Complacency is worse than resentment (Part 1) -

Years ago, I produced and starred in a cable TV show. I learned the importance of, “Hey Martha.”

A “Hey Martha” is a fact or insight which causes Henry, watching the television in the living room, to yell out to his wife in the kitchen, “hey Martha, come here, you gotta hear this.”

More “Hey Martha’s” meant better ratings. The best “Hey Marthas” were medical.

Here are some “Hey Martha’s” from a Wikipedia article on people following, or rather, not following, medical advice:

Patients do not fill 30% of prescriptions issued. Three of ten patients take the time to see a doctor, listen to him, pay his bill, and then don’t finish the job.
Research has shown that across the board, once started, patients seldom follow treatment regimens as directed and only rarely complete the course of treatment. Medications, exercise, follow-up consultations, everything; we just don’t follow through.
In a hypertension study, 50% of the patients dropped out of the prescribed maintenance program. Even after people suffering from this condition have started and seen the results, one half discontinue their treatments.
In a cholesterol medication study, after two years, 40% of the patients stopped taking their medications. Even with the threat of a heart episode, people won’t stay on course.

The problem is so familiar; there is a word for it; experts call it ‘Adherence.’ Patients routinely demonstrate a lack of Adherence.

We see the same pattern in AA. Members become complacent as they get some distance from their last drunk. The gift of desperation that motivated them to seek help wears off. They stop going to meetings, lose touch with their sponsors, and wander off into the sunset.

Complacency in AA may be the leading cause of death and insanity amongst alcoholics. Booze is not the problem for most of them; that is a secondary issue. The main problem is Complacency.