Are You Taking Your Pills?

“I just am not good enough to come up with a pill that works if you don’t take it.”

I point this out to my beloved patients with some frequency.

Sometimes, especially around holiday time, people get more depressed/anxious/fearful and of course they are dying to tell me about it.

My first question is “are you still taking your pills?”  The most frequent answer I get is “I guess I forgot.”  Among my favorite excuses (I do not press for them.  Patients are human and thus imperfect.)
“It was Thanksgiving week, so I was focused mostly on eating.”
“I was on vacation in Hawaii and I always feel better when I am there, anyway.”
“They are so small I often lose them.”
Human beings.

You gotta love them.