Mildred lives in a society where denial of unhappiness is a way of life. They are terminally unhappy, but in denial about it. If they were to admit to their unhappiness, their entire world would crumble. This happens with Montag. When Clarisse asks him, "Are you happy?" it is the catalyst that leads him to admit that no, he isn't. This leads him to asking the question why, finding answers, and trying to solve it. This leads to all of the main action in the book, where he ends up an outcast of society: he loses everything he knew and has to start over. Rather than do this, Mildred, when her unhappiness flares up, overpowering her sense of denial, she tries to escape it all.
Look at how a brief does of unhappiness affected her friend. When Montag reads poetry, Mrs. Phelps "sobbed uncontrollably" and Mrs. Bowles says, "Silly words, silly awful hurting words, why do people want to hurt people" and storms out in a rage. They are so unaccustomed to facing down reality and sorrow, that they deny it exists. When they can't, they try to escape-by storming out, staying busy with life, or like Mildred, taking life. Her denial the next morning is a denial that she is unhappy. Admitting to taking the pills would be admitting she is unhappy, and that is a terrifying truth that she is not equipped to deal with.
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