Odd Way To Cope

[Privateer]

The more stressed I am the darker and darker my sense of humour gets, until I start telling 'humurous' anecdotes that risk traumatising the people I'm with unless they have a background similar to mine.

 

[99Phoenix99]

To deal with stress I drive around in circles. I live in a wooded area, so there are a lot of back roads that just feed into more back roads. So I purposely take a road I don't know and get lost and after a while try to figure out how to get home.

I do this while blasting and singing along to music.

I can do that for hours at a time.

 

[shadowchaser]

This might explain why my sufferer has been inking up. I was thinking of getting one too but not sure as I would like something really maeningful.

Even supporters have their hard moments in life. They just recover from it better than some of us. Think about a moment in your past that was hard for you and the feeling you had when you overcame it. A good way to have something with meaning is each and every flower has a different meaning.

I chose cherry blossoms for my last tat because of the meaning behind the flower. It shows a woman's beauty and softness. That even the softest breeze can shake it's petals lose. But no matter how hard you treat it come spring it will always bloom again like the Phoenix.

The samurai viewed it as a representation of themselves because of the short blooming season and how short of a life most of them lived. The also looked at the petals as drops of blood. Hence the reason in Japan the tree is given such high esteem. Because every year before it gives fruit it must bleed it's petals.

In china this blossom is associated with women's dominance and beauty as well as feminine sexuality.

Everything I do has meaning even if just to me. For the blossoms it's my past. I shed so many petals to be the person I am today. Be that for good or ill. It has also taken much for me to be able to see myself as a beautiful woman. I still struggle with it. So I also wanted a reminder that no matter my past, present, or future that I am a rare beauty. Not everyone will be able to see it. The one blossom unopened is a representation of my struggle.

I don't know if this helps with choosing to get one or not but I hope it does.

 

[shadowchaser]

So I purposely take a road I don't know and get lost and after a while try to figure out how to get home.

I am never getting in a car with you lol

 

[Estacia]

Shadow, You have your own gun. You are tatting yourself. I see no harm. I think it is very creative.

 

[shadowchaser]

Shadow, You have your own gun. You are tatting yourself. I see no harm. I think it is very creative.

It's my way of avoiding harming myself. I've gotten good enough at it that I now get requests from other people. Make a little bit of money from it but not alot. Enough to pay for my own tattooing habit.

 

[Deleted member 12723]

I am happy that you are making some money off of it. Very creative and healthy in my opinion. Good for you.

 

[Estacia]

You should post some pics of your work sometime.

 

[Shellbell]

I often crave really really hot showers or baths when I'm experiencing flashbacks about abuse. I used to do this when I was suffering the abuse. Have really hot baths as hot as I could stand them and my body would be really red afterwards. And I'd scrub myself until it feels sore sometimes.

I hadn't really done this for a long while until all this PTSD stuff started happening and now I'm doing it again. But I force myself now not to keep turning the temperature of the water up and up. I try to keep it at a hot, but not almost burning temperature. And I don't let myself scrub myself sore now, just vigorously. I'm definitely well exfoliated :rolleyes:

I've wondered if this is a form of self harming.

 

[Srain]

I've wondered if this is a form of self harming.

Shellbell, I think it's different for everyone.

I certainly don't view "exfoliating" or tattooing as self-harming but if the individual has THOUGHTS of self-harming that accompany these acts that's when (in my opinion only) avoidance comes into play the issue is not being addressed and healing is not taking place.

(((((Shellbell)))))

 

[maddog]

Funny, out of the blue this thread made me remember something rather bizarre I used to do as a teenager when I really did struggle badly at times with self harming. On the occasions when I could recognize the need to avoid cutting, I would coat my hands in white out, wait for it to dry and harden, and then painstakingly scratch it off with a compass point. Yes, after a while this would scratch and scrape my hands red raw, but it was less harmful than actually cutting myself, and somehow it did help me to control the urges.

Funny, and sad, the things we do to make it through.

Maddog

 

[shadowchaser]

You should post some pics of your work sometime.

I have in the "Get Your Art On" thread