Semicolon - stigma or no stigma?

[Maurora]

I'm an advocate for raising awareness about mental health, especially with regard to men.

Although people's struggles with mental health often go unnoticed, do you think it's a positive sign to get a semicolon tattoo or do you think it further stigmatises?

People get Ironman tattoos, and maybe marvel at the commitment as they know the distances and what's involved. Some may look upon them as egotistical and unnecessary others as motivational. It is a massive achievement...

Struggling with mental health isn't so clear cut. Someone may suffer from depression or attempted suicide and it may come and go. Some may have had a stint of poor mental health but found their way back to stability, maybe never to suffer with it so severely again.

I'm not critical or judging, just wondering if it's a positive tattoo for those who have recovered? I guess you don't get an Ironman tattoo until you've finished... But then, everyone has mental health and you never know when it may strike again.

It’s definitely widely seen as a “survived a suicide attempt “ tattoo rather than a mental health struggle tattoo. And if I saw someone with one that’s what I’d assume it signified.

Each to their own but personally I think some things shouldn’t be shared with random colleagues/people you don’t know well. If I had mental health issues i would not want everyone knowing, and that doesn’t mean I think it’s shameful or should be hidden away. Just that I’d rather be selective with who knew. And yes I agree that id think it was quite attention seeking and a bit cringy.

I think if you're having the tattoo for yourself, it's nobody else's business. If this would help you, personally, go for it. If you're at all concerned about how people might interpret it, having it somewhere you could cover it would be sensible.

If the tattoo is more for 'raising awareness' than for yourself, it might not be the best idea. Maybe just get a t-shirt instead.

Worth being aware that among those who know what it means, most will think it's about suicide. Will you be happy to explain that yours isn't, to somebody who has the same tattoo for that reason? If not, you could choose something different that holds significance for you?

Honestly, I'd roll my eyes internally.

ETA there's something about the wearing of that sort of tattoo as a message or advert to others that seems unnecessary and attention seeking

Personally I wouldn't have one. I know what it means and I know it can be life-affirming for some people. But I wouldn't want to advertise that part of myself to the world, and I certainly wouldn't want people to notice it and ask me about it.

No stigma, but also at the same time also personally 'meh' about it as a tattoo. I'm aware of why people get one, but I see it as more trend than significant frequently

I thought it meant I Like Anal.

Oh dear.

I didn't know what it meant until I came across this thread so I don't think it would have the desired affect on others. People will be wondering why you've got a random semi colon.

I suppose it's encouraging to see semicolons being used at all.

Why would anyone want a tattoo about mental illness? Or any illness? How is a semi colon related to mental health?

I think it shows how personal mental health is. If it is something you want OP, then do it. I think it would prompt questions if it was somewhere visible so you would need to think about that. I don't hide my experience but it never comes up in conversation if that makes sense. Would you feel OK discussing it often?

In addition to it being a personal reflection of the wearer's attitude to their own MH, it's also a reflection of their attitude to tattoos, at least at the time they got the tattoo.

I have random tattoos I got as a teen that I definitely wouldn't choose to get now - thankfully they're small and easily covered in most contexts, and now I see them as a reminder that I might change my mind even if I'm 100% sure at the time that something is what I want and will want forever.

Which I guess could work similarly for someone who gets a semicolon tattoo on their hand and is later confronted with having to discuss it in contexts they'd rather not too. Tattoos can be a great reminder that one won't always feel the same way.

I guess a semicolon is very easy to change into a different tattoo if someone changes their mind about displaying such personal information so publicly though; I can't imagine a campaign recommending its supporters get permanent tattoos if this weren't the case!

I know what they signify and I wouldn’t judge anyone for that - but I would think they’re a bit basic for following the trend and not getting something more unique to them. I like tattoos, I have 20+ myself but to me the semicolon is in the same category as tribal or dolphins round the belly button, it’s just kind of a lame insta trend

Not everyone has mental health. Many people are mentally ill or really struggle with being mentally healthy!

Or, everyone has mental health, just like we all have physical health. To varying degrees.

My MIL and FIL have one each. Their son committed suicide and I think it's a nod to that.

It's a personal thing. If you want one, then who cares what other people think?

I don't think it's generally good for MH for people to be defining themselves by struggles that they have overcome and/or using it as a status symbol. I'd view it a bit like the social media accounts which have various diagnoses in as the tagline.

It's not stigma about the fact that the person has experienced suicidal ideation or attempted, but I would worry that the person is attempting to make this a key aspect of how they see themself and how others see them. I don't think that's healthy.

If people don't understand the semicolon tattoo, I suggest they read up on it instead of making judgements.

Having just googled this, the first thing I came across is this - www.projectsemicolon.com/our-vision/

Here’s their mission statement:
Our mission is to get all parts of society working together to take action to reduce suicide and improve the support for those bereaved by suicide

Will that's just it, I'm not interested in reading up and don't care about your mental health.

Ordinarily, you would never know that, not these silly tattoos and discussions around them force opinions into the open.

It's just another trend that will eventually pass.

Well I’m glad I read this thread. I would otherwise have assumed that a semi-colon signifies someone who knows how to punctuate a sentence.

I think any tattoo is going to be judged by some people and mental health is still heavily stigmatised.

It's not right, and there has been some positive change.

Me neither. I would assume that the person is a stickler for good punctuation and would probably start trying to talk to them about that, because I am too. That would probably not be what they wanted…

There's also the risk that other impressionable people (especially young people) could see it as some sort of badge of honour/rite of passage, so an outward declaration might inadvertently glorify unsuccessful attempts, which could be disastrous.

It could also be seen as normalising suicidal ideation so that fewer people are minded to seek help if they feel that 'everyone' goes through it. I think promoting the number for the Samaritans is probably much more helpful in preventing suicide.

Having dealt with suicidal ideation in neurodivergent teens, I spend much time trying to discourage them from seeing their MH struggles as a defining part of their identity and trying to highlight where their black-and-white-thinking might be leading them to false conclusions or unhelpful thinking. I would be strongly against their getting a tattoo of this nature as it would likely serve to reinforce these negative self-beliefs, and could bring them back to those thoughts in the future just when they were starting to move on, if someone decided to bring up their tattoo when they weren't necessarily thinking about that stuff anymore.

Other people have their reasons for this tattoo, and that's up to them, but there are some situations where I personally think it could be a terrible idea. Not least in the people with the kind of thinking (e.g. neurodivergence) who might feel the need to get a tattoo because other people are saying it's a good idea and where they don't necessarily have the social understanding to navigate the social complexity or to plan for their future needs and assess whether it's a good idea for them personally to get such a tattoo.

Definitely associate it with suicide attempt or survival. Don’t judge either way but dislike tattoos anyway.

Because most tattoos don’t tell strangers ‘I tried to commit suicide.’ I just find the idea of putting something in a highly visible place to advertise something to strangers that most people would want to keep private attention seeking. Why would you want to advertise to strangers you have mental health struggles? Why would you want others to know you’ve attempted suicide? Why would you want to put yourself in situations where potential strangers might ask about it every time you show your tattoo? I don’t think mental health issues or suicide attempts/ suicidal thoughts should be hidden, but personally I think wanting to share them publicly and permanently with strangers through a tattoo is odd and if someone wants strangers to know I find that a bit attention seeking.

Maybe I’m being unfair though because as I said I have scars on my wrists which I try to hide but can’t always and have had intrusive questions about from strangers. I hate being judged on the low points of my life. It just seems bizarre for me that people would choose to put a reminder of a suicide attempt or mental health issues on their skin when feeling well and I can’t understand why people would want to attract that attention.

Wow. You nurse people as a living and apparently practice Christianity? It’s horrible that you have those views being those two things.