If you or someone you know is planning suicide right now please call The Samaritans first on 116 123.
Today I heard about Project; (project semi-colon) for the first time. It seems that the semi-colon’s days of representing a wink are over and now it has a far more moving and profound meaning that thousands are identifying with.
In writing, the semi-colon is used at a place in a sentence where the author could have chosen to stop, perhaps they even considered stopping; and instead chose to carry on their story. Now I know about this project, it seems an obvious and powerful metaphor for people’s battle with mental health and particularly with suicide. It is more than just a comma, more than just a breath in the sentence, it is a real moment of consideration, where stopping was a real possibility and beaten by a desire to carry on.
Now this symbol has become a powerful message of triumph over suicide, depression, addiction and any seemingly unbreakable mental barrier. All over the world it’s finding its way onto people’s skin as a permanent reminder to themselves, an unashamed message to others and a sign of solidarity to say “I am beating it!” and to bring awareness to issues of mental health.
As I was reading more about this project I was wondering if ; may become a new and enduring representation of hope, a united message that there can be relief on the other side of the full-stop if we choose to continue our story.
Project; is not a helpline, not a charity, it is a non-profit movement of like-minded people who wish to share their story and find solidarity with other people who understand their battle. More about Project; and it’s founder Amy Bleuel can be found here https://projectsemicolon.com/
