The meaning of Yellow September has a special appeal in favor of suicide prevention and encouragement to take care of our mental health. Get to know the story!
Several months adopt colors as a form of incentive or prevention, such as the Pink October, breast cancer prevention month; Blue November, Prostate Cancer Prevention Month; e Yellow September, suicide prevention month.
In this way, these campaigns seek to break the Taboo and to make the population aware of the importance of care, both for physical and mental health. Therefore, today the gas will teach you about the origin and meaning of Yellow September.
The movement began in the USA, when 17-year-old Mike Emme committed suicide in 1994. Mike was a caring, quiet and extremely skilled boy. Mechanics was one of his passions and, shortly before he died, he was restoring a 68 Mustang, painting it yellow.
His parents and friends never realized that the young man had serious psychological and mental health problems, so they could not prevent his sudden death, which shocked and moved the entire population of the region.
At his funeral, the boy's friends made a basket full of cards and yellow ribbons with the message: “If you need it, ask for help.” The action gained enormous national repercussion and hundreds of young people began to use a yellow card to ask for help from those close to them in relation to suicidal thoughts.
This was the trigger for the movement, which adopted the yellow ribbon as a symbol. It was then that, from 2003 onwards, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared September 10 to be World Suicide Prevention Day, which is the meaning of Yellow September.
How Yellow September began in Brazil
The Yellow September campaign was established in our country in 2015, in a joint work of the CVV (Life Appreciation Center), CFM (Federal Council of Medicine) and ABP (Brazilian Association of Psychiatry).
This initiative, which associates the color with the month that hosts World Suicide Prevention Day, seeks to give visibility to the cause and raise awareness among the population about the seriousness of the problem, which is often treated with neglect and as exaggeration, drama, etc.
Over the years, the population, as well as several institutions such as schools, universities, public and private entities, have come together in favor of this movement that values mental health.
Monuments such as Christ the Redeemer (RJ), the National Congress and the Itamaray Palace (DF), the Beira Rio Stadium (RS) and the Lacerda Elevator (BA), participate in the campaign.
We need to talk about mental health and suicide prevention!
Unfortunately, such an important subject is still taboo in our society, even though it claims more victims than AIDS and most types of cancer. We need to encourage dialogue and the search for professional help since 90% of suicide cases could be avoided with psychological help.
Mental health It's serious business! Just as we exercise and try to eat well to take care of our bodies, we need to feed and exercise our mind to untie ourselves from our own traumas and thus move forward as a free human being.
Disorders such as stress, anxiety, and depression are part of our reality. They cannot be treated with prejudice or neglect.
How many times have you said or heard someone say: “Wow, I'm so stressed. Unmotivated, down”. And how many times have you or the person who said this sought help to solve this problem?
It's normal for us to get a little more downcast sometimes, but from the moment it becomes more serious or recurrent, we need support, and it's okay to ask!
Yellow September: take care of your mental health and take care of those close to you. If you need it, ask for help!
O CVV – Center for the Valorization of Life It provides emotional support and suicide prevention, voluntarily and free of charge to all people who want and need to talk, under total confidentiality by phone, e-mail and chat 24 hours a day.