The 'Hard to Swallow Pills' meme originated from a WikiHow illustration for a health article, featuring a person holding a pill bottle and then displaying several large tablets in their palm. It became a viral sensation in early 2018 as a way to present uncomfortable truths, harsh realities, or controversial opinions that people often refuse to accept. Unlike other 'truth' memes, this template specifically emphasizes the psychological difficulty of internalizing the information, making it a staple for social commentary, self-improvement jokes, and brutal cultural takes across platforms like Reddit and X (formerly Twitter).