One in four people will undergo mental or psychological difficulties at some time in their lives. Furthermore, one in four people admits they don’t feel good about themselves. Yet talking about mental and psychological vulnerability is still very much a taboo in Flanders. Almost 60% of people who have mental difficulties never talk about them or seek help. Timely recognition of the signs of mental and psychological difficulties can have an enormous impact.
‘With the legacy of Dr. Paul Janssen, mental and psychological illnesses have always been a focus area for us. Besides the work that we perform with Janssen to find innovative treatments, we also think it’s important to contribute to breaking through this taboo,’ says Stef Heylen, Managing Director of Janssen Belgium and Chief Operating Officer of Janssen R&D.
Janssen is also a proud partner of the organisation Te Gek!?, which aims to make mental and psychological health more discussable in the media and the broad public.
This autumn, Te Gek!? is running a new campaign about recognising the signs of mental and psychological problems. Musicians Guy Swinnen and Selah Sue are the faces of the campaign.
The campaign entered the spotlight with a theatrical press presentation during the Belcanto Classic Cycling Competition in Westouter on Monday 28 August.
Click the movie below to see the launch.
Through the campaign, Te Gek!? wants to emphasise how important it is to be alert—it’s sometimes a matter of life and death—when signs appear that there may be something going wrong with someone from your environment. The campaign also emphasises how important it is to actively respond. Everyone can play a role.
The four most important signs indicating that things are not going well for someone are:
- a change in their behaviour;
- they withdraw;
- a change in emotions;
- they say that things aren’t going well.
Read more about the campaign and what you can do at 4voor12.be and follow the updates on Facebook and Twitter.
The campaign was established by the Te Gek!? project, the Vlaamse Vereniging voor Geestelijke Gezondheid (VVGG), the Vlaams Expertisecentrum Suicidepreventie (VLESP) and is supported by the Flemish government. Janssen is an official sponsor and partner of Te Gek!?.
