A couple of folks recently reached out to me to  see how I was doing after the death of Robin Williams knowing that I lost two brothers to suicide.  That was very nice and by the grace of God I am doing fine.  Extremely sad for the Williams family, but because of a self-imposed media blackout, I’m doing OK.  I was on the internet when I read about Mr. Williams’s death and like many of you, I was hoping it was an internet hoax,  you know like the one that killed Newman.  We all thought we were saying goodbye to the actor Wayne Knight, when actually it turned out we were all just saying HELLO NEWMAN. http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/17/showbiz/celebrity-news-gossip/wayne-knight-seinfeld-death-hoax/

I was seriously hoping this was the case with Robin Williams, so I quickly turned on the TV long enough to see Wolf Blitzer on CNN confirming what the interweb told me.  Robin Williams was gone and I quickly turned the boob tube OFF knowing full well the media was going to be in a collective frenzy trying to get the juicy details about his death.  We all knew as much as we all needed to know:  Robin Williams was battling depression and lost, and the world was sad.  He was truly one of the good guys and his appeal spanned generations.  My parents knew him as Mork, and my kids knew him as Genie, and i knew him as a comic genius.  Concerning his departure, I did not need the specifics, nor did you.   He was gone and I had a hunch the media would violate some of the professional reporting guidelines for handling such a sensitive subject because “Gosh darn it we need ratings!”  I do hate what journalism has become in this age of 24 hour news.

Those media types should know better because experts from numerous organizations like the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) and the American Association of Suicidology (AAS) have collaborated to coach media outlets on how to report a death by suicide and the hope here is to reduce the number of copycat suicides known as suicide contagion.  Suicide contagion is a phenomenon in which additional, often similar suicides take place following the report of a suicide, presumably inspired by reporting on the original suicide.  Many media outlets reported on the death of Robin Williams in a haphazard fashion, and the only reason I know this is I had a conversation with the local state director for AFSP here in South Carolina and she expressed her concern that this was the case.  I volunteered to help her get the word out that we are here to help and one media outlet did contact me to discuss my experience.  You can read the article here and I am in the process of suing them for getting my last name wrong: http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20140812/PC16/140819824/suicide-hotline-calls-tend-to-spike-following-high-profile-deaths  

As for me and it is all about me, the media blackout appears to be working.  In fact, it's working so well I may extend it to the end of the summer---ignorance truly is bliss.  If you want to see how a media outlet should report on a death by suicide, you can read the proper guidelines here:  http://reportingonsuicide.org/  and if yo have a friend in the business, please make sure they get a copy.

Now some sadder news: the numbers for completed suicides are rising.  In fact among my peers, men and women aged 35-64 years of age, suicide rates increased substantially from 1999 to 2010 and we are better than this.  Robin Williams was 63 when he passed and please be on guard everyone and look for these suicide warning signs no matter what the age:

o    Talking about wanting to die
o    Looking for a way to kill oneself
o    Talking about feeling hopeless or
having no purpose
o    Talking about feeling trapped or
in unbearable pain
o    Talking about being a burden
to others
o    Increasing the use of alcohol or drugs
o    Acting anxious, agitated or recklessly
o    Sleeping too little or too much
o    Withdrawing or feeling isolated
o    Showing rage or talking about seeking revenge
o    Displaying extreme mood swings


Be on your "A" game when you see these signs and never feel stupid about asking a person if they are suicidal.  It’s better to be cautious than to walk behind a casket in church.  Take it from a guy who knows a thing or two about that feeling.  Miss you Mark and Matt.


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