| Tuesday, 9 February 2021 01:00 PM MYT |
| By Tengku Puteri Iman Afzan |
I started 2021 with a bang.
What began as a social media campaign on Oct 10, 2020 – World Mental Health Day – quickly spiralled out of control as the year came to an end.
This spiralling, however, was positive.
As some of you may know, the green ribbon is the international symbol of mental health awareness.
I came across an interesting fact when I was looking into the history of the green ribbon.
Apparently, in the 1800s, green was the colour used to label people who were considered insane.
While the green ribbon for mental health has not gained as much traction as the pink ribbon for breast cancer or the red ribbon for AIDS, it goes without saying that we have already come very far.
Although stigma and prejudice remain challenges for us to address, the green ribbon is no longer associated with the pejorative word “insane”, but with the conquerors – those who have struggled and persevered, and have come out bigger and better for it.