Is suicide selfish? wonders “Molly” in her piece of the same title. Depending on who you are, your answer is either “yes” or “no” or “it depends, really”. Molly’s opinion is not entirely clear because she does contradict herself a little towards the end, but essentially she says that suicide is selfish by definition. Suicide is defined as “the act of killing yourself because you do not want to continue living”, according to Merriam-Webster. One's life does not revolve around other people. It's a controversial topic but overall, suicide is not something to be encouraged, but it’s not selfish, either. As she puts it, “If you’re on fire, you’re not thinking about how your family will be upset if the flames consume you. In the moment, the only thing on your mind is how to end your misery.”
    

About one million people worldwide commit suicide, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). That’s about one million people who had run out of options. They didn’t have anyone to turn to or anywhere to go. Sometimes not even those closest to them know why they wanted to die. Suicidal thoughts can affect anyone. People are more likely to see someone who committed suicide as selfish instead of a person at first. They weren’t selfish, they felt like a background character in their own life. You don’t wake up and suddenly decide to kill yourself. You try to get better until trying has no meaning anymore. In the author’s words, “You can’t focus on the moment when you’re still sore from yesterday’s marathon. And it's awfully demotivating to think that you're going to have to keep running for the rest of your life.” Suicide is not selfish and is a meticulous decision. It’s drafts of letters and “just one more day” and a variety of options and overall, what someone really wants for themselves. It hurts, it really does. It’s a butterfly effect, but as much as it hurts, it’s irreversible. We can’t bring the dead back to life yet but we can try harder to help those who are still living.