Discussion Honestly, what do people live for?

[thetwilightzone]

I've tried to ask my mother but it seems that she has psychological mechanisms of avoiding the question altogether.

I don't have any friends and my family is threatening to kick me out so that's out. Pleasures seem overrated.

It's better to just end this

 

[windingdown]

There's some interesting discussion about this going on over here:
https://sanctioned-suicide.net/threads/why-normal-people-want-to-live.4836/

For myself, there are things that do keep me alive. They are mostly trivial, but I think most things in life are trivial. Here are some things that keep me going:

- Sorting out my finances and possessions (why should I care? I don't know. I want things to be in order for my family, for my lovely things to be taken care of, for my family to be supported)
- Food. I'm serious. I like mealtimes.
- Going on walks, now that it's cooling down
- My clothes. I just really like my wardrobe
- I'm working on a website that I want to be up forever as a free resource to family, friends, and the world
- I want the timing to be right. I don't want to spoil something for anyone, be an inconvenience, etc.
- I'm still figuring out some logistics (financial etc) so my suicide note isn't finalized yet
- I owe people money, and if I stay alive longer, I can pay more of it back
- I like having my window open at night when there are rainstorms, and the rainy season hasn't started again yet
- I may wait as long as I possibly can, just because we have the right to life, and nobody wants me to die. (But boredom and physical discomfort are my constant nemeses)

Not the best list, but there you go.

I'd be interested to hear what is keeping other people alive, or what they are living for for now.

 

[Taylored]

Not something people really think of. Work, breed and die is the only thing I can think of and that cycle continues.

 

[not-2-b-the-answer]

I've tried to ask my mother but it seems that she has psychological mechanisms of avoiding the question altogether.

I don't have any friends and my family is threatening to kick me out so that's out. Pleasures seem overrated.

It's better to just end this

I wish I knew … whatever it is, I don't have it. I think any pleasures in life are greatly outweighed by the infinite miseries.
Sure … some people have it better but most don't. :(

 

[not-2-b-the-answer]

Not something people really think of. Work, breed and die is the only thing I can think of and that cycle continues.

Well as far as myself … I'm breaking the cycle. I will never reproduce and bring another lifeform into this shitty world.

 

[Kev]

To me, the biggest reason for human beings to live is for other human beings. One's friends, parents, siblings, lovers, etc. Having meaningful, healthy connections to other people seems to be the number one factor in happiness. It certainly is the only reason I'm still here. I think the most frequent cause of depression is loneliness. Loneliness, isolation, and rejection are probably the most psychologically damaging feelings that a human can experience; I know this firsthand as these feelings are very familiar to me and they have stripped me of all my happiness and will to live. Besides food, shelter, and water, the most important thing for a human's health is other humans. I'm lucky enough to have a few good friends that I have a connection with, but I know a lot of people here lack that, and I feel so bad for them. If there were not other people I cared about in my life, I would've been dead years ago.

 

[windingdown]

Well as far as myself … I'm breaking the cycle. I will never reproduce and bring another lifeform into this shitty world.

I agree with David Benatar's anti-natalist position - that it is unethical to have children, because you are guaranteeing the suffering of another human being, who would not have experienced that without your own decision to reproduce. I am breaking the cycle, too. Forget that.