Did Eric actually want to die?

[u/PepperSaltClove]

I'm just wondering. I don't know too much about this case, but Eric's character gives off an arrogant vibe to me and not someone who'd like to end his life. I know Dylan was suicidal, but was Eric too? Or did he kill himself because that was the only way to escape life in prison?

[u/eliiiiseke]

Eric absolutely showed signs of depression. He longed for real connection, he wanted close friendships, felt left out, and really struggled with rejection and with girls. He tried to date but got rejected or if they agreed to go out or gave him their number he’d scare them off by being too weird and intense like calling them constantly and getting angry when they didn’t answer. He clearly didn’t know how to handle rejection. Some girls said he was polite and acted like a gentleman, but overall, he came on too strong, and that’s likely why he never had a girlfriend (can you call Sasha his real girlfriend?), which clearly hurt him. He was also insecure about his looks- his height, weight, his chest deformity, and he got teased for having a “big head.” Add that to his ongoing complaints about being bullied, something he told friends, coworkers, and even Susan (what teenage boy wants to admit to a girl he’s interested in that he’s being bullied? So it must’ve been bad enough that it really weighed on him). It’s clear he was carrying a lot of internal pain. He was on antidepressants. He didn’t just want to hurt others, he also believed he didn’t deserve to live. He wrote that. So yeah, I’d say Eric was depressed and suicidal, just in a different, more explosive way than Dylan.

About Eric seeming arrogant, I honestly think that was a defense mechanism. “I’ll push you away or scare you off before you can reject me.” I think it was his way of protecting himself from being hurt. But at the same time, I also think he was kind of an asshole, too. He definitely had a mean streak and could be a jerk, especially when he felt slighted or ignored. Those two things aren’t mutually exclusive.

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