I can think of two reasons.

First reason: because things can and probably will get much better. Joy in life comes from the little things. That sounds cliche but it’s true. If I could talk to my 14 year old self, who was severely depressed to the point of trying (and thankfully failing) to take his own life, I would tell him about the next 20-ish years. Even though much of it will be hard, it will still be good. And he will grow in ways and get to experience things that he can’t even begin to imagine. That’s one thing I’m glad he failed at.

Second reason: because believe it or not, you will leave a giant crater in the life of someone (or multiple someones) where you once existed. My great grandpa hung himself in 1929. That’s all I know about him aside from his name. I never met my grandpa (died of cancer) but I remember my dad telling me a little about the impact it had on his dad, who was about 15 at the time of his father suicide. Long story short, my grandpa basically stopped growing emotionally at 15. He was a teenager who was very suddenly thrust into the role of an adult.

I don’t know what was going on with my great grandpa that led him to take his own life. I do know that what he left behind was a disaster. Including three generations of trauma, manifesting itself as a cycle of physical, verbal, and emotional abuse. He effectively destroyed his children who proceeded to pass that destruction all the way down to me.

If you’ve never watched Ted Lasso which I highly recommend, one of overarching themes is Ted’s difficulty dealing with his father’s suicide, which occured when Ted was 15. It’s a light hearted show overall but there are a few scenes that really hit right in the feels.

Even if you don’t have kids, there are people who’s lives will be permanently altered for the worse by your untimely death. Some will blame themselves, wondering what they could have done to prevent it.

If you die there is no chance at things getting better in your life here.

If you are alive even if that chance is small there is a chance at things getting better.

I’m not going to pretend it’s a good answer because it cuts in many directions, but the following has been my thinking on this:

Because if you have nothing to live for, you have nothing holding you back from taking massive risks. Take the massive risk over your own life. Suicide can come later, once you’ve done something risky and cool first that requires a meatsuit. As far as we know you only get one of those, and there’s far more than you might think that only requires one of 'em and infinite risk tolerance.

Not comfortable with the risk? Why, if you have nothing to live for? Tease that out and you can work in the other direction.

Because I want to outlive my enemies.

Food tastes good

Sunsets are awesome

Some people are worth being around

You might mess up the attempt and end up worse off than you are now

Religion might be right and you end up in the bad place

Life is the only thing a human is guaranteed to have - and, as far as I’m concerned, we only get it once. To finish it early seems a terrible waste. It’s the only thing we’ll ever get to do. Might as well give it a bit of a go… it’s not like it goes on for ever, anyway.

Good things can’t happen anymore. You might also say that bad things can’t happen either, but if it’s over then there’s no opportunity at all. Life can change as long as it’s there.

My apartment will fine me if I don’t bring the trash cans back inside before 9PM, so I gotta be alive for that.

My partner and dog would be sad.

I don’t have nearly enough credit card debt to annoy the cc companies when I die

I actually do support the idea that we have a right to end our lives on our own terms.

But, I would say to anyone asking this question that there is so much good left undone in the world that they could make happen.

If you can, don’t end your life. Donate it.

Life is experienced only by those who live it. The thing that keeps me not going through with it, is literally FOMO. As much as life is filled with things that suck, and things that I hate, I know there is the very real possibility that something new will come along that I will have regretted not getting to experience.

When I remember the things that I have experienced since the time I tried to kill myself I’m high school, I am glad I didn’t. I would’ve regretted not making the new friends I did, and meeting the love of my life, and all of the the great times I’ve had, even though the shitty times that drove me to the edge, still persisted.

When I remember the things that I have experienced since the time I tried to kill myself in college, I am glad I didn’t. I would’ve seriously regretted missing out on the freedom of independent living, and the parties with friends, and precious memories I’ve made in that time.

When I remembered the time I tried to kill myself after loosing my 3rd job in a row, and hanging on the edge of poverty for just one too many times, I’m glad I didn’t. I would of seriously regretted missing out on buying my first house, and never getting to meet my baby girls.

When I think now, that life is shit, and not worth continuing, I remember those past times and know that it was impossible to know what could’ve been ahead of me, and how glad I am I stuck around to find out. So I keep on struggling through, because I know that there’s bound to be some unkown thing, at some unknown time, that I will definitely want to be around to see.

this is what your enemies would like to see. don’t have enemies? make some

spite

Spite

It generates a ton of paperwork