At this point, I think my meds’ side effects should qualify as a disease all on their own. But if I don’t take them, it feels like there’s a shrieking car alarm going off right next to my ears twenty-four hours a day. I mean, it’s no surprise there’s a pill shortage; that’s what happens when you build a society that can only be survived if you either have a super-specific type of brain or a prescription to block out the chaos.

— Abbott in Jason Pargin, I’m Starting to Worry About This Black Box of Doom, 2024, Ch. Day 1, p. 79