JoeyJoelle

So before I get into the article I wanna start with a trigger warning. This article will contain mentions of self-harm, suicide and mental illnesses.

Welcome to another rant/vent of Joey. So, I’m sorry if this article doesn’t seem as cohesive or eloquent as you might want it to be. This is a post written straight from my core.

Yesterday, at work I met a group of lovely young adults from all over the globe. They were so bubbly, so eager, so excited to be in the Netherlands. They were so cute! After dealing with quite some negative energy, seeing these girls really brought me joy. Especially as I was emotionally quite dysregulated myself, being around such good energy did me well!

As, I was looking around, I noticed one girl in particular with multiple tattoos on her forearm. The first one was beautiful as it was a combination of color, floral and symmetry. But it was the second one that caught my attention…It was a semi-colon.

For those of you who are not familiar with the semi-colon tattoo, here’s a short a summary of its history:

In April 2013, Amy Bleuel took to social media with an idea. Anyone who had ever struggled with a mental illness would draw a semicolon on their wrist and post a photo. A semicolon symbolized that a sentence wasn’t over yet, and neither was their life.

The tagline was: Your story isn’t over. Since then, millions have shared photos of semicolons on their bodies, both drawn and permanently tattooed, as part of a burgeoning effort to erase the societal shame long associated with mental health.

So, when seeing the girl with that tattoo my main concern was to inform the team so we can keep an eye out on her and her mental well-being. I was well aware that the semi-colon might not even have anything to do with her mental health, it might simply have been a tattoo for someone else. Either way, I felt like the right thing to do was to inform the team.

Even though, the team was glad that I had noticed such a detail, their response wasn’t as I had hoped it would be. Just like many ignorant people, their responses were absolutely terrifying. And I use the word terrifying, because as someone who deals with mental health issues herself, I felt unsafe which made me feel triggered as hell.

The whole point to inform the team was to make sure that we could be a safe space for this girl, in case she ever needs it. But how can you offer safety when you’re still so fucking stupid when it comes to mental health?!

Acting like mental health issues only affects a particular group.

It. Does. Not.

Nor does it look a particular kinda way! Have we learned nothing from the loss of Robin Williams? Or former Miss USA?

No?

Mental illness comes in many forms and is very real. Just because you can’t see it, doesn’t mean it’s not there.

So, why am I writing this? I guess all I wanna say is to look out for each other and please continue to educate yourself on this topic. And for those who have the knowledge, please continue to speak up for those who can’t anymore or are afraid to.

And to the girl with the semi colon: thank you!
Whether you got it in support of someone, or for yourself.
Thank you for inspiring me by simply being you.