speak the terrorist’s name, saying he deserved “a lifetime of complete and utter silence”.". https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/aug/27/new-zealand-media-put-christchurch-gunman-in-his-place-with-focus-on-victims
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SOOOOO many contradictions. Half of these are "you are a victim" and the other half are "suck it up, only you are accountable for you"
Also: 'Your inability to grasp Black Lives Matter is entirely your fault. Everyine has been informed what it means, at this point you're just racist'
Not all of these are true, by any means. I suspect a lot of smartass teens who think they know everything just following a meme format. Don't sweat it.
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some of those are false yet looking smart. And the real "smart" ones doesn't help either. Life is not easy, you know. (real "smart" because it's very smart but rather openminded)
you do not have to trying to prove somehing you do is right, just beacause you do it
How about "Just because you decided to become a teacher or a nurse, you aren't any more special than the next person." Please stop patting yourselves on the back.
Statistically speaking, if you really did tell the truth all the time, occasionally you would have something good to say. Being consistantly negative and insulting the people around you, doesn't mean you're telling the truth. You actually are just being an a*****e.
I've got some too ! 1) Men should receive compliments just as much as women, everyone's pretty 2) (for you pro-gender-role people) "Pretty" can be used to describe everyone and everything, not just women and flowers and sunsets and seas. Men can be pretty too. 3) ALL SEXUALITIES ARE VALID. You don't choose what your favorite color is, or what goes on in your body and brain. You can't choose or control who you love. 4) ABORTION SHOULD BE LEGAL AND AVAILABLE TO EVERY WOMAN. Rape-babies AREN'T THE WOMAN'S FAULT. Stop making it seem that way. Old white men shouldn't care what a woman does with an accidental clump of cells. 5) Women don't dress for men, and men don't dress for women. Some might, but they shouldn't have to if they don't want to. 6) Cancel Culture is immature. Period. Y'all really be ruining someone's life and shooting them into a life of poverty because they couldn't go to college, just because they posted a pic with a Trump flag.
7) Just because someone has different views as you does not automatically mean they are stupid and have a low IQ. Some of the most influential, intelligent people in the US are Trump supporters. This does not mean that they are correct in their decision, obviously. Trump is smart on certain subjects, like business. Not windmills, though, he could use some work with windmills. He DOES know a lot about raping little girls and boys, though, because he has experience in that field.
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Eating less and exercising more is the only certain way to lose weight and keep it off. You don't need a 300 page book or a series of videos, you need a post-it note.
I'm an 'older' lady and some of these just smacked of truth for me! Like, DOH!
This one always starts a hate war: truth is in the eye of the beholder
One I would add is: choosing to have a baby won't necessarily magically change your life for the better or take away your depression. And even if you do everything right, your child could suck.
Children are not fashion accessories, life accoutrements, or there to fulfill some life's mission. They are children. They are to be loved, taught, protected and guided. They are not there to fulfill your "lost opportunities."
Load More Replies... Hard Pill to Swallow: 95% of diets fail, and yo-yo dieting is actually worse for your health than being overweight.
That's because 'dieting' is the wrong way to lose weight. Sustained, healthy lifestyle change is the only way to do it. You can never 'diet' then stop and hope for lasting results, it's something that you change forever.
Load More Replies... Here's one: For some people, even negative attention is still attention.
Which it why it was such a great decision by the P.M. and the media in New Zeland not to use his name. "New Zealand media put Christchurch gunman in his place with focus on victims" And "after the gunman was sentenced to an unprecedented life in jail without parole, Ardern reiterated her commitment to never speak the terrorist’s name, saying he deserved “a lifetime of complete and utter silence”.". https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/aug/27/new-zealand-media-put-christchurch-gunman-in-his-place-with-focus-on-victims
Load More Replies... SOOOOO many contradictions. Half of these are "you are a victim" and the other half are "suck it up, only you are accountable for you"
Also: 'Your inability to grasp Black Lives Matter is entirely your fault. Everyine has been informed what it means, at this point you're just racist'
Not all of these are true, by any means. I suspect a lot of smartass teens who think they know everything just following a meme format. Don't sweat it.
Load More Replies... some of those are false yet looking smart. And the real "smart" ones doesn't help either. Life is not easy, you know. (real "smart" because it's very smart but rather openminded)
you do not have to trying to prove somehing you do is right, just beacause you do it
How about "Just because you decided to become a teacher or a nurse, you aren't any more special than the next person." Please stop patting yourselves on the back.
Statistically speaking, if you really did tell the truth all the time, occasionally you would have something good to say. Being consistantly negative and insulting the people around you, doesn't mean you're telling the truth. You actually are just being an a*****e.
I've got some too ! 1) Men should receive compliments just as much as women, everyone's pretty 2) (for you pro-gender-role people) "Pretty" can be used to describe everyone and everything, not just women and flowers and sunsets and seas. Men can be pretty too. 3) ALL SEXUALITIES ARE VALID. You don't choose what your favorite color is, or what goes on in your body and brain. You can't choose or control who you love. 4) ABORTION SHOULD BE LEGAL AND AVAILABLE TO EVERY WOMAN. Rape-babies AREN'T THE WOMAN'S FAULT. Stop making it seem that way. Old white men shouldn't care what a woman does with an accidental clump of cells. 5) Women don't dress for men, and men don't dress for women. Some might, but they shouldn't have to if they don't want to. 6) Cancel Culture is immature. Period. Y'all really be ruining someone's life and shooting them into a life of poverty because they couldn't go to college, just because they posted a pic with a Trump flag.
7) Just because someone has different views as you does not automatically mean they are stupid and have a low IQ. Some of the most influential, intelligent people in the US are Trump supporters. This does not mean that they are correct in their decision, obviously. Trump is smart on certain subjects, like business. Not windmills, though, he could use some work with windmills. He DOES know a lot about raping little girls and boys, though, because he has experience in that field.
Load More Replies... Eating less and exercising more is the only certain way to lose weight and keep it off. You don't need a 300 page book or a series of videos, you need a post-it note.
I'm an 'older' lady and some of these just smacked of truth for me! Like, DOH!
This one always starts a hate war: truth is in the eye of the beholder
