People who are harboring suicidal thoughts can be helped if someone helps them get over those feelings and helps them see an alternative to dealing with their pain, Indianapolis Recorder reports.

To help people with suicidal tendencies, it is necessary to watch the warning signs. The warning signs could include talking about suicide, feelings of being trapped, withdrawal and feelings of hopelessness. Other signs could include changes in eating and sleeping patterns and an increase in the use of alcohol and drugs.

Experts say that when a person experiences suicidal feelings, he or she does not really want to die. The person is unable to deal with the current situation in his or her life and feels that he or she cannot live with the difficulties being faced by him or her. If such a person is given adequate support at this point by acknowledging his pain and helping him to sail through the troubled times, he or she can get over the suicidal feelings.

Know the Signs, an initiative of Each Mind Matters: California's Mental Health Movement, provides information to people on signs of suicide, with instructions on how to offer help to people with suicidal tendencies and to reach out to crisis hotlines and support groups. Through its website, SuicideIs Preventable.org, community training and a statewide media campaign, Know the Signs has helped millions gain the information needed to help prevent suicide.