A Pause

Tattoos are everywhere in real life and in Second Life.  Obviously the ones in Second Life are much less permanent than the ones in real life - you can change them to suit your mood or your outfit.  You can have a tattoo because you like the design.  You can have a tattoo because it means something personal to you.  A tattoo could be a special date, a child's name or a symbol that reflects your religious belief.

In Second Life I have worn the same tattoo for a long time - a stylised twisted vine on my spine.  Recently I have changed that tattoo.  It is still on my back but is much smaller.  My tattoo is a semicolon.  It may seem like a strange choice, but I have switched from a tattoo I liked the design of to one that means something personal to me.

In real life there is Project Semicolon.  The website says that "A semicolon represents a sentence the author could have ended, but chose not to.  That author is you and the sentence is your life."

In Second Life I have been a member of the Survivors of Suicide Group for a very long time.  Sometimes the group chat can be hard to read.  Sometimes it can be very uplifting.

I have struggled with depression and anxiety for about thirty years in real life.  I have tried talking therapies, medication, mindfulness and anything else that came my way that offered a way to give me a release.  I have been close to suicide on several occasions - the most recent one in December 2015.

I wear my tattoo in Second Life with pride.  I have kept going even when the only thing I could think about was giving up.

Details about Project Semicolon can be found here.

Survivors of Suicide can be found in-world here.