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The campaign seeks to raise awareness about mental health
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Yellow September is the title of the national suicide prevention campaign. During the month os September, initiatives to promote mental health and warn society about the importance of discussing the topic are reinforced by public and private companies. Furthermore, the moment serves to combat the stigma surrounding mental distress.
This year, the campaign’s slogan is “If you need it, ask for help!”. The objective is to encourage Brazilian citizens to take an active stance towards caring for their own mental health and supporting those around them.
The choice of the month was intentional. The 10th of September is marked as World Suicide Prevention Day. The date – a global commitment to raise awareness about the problem – was created by the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP) and is endorsed by the World Health Organization (WHO).
The initiative was created in 2013 by Antônio Geraldo da Silva, president of the Brazilian Psychiatric Association (ABP). That year, he put the campaign on the national calendar and, since 2014, he has had the support of entities, such as the Center for the Valorization of Life (CVV) and the Federal Council of Medicine (CFM), to disseminate the message.
“We need to instruct to raise awareness, prevent, and, in September, we concentrate our efforts and set out to effectively prevent suicide. Death by suicide is a medical emergency and can be avoided through adequate treatment of the underlying mental disorder”, says the president of ABP, Dr. Antônio Geraldo da Silva.
This sad reality affects the whole world and causes harm to society. According to the latest research carried out by the WHO, in 2019, more than 700,000 suicides were recorded across the globe, not counting underreported episodes, meaning it is estimated that there are more than 1 million cases. In Brazil, records approach 14 thousand cases per year. In other words, on average 38 people commit suicide per day.
In one of his videos on YouTube, during the ‘Dr. Soares Answers‘ segment, Dr. R. R Soares comments on suicidal thoughts: “Whoever is trying to commit suicide, don’t do it! The good thing about life is going through trials and overcoming. Victory is tastier, you are so happy! God bless you! In the Name of Jesus, I ask everyone not to do this and to be rooted in Christ.”
CVV
The Center for the Valorization of Life is a non-profit organization active since 1962. Its purpose is to provide free emotional support and suicide prevention.
Anyone in distress can ask CVV for help through the NGO’s channels. It is possible to speak by phone via 188, via chat and email, available on the Center’s website (https://www.cvv.org.br/), and even in person – the CVV lists active addresses. There are employees willing to help every day of the year, 24 hours a day.
