Why are people getting semicolon tattoos?

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Media captionWhy are people getting semicolon tattoos?

A semicolon can be used when a sentence could come to an end, but instead continues. (For example: "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog; it keeps running into the bushes"). People who suffer from mental illness have now taken on the punctuation symbol on as a metaphor for a moment when a person contemplates suicide - in other words, thinks about ending the story of their life - and yet they continue through their difficulties.

Project Semicolon began as a call for people to draw a ";" on their body to highlight a range of mental health issues including depression, suicide, addiction and self-harm. Many are now making the marks permanent, with semicolon tattoos.

The group describes itself as a "faith-based movement," however founder Amy Bleuel says it's inclusive of people of all faiths and identities but they "just wanted to be open about their own beliefs."

You can watch an extended version of this video on BBC Trending's YouTube channel.

If you or someone you know has been affected by the issues raised in this report, click on the following links for organisations that can help - Inside the UK / Outside the UK.

Video Journalist: Neil Meads

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