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Depression and Suicide: Understanding the Signs and Risks

Robin Williams’ recent death has been a loss to so many. He was loved and admired by people around the world. He touched our lives through his talented work in films and stand-up comedy. His work meant so much and for a man who gave the gift of laughter to his audiences, it is saddening to know that behind his bright eyes and warm smile, he was struggling with depression and lost the battle.

Although there is no single cause for suicide, multiple reasons and risk factors can contribute including substance abuse, mental illness or a history of depression. The demographic group that is more at risk for suicide is white, middle-aged individuals. There has also been research linking those with heart disease and cardiac surgery, particularly associated with the cracking of the ribs, to be at risk for a difficult depression. Open-heart surgery has been known to increase the frequency of depression in 20%-40% of heart surgery patients.

Depression affects people in different ways. It’s important to watch for warning signs that our loved ones may be dealing with depression and having thoughts of suicide.

Warning Signs:

  • Talking about suicide or wanting to hurt themselves
  • Frequently talking about death
  • Feeling of hopelessness or worthlessness
  • Abrupt change of mood – from sadness to happiness or calm
  • Depression symptoms – deep sadness, loss of interest in activities, trouble sleeping or eating
  • Calling or visiting people to say goodbye
  • Risk-taking behavior such as recklessness

Along with these behaviors, a person may be at higher risk if they attempted suicide in the past. According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, between 20% - 50% of people who commit suicide have tried before.

If you notice any of these signs, it’s critical to quickly connect the person to supportive services. Don’t hesitate to reach out to help someone you think may be depressed or suicidal. Recognizing the warnings signs and risk factors is the first step for suicide prevention.

If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts or tendencies, please seek help. For more resources, click here, or call 800-273-TALK (8255).

Sources: NYDailyNews.com; webmd.com

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Using Social Media to Help Elevate Your Brand

Social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Google + and Pinterest are useful media vehicles to help grow your brand through relationship building with customers. Through relationship marketing, you can connect with people and drive your customer base. Here are some tips for using social media:

  • Post valuable content: When using social media sites it’s important to provide content that is considered valuable so that people will want to “follow” you (Twitter/LinkedIn/Pinterest) or become your friend (Facebook). You can use the postings to point back to your website for more valuable content on a subject. Be sure to repost content – in other words, share something someone else has said (also known as “retweet” on Twitter). This will allow you to have even further brand exposure.
  • Make sure your postings are not all about your business: If you share content that doesn’t promote your own business -- you’re more likely to gain points with your followers and increase your credibility. Promoting other topics like tips to solve problems or ways to give back to the community will draw people in and keep them coming back to your site for valuable information.
  • Create brand advocates: If your followers find your information valuable, they will repost the content for others to see, becoming your brand advocate. In effect, they will promote your product or service for you via the social media sites and endorse your brand. If you can identify the customers that check your blog frequently, create new content or share photos, you may consider asking them to be your brand ambassadors. This will elevate their status at the same time as spreading the word about your brand. You can even send these customers an email to show your appreciation for their support of your brand.
  • Utilize multiple social media sites: You can never use enough social media sites to promote your brand. Each one has unique attributes. LinkedIn is a great way to grow your professional contacts, as well as a tool to leverage your brand among industry leaders and more. Pinterest is exploding in the social media scene and actually drives more sales than Facebook and Twitter. People go to Pinterest to shop and to be inspired for products and services, making it a yet another vehicle to drive brand awareness. Unlike the other sites, when using Pinterest you must create boards, similar to the concept of a bulletin board. You simply create a category board, and “pin” photos to your board. When you click on the photo on your board, it links you to a site with more information. You can even use your boards to cross-connect to other sites, like Facebook and Twitter. In other words, include an icon which allows users to share your content on other sites. Pinterest is easy to use and best of all, it uses creative and visual ways to show your products and drive traffic back to your website.

For more information on social media, watch this video.

Source: www.bizjournals.com; http://smallbiz.theupsstore.com; www.ignitesocialmedia.com