As in the first chapter, Lembke begins with a story from her clinical practice. She describes how one of her patients, David, developed an addiction to Adderall, a medication commonly prescribed to treat attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). His use of Adderall created sleep problems, which eventually led to his use of Ambien, a sleep medication. The unhealthy effects of these medicines began to negatively affect his mood, so he eventually had an addiction to Ativan, an antidepressant medication.

Lembke then discusses the growing tendency in modern culture to avoid pain at all costs. She examines how this principle manifests itself in the fields of psychology and religion—and then how it directs cultural attitudes toward child-rearing practices based on preventing any sign of pain or discomfort in children. Lembke questions whether the overprotection of children is a wise parenting strategy in general. She then cites data on how many Americans—including children—take psychiatric medicine. She attributes this to the increasing avoidance of both physical and emotional pain. She discusses how devices such as phones help provide people with distractions from themselves. She introduces another of her patients, a college student named Sophie. When Lembke suggests to Sophie that she might try refraining from using social media of any kind, Sophie is confused and unable to comprehend why Lembke would suggest such a thing.