Your comment assumes a positive change is impossible.
I almost killed myself when I was in high school but decided not to because I didn't want to hurt my family. That bought me enough time to get things straightened out and now I am very thankful to be here.
My guess is that the burden must be worse for the person who commmits suicide. Or they wouldn't bother, would they? And similarly, if the burden is so great for those around them, why don't they kill themselves too?
It comes down to the fact that most people don't want to acknowledge their incredible privilege in being relatively unburdened by depression, I think.
I happen to know attempting suicide can be quite severely painful. Most people who try do not risk it lightly. And much of the time, in my experience, it's those "people around you" who are to blame for the person wanting to die in the first place. If we're being honest, most of us don't truly do everything we reasonably can to help those with aspirations towards suicide. Many people act as some of those in this comment section are, telling people they're being selfish and weak. How the fuck on Earth does that help matters? And before you assume I only care about myself or something, my best friend just killed himself a few months ago and I cried nonstop for days. I still support his right to do what he did.
It becomes blindingly obvious to me when a person has no idea what it's like living with chronic treatment resistant depression as soon as they open their mouths. It's just ignorance and priviliege and a total misunderstanding of the problem to blame someone who is suicidal for wanting to end their own suffering.
For a while, yes, but then they get over it. If the person would continue to be nonproductive (or in the situation being discussed -- feel they are being nonproductive) for years then there is a clear benefit to their death.
Does suicide have place in a modern society? Probably not, but at the same time the fact people continue to kill themselves show that people really don't care about the issue. Actions speak louder than words.
I think it's more that they want to unburden themselves, but knowing that doing so will burden their close ones is what keeps them from doing it.
Quite nightmarish, if you think about it.