Suicide of any kind is an act in which a person takes his own life. In fact, suicide is one of the most prevalent causes of death among young Americans today. Every day more than 1000 teenagers will think about suicide and eighteen will succeed in committing it. It is an ever-growing problem that can be described as unnecessary and out of place. Knowledge and understanding are key factors in preventing adolescent suicide. The problem usually originates from a period of depression, either as a medical problem or simply due to a sad event in a person's life. The bottom line is that suicide among adolescents is not a rare event and can be prevented with the proper treatment. Some of the leading causes of suicide among teens include bullying, depression, accidents, and more. Suicide is the third leading cause of death among children aged 15 to 24 and the sixth leading cause of death among children aged 5 to 14, just surpassed by car accidents and homicides (kidshealth.org). The question is: why would anyone want to die? Research shows that most teenagers who attempt suicide regret it at the last minute and wish they could survive. Faced with the certainty of their own deaths, most said they suddenly realized that their problems were not so great that they couldn't somehow be solved. Their problems weren't so bad that they couldn't somehow find a way to survive. Just before they died, they knew they wanted to live (Nelson & Galas, 1994, p. 12). Many events and warning signs lead to suicide. Suicidal thoughts and attempts are commonly instigated by a medical condition, depression. The person often experiences strong feelings of stress, confusion, insecurity, the pr... means of paper... preventable however, in more ways than one. Greta was a firm believer in the old saying that sometimes the best way to get over something is to understand it. Adults need to take the possibility of teen suicide seriously, even if their community has not experienced one. Teenage depression and suicidal thoughts are more common than many adults think, and there are fifty to one hundred suicide attempts for every young person who takes their own life. The loving concern of today's busy parent or the help of a caring friend are important in helping a teenager because it lets him know that someone actually cares about him. Suicide is avoidable, but you need to act quickly. Perhaps then we can help end the third leading cause of death among today's youth. (.uky.edu/Agriculture/Sociology/suicide.htm).