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Post by Siddharth Shah on Aug 13, 2015 14:36:45 GMT -4
In addition to raising awareness and helping to decrease the stigma of mental illness, maybe another property of the semi-colon can be helpful for those suffering from mental illness: one possible reason that people may differentiate mental health disorders from other medical conditions is that they see these others as "curable". Maybe part of reducing the stigma of mental illness is to increase awareness of the nature and spectrum of mental illness. People rejoice when someone's cancer can be declared in remission, but in the case of psychiatric illness, it seems that fear of relapse (e.g. a reappearance of symptoms or a "break") predominates. The semi-colon could be said to represent the fact that a discussion should continue, life can continue, and for many patients treatment is a continuous part of life. Just as cancer remission is a cause for cautious optimism, so should psychiatric remission and successful treatment be.
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Post by Ishminder Singh on Aug 13, 2015 14:51:30 GMT -4
The semicolon project is a great idea for multiple reasons. Primarily, it helps society accept psychiatric care in general as a method of treatment for their problems. Secondly, it helps bring people together, whether family or friends, suffering from a common illness and gives them a sense of unity and support. This project, although a possible success here, needs to be publicized in many developing countries to help people accept medical care for psychiatric conditions. In the US, psychiatrists are comparatively frequently visited and people treat a mental illness as any other illness in their body. In countries like India, China, and other developing countries, people will only visit a psychiatrist when things are real bad. Many times, if someone is severely depressed, they are simply told to grow up (if younger) or that time will heal all wounds (if older), and unfortunately, many people attempt and sometimes succeed with suicide. If this project grows in developing countries, it will really help people accept medical care and help unite the people and provide them with a support group in regards to psychiatric illnesses.
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Post by Munit Singh on Aug 13, 2015 14:54:57 GMT -4
Wow! This article and video are really captivating. Social media is so powerful these days and using it constructively to raise awareness about an illness is just taking it to the next level. I think the semicolon project is an excellent way to inform the general public of how serious depression, anxiety, self-harm, and suicide really are. People who are not aware of the importance of these conditions might just brush them off as "just another mental illness." But if they end up driving the patient to take his/her own life, it must receive public attention. There are many people who suffer from depression that end up committing suicide. Robin Williams, for example, was a legendary actor/comedian who ended up with these unfortunate circumstances. Patients suffering from these illnesses not only require pharmacological medication, they also require emotional support from their families, close friends, and other loved ones. Therefore, it is vital to spread the news and promote movements such as the semicolon project.
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Claire-Louise Young
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Post by Claire-Louise Young on Aug 13, 2015 16:48:03 GMT -4
It’s about time for a mental health awareness campaign to come in existence. Those with mental health issues have suffered long enough with stigma. The semicolon project does not just stop at raising awareness; it is a movement on itself. A movement for those inflicted with these illnesses to promise to continue seeking help; to continue moving forward. After seeing many patients in my family medicine rotation and current rotation with mental health issues, I notice a current element in how well they respond to treatment is their willingness to get better. For many of them just coming to the doctors office is a giant step. After this, it is very common to relapse. By having patients engage in a campaign such as semi colon project (it doesn’t have to be a permanent tattoo), it can be a pertinent reminder of their willingness to move forward.
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Post by Venkateshram Singa on Aug 13, 2015 17:05:38 GMT -4
Depression is a common problem in the United States with several people taking their own life by suicide. Suicide affects people of all ages from the very young to the very old for people who feel they are incredibly hopeless with nothing left to live for that they feel suicide is the solution to end the problems they are feeling. The Semicolon project is a magnificent movement for people who attempt commit suicide but choose to resolve and remind themselves there is an alternative way to deal with their problems by putting a tattoo on themselves symbolizing to continue. A semicolon is a continuation of a thought much the same way the semicolon project is a reminder for people that wanted to commit suicide and chose not to commit suicide so this is a good project to have.
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Post by Nadir Raffi on Aug 13, 2015 17:12:39 GMT -4
The semicolon project is a movement for the promotion of mental illness. A semicolon is not the end of a thought but a continuation of a thought. Likewise, the semicolon project is the continuation of one's life rather than committing suicide. A movement for those inflicted with these illnesses to promise to continue seeking help; to continue moving forward.The semi-colon could be said to represent the fact that a discussion should continue, life can continue, and for many patients treatment is a continuous part of life. Rather than taking the easy way out by committing suicide, I feel it is best to continue life and resolving problems with solutions by finding the right type of therapy.
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Post by ivania on Sept 1, 2015 7:41:46 GMT -4
The stigma about mental health is sadly very prevalent. There are billions of people that some time in their life are going to have or already had mental health issues. To help out with the campaign to increase awareness of the problem is a good and nice thing to do. Semicolon symbol may be a big step for some patients with mental health issues to be aware of their problem and avoid the unconscious influence on their life. It can be helpful for them to make promises to themselves that they are not finished with their life yet, and reaching out for help can prevent thoughts of suicide. Every time they see their tattoos they are going to remember this, and they are going to confront their life's challenges. Although I am not supporting tattoos, I think it is a dignified campaign. Indeed I can have a t-shirt with the semicolon punctuation instead:) However for people that enjoy tattoos, it would be a relevant symbol to have:)
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