When humans feel powerless, especially after traumatic events or retraumatization or ~ gestures generally at C-PTSD ~ what often helps is having an area of control over choices, decisions, and outcomes (especially outcomes that have positive side effects like humans liking the action/work/result)
And thus I flew to LA for a weekend and got a tattoo.
#BloomScrolling
When humans feel powerless, especially after traumatic events or retraumatization or ~ gestures generally at C-PTSD ~ what often helps is having an area of control over choices, decisions, and outcomes (especially outcomes that have positive side effects like humans liking the action/work/result)
And thus I flew to LA for a weekend and got a tattoo.
#BloomScrolling
I'd been considering this for more than a year, but now was a good time to do it and to feed the need for a tiny area of control in a world of chaos.
For decades I've instinctively kept ideas like this in my back pocket, and it took me until I was 30 to understand why. In short, this is one method that can help relieve C-PTSD, or prevent learned helplessness from developing. It's not a full solution, but it helps.
Burnout recovery leave, day negative 3:
Getting this tattoo helped me a lot. Honestly, a big part of it was choosing to go somewhere and do something because *I* wanted to — not for work or family, just for me.
I do things for myself regularly to reinforce that my own needs matter. But part of what I was missing was doing something different enough from my typical self-care cycles and rituals — beyond things like ordering/making food that I like. I needed to break free of mental pathways in a bigger way, and spending time in a different city doing things different from what I typically do was a good way to change the patterns.
❤️ sending positive energy your way to use during your recovery
@saraislet The image shows a detailed black and grey tattoo on a person's forearm. The tattoo features a central image of a cat with large, expressive eyes, surrounded by roses and thorny vines. The cat is depicted in a realistic style, with shading that gives it a three-dimensional appearance. The roses are intricately designed, with visible petals and leaves, and the thorns are sharp and detailed. The tattoo is done in a black ink style, with fine lines and shading that create depth and texture. The background of the tattoo is a plain white surface, which contrasts with the dark ink of the tattoo. The overall design is complex and visually striking, with a mix of organic shapes and sharp lines.
Provided by @altbot, generated privately and locally using Ovis2-8B
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@saraislet this is an amazing step. So often we struggle to care for ourselves. Someone once, rather bluntly told me: if you don’t care for yourself, there’s nothing there to care for others.
Also, freaking amazing ink.
@saraislet I also thought of putting art on a wall actually. But idk what I'd put there. Knowing myself I'd love to have horny anime posters, since it's something society hates so it's something that makes me feel more in control of my environment, lol.
Hmm, I... Idk how much I can manage, with my executive dysfunctions and other stuff... Esp. with a family member I have to rely on to clean due to that that always walks all over my boundaries and makes me feel so helpless I cry... Maybe I can try little things but, idk...
This is probably why I love wearing my Mixed Reality headset and gas mask... It gives me some control over my own vision and smell...
I bought a small gold ring to wear on a finger... It helps calm me down sometimes...
I wish I didn't have to rely on that family member... She completely ignores all my boundaries unless my therapist parrots them to her...
@ity those are good things to put on a list for "later" when they're accessible to you
Put together a different list of things that are accessible to you! Can be small things like messaging a friend or someone you admire, or learning how/making a food dish you like
@saraislet 
This is a beautiful tattoo! 
I absolutely agree with how helpful it is to have an area of control. I feel that tattoos not only help reclaim some sense of agency over our own bodies, but is also useful for feeling more "in our bodies". When we're used to dissociating it doesn't feel like our own body as much. With my tattoos, my intention was to make my body parts feel more like "me" and as a result helped with better re-integration if that makes sense? Being more comfortable exposing those parts to others and getting community acceptance was a nice bonus.
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