For the first week of Suicide Prevention Month, we will be exploring suicide prevention through self-care. Self-care can be seen in many ways, but one thing is for certain. Self-care is an activity that means to take care of a person’s mental, emotional, and physical health. The practice of self-care can provide a you with a much-needed coping mechanism when you are bogged down by life with stress, depression, and anxiety.

Today we will be focusing on Journaling. Studies have shown that journaling daily is a great to manage anxiety, reduce stress, and cope with depression. Journaling is a useful tool in managing overwhelming emotions that can make day to day activities hard. By writing down your thoughts, problems, fears, and concerns it allows for you to track/recognize your triggers and begin to identify your stressors. It can also provide you with the opportunity for positive self-talk.

Here are some quick tips to get you started journaling: Try to write something down for a few minutes out the day, always make your entry easy (keeping a pen and paper by near you at all times, consider writing in your phone/tablet), and there are no rules in journaling/ you can write whatever feels right to you. If you or a loved one is having thoughts of suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at (800) 273-8255, or dial 911. The Crisis Text Line for Georgia is Text GA to 741741, this is a free 24/7 text line for people in crisis.

What does suicide prevention mean to you? V4P is having a virtual art gallery on all social media platforms to find out what you see suicide prevention as. Use the #Art4Prevention and post a picture of your art whether it’s a painting, poem, drawing, or collage of what suicide prevention means to you. When you submit your artwork, you will automatically be entered into a V4P raffle prize. All posts using the #Art4Prevention will be highlighted on our website and entered into a raffle for a V4P basket giveaway! The winner of the giveaway will be announced on September 30th. Can’t wait to see what you create!