> You are not around to enjoy the result of your consequent non-existence.

For a lot of people, that isn't the point. They've really lost hope. They think there is no end to the suffering. Many times they've already tried ways to effectively blunt feeling in their life with, at best, limited success. I've heard it said, "what's the point? i can't go through this any longer".

> Suffering is a natural part of life not something to be escaped on a whim.

But if you all feel and foresee is suffering, what is the benefit of living? I'm not advocating suicide at all, but I'm trying point out why it can seem rational.

You have been blessed with a happy life then, feel glad you don't understand the appeal of suicide

> Suffering is a natural part of life not something to be escaped on a whim.

All major life choices can be made on a whim, if the chooser so desires it. That's the nice thing about liberty.

Some people are just generally unhappy. They have been for decades. At that point why would they want to continue? After 30 years of unhappiness one day they'll wake up happy?

TL; DR -- You have a chronic pain. No painkillers help. Every doctor you go to doesn't have a quick-fix. People around you keep telling you "you're imagining things", "be spiritual", "it isn't as bad as you think", "it'll go away". Nothing you try seems to help. You wake up every day feeling the pain and it keeps getting worse with no end in sight.

Image living this for even a year (where this is what life looks like for some people for the last 20 years or more) and then tell me you wouldn't say no to "anything to make the pain go away".

---

Hear me out.

Let's say you wake up tomorrow with a bit of a headache. You take an aspirin and go about your day.

You wake up tomorrow but it's still there. You visit a doctor who tells you to "take it easy" and you go about your day again.

You wake up the next day and it's still not better. You begrudgingly get out of bed and go about your day. Someone tells you that you seem a bit irritable today. You then try to be aware of it and end up spending considerable mental energy trying to be "sociable". You get back home a bit exhausted.

You wake up and it's worse. Your brain seems to amplify little things up to 100. You spilled some milk and you think the entire day will be like this. You feel "let's stay in today". A friend comes over, you end up exhausted trying to put on a normal face and overthink about how come it looks so easy for your friend to plan a night out today? They invite you and you accept hoping it might help.

You visit the party and you feel a bit okay while in the moment. You go back home and you feel exhausted and sleep.

the next day is even worse. Your brain tells you why bother getting out of bed - it's not like anything nice is going to happen to you today. you fight it and get out of bed but you can't find your slippers - you feel the day is going to be shit again but you go out anyway.

Repeat previous paragraph x 1 year. Now the next day your brain convinces you there's no point in getting out today. You stay in, skip a few meals and it's night. You put on a movie and you enjoy it. Once it's over the feeling comes back. You get frustrated - you pick out some substances to help you "feel less". Maybe this feels a bit better.

You repeat this for a few months.

You are now so irritable and so envious of others that your personal relations start to suffer and you lash out on others. Slowly your circle shrinks.

Now it's easier to not get out of bed.

By now you've had the same day for the last 5 years and you can't see it getting any better. You go to a therapist. If they are good maybe you both figure out some things together that help you conquer small things - like getting multiple slippers one for each room and your brain no longer needs to panick if it can't find the slipper.

But sadly most of the people aren't so lucky.

You try many medications, substances but nothing seems to last. You want a quick fix but there is none to be found (unlike for physical pain). 10 years have gone by with the same morning every day - each a bit worse than the last. Now you think "This isn't going to improve I think. Nobody has answers. There are no solutions. Nothing seems to help. There is no sunshine.".

Your inner voice tells you about a few other things you haven't tried yet. And that's how we lose you.

So forgive me for saying this but people like you who have no empathy and are so willing to invalidate how many people feel on a daily basis don't deserve to be making decisions for others.

The point of suicide is to end suffering, not commit to a happy predictable retirement. If you ever have a moment in your life that causes you to contemplate it, you'll understand. Otherwise, I personally don't believe people like you should be making decisions for those people who do. You have no understanding of what it feels like to consider that as actually being a rational thought.