Project Semicolon - A New Way to Discuss Mental Health
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| mashable.com |
The Project Semicolon website explains the meaning behind
the tattoos. ‘Project Semicolon exists to encourage, love and inspire. A
semicolon is used when an author could’ve chosen to end their sentence, but
chose not to. The author is you and the sentence is your life.’ Through the
semicolon, people can relate to depression, self-injury and suicide and the
power of choosing to continue on.
— murteza (@murtezaaa34) July 14, 2015
The founder of the project, Amy Bleuel, battled with
depression during her youth, leading to multiple suicide attempts and instances
of self-injury. Her father also struggled with depression, taking his own life
in 2003. The project began 2 years ago when Amy posted a message in honour of
her father on social media, encouraging people fighting with depression, addiction
or anxiety to draw semicolon tattoos on their wrists. The symbol quickly
gained a following bigger than she could have anticipated: ‘We heard from
people longing to continue their story and live a life that would inspire
others to continue on as well. I believe that the semicolon tattoo is huge
inspiration to others as they know they are not alone.’ The message gained thousands
of participants on the first day and has especially gained traction in recent
weeks.
 |
| focusnews.com |
Through Project Semicolon, those who live with depression
and self-harm can connect with each other using the hashtag #ProjectSemicolon,
encouraging one another through recovery. ‘It’s almost like knowing they’re not
alone, knowing that others are out there,’ Bleuel told Mashable. ‘They aren’t
just another person in the crowd feeling alone anymore.’ Heather Parrie is one
of many people who have a semicolon tattoo. Heather has written a blog post
about why she got the tattoo and what it’s like for her to live with depression
and anxiety which has now gained 7 million views. She told BuzzFeed:
Now that over seven million people have read my story, the tattoo still feels intensely personal, but every time I look at it I’m reminded of how many other people are struggling in the same way and how many people are on my side. Depression has a way of convincing you to believe you’re the only one who has ever felt this way before in the world, but my tattoo reminds me daily that, above all, depression is a liar.
 |
| buzzfeed.com |
Last month, HuffPost posted a story about Australian artist
Janelle Silver, who sells tattoos which act as positive reminders to love
yourself. The ‘Note to Self’ tattoos have uplifting slogans like ‘Be Kind to
Yourself’, ‘You Are Loved’ and ‘I Can Do This’. ‘There’s a lot of negativity
online and in society in general, but I believe we all have the ability to
offset and change that,’ said Janelle, who has struggled with depression and anxiety
since she was a teenager. ‘It can be a really lonely and isolating experience,
when it doesn’t need to be.’ Janelle hopes her tattoos – part of a range of homemade
gifts aimed to encourage self-confidence which she sells on her online shop,
Hearts and Hands – will remind people that every cloud has a silver lining, and
that everyone has the power to find it.
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| huffingtonpost.com |
Aaron Waterhouse
Aaron is a recent English graduate from Durham University who is now working as a content writer intern. An enthusiastic traveller, he hopes to become a journalist and report from around the world. Follow him @AaronAtSMF
Project Semicolon - A New Way to Discuss Mental Health
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Tuesday, July 14, 2015
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Reviewed by Unknown
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Tuesday, July 14, 2015
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