People are becoming more and more comfortable with opening up about mental health struggles. Together, we’re creating a culture where others can share openly about their anxiety, depression, trauma, and grief while knowing people will accept them.
Whether you are currently on a mental health journey or have someone in your life that has dealt with mental health issues, positive messages can be portrayed through mental health-inspired tattoos.
Let’s look at fifteen mental health tattoos and learn the positive messages they represent.
1. A Moth Tattoo for Finding the Light
You may know moths for their detailed wing designs, but have you ever seen a moth near a lightbulb? These fluttering creatures can’t get enough of the light. Any time they get the chance, they position themselves as near as they can to a source of light.
If you’re looking for inspiration for your next mental health tattoo, consider getting a moth. These creatures represent a fierce devotion for positivity and light in the world.
2. Fingers Crossed
Have you ever been waiting for good news? A friend of yours may have told you their fingers were crossed in anticipation. A tattoo of the fingers crossing symbol is a great way to represent hope. This tattoo can remind you never to lose faith in optimism.
3. Be Still
Mindfulness is an excellent mental health technique that can help you to quiet busy thoughts in your mind and feel more in touch with the present moment. One key factor to mindfulness is remaining still and noticing how you feel throughout your body and mind.
Getting a tattoo with the words “be still” is a timeless way to remember to slow down and check in with yourself. Press pause on life and enjoy your present moment.
4. A Flower Growing Through Dirt
Flowers are peculiar. They start as seeds submerged below the ground that break and begin growing roots that nobody sees. Then one day, they begin growing visibly out of the dirt to show off their gorgeous designs.
One breath-taking mental health tattoo design is a flower growing out of the dirt. This tattoo can depict what it looks like to work on yourself even when no one sees it.
5. Everything Is Temporary
This phrase comforts many as they experience different parts of life. If you’ve enjoyed therapy sessions for a long time, you’ve probably noticed that some parts of your life change with each season, like falling leaves. This impermanence is constant, just like leaves fall from their branches each autumn.
You can represent your acceptance of change with this tattoo idea. Try the phrase “everything is temporary” or a design that shows a leaf falling from a tree. Both of these encapsulate how precious the present can be.
6. This Too Shall Pass
Some people go through mental health struggles that forever alter their lives. When challenges persist for years, it can feel easy to accept defeat. One tattoo that can exhibit resilience is the phrase “this too shall pass.” It’s a reminder that everything will eventually pass, so you can accept your present, knowing you won’t always have your current struggles.
7. Mind Growing Flowers
Have you ever seen a drawing displaying a mind that’s growing flowers? While this isn’t something we see in nature, it’s a creative image that teaches a lesson. The thoughts we think cultivate our beliefs and actions. Your lifestyle will follow suit and be fragrant like flowers to all who see you when you think kind thoughts.
8. A Mountain Range to Represent Your Bravery
Have you ever hiked to the top of a mountain? It’s a challenging exercise that can leave you feeling both elated and exhausted when you reach the top. If you’ve been through tumultuous seasons or experiences, consider adding a colorful mountain or mountain range tattoo to your body.
9. Choose Joy
Everyone is at a different point on their mental health journeys. When it comes to experiencing hard things, it’s not always appropriate to put on positivity right away. Some people need to feel anger, grief, sadness, and other heavy emotions. Still, others may be at a point in their healing that benefits them to begin choosing joy.
If you’re someone who could use a life-long reminder to choose joy, consider getting this phrase tattooed on your body.
10. Watering Can
Remember our flower and mind metaphor? The thoughts you think can impact the way you live your life. The world sees your actions and emotions like flowers that have sprung out of the ground. Each of us makes choices every day to water good thoughts or to let them wither. To remind yourself to encourage a kind, positive lifestyle, consider having a tattoo artist draw a simple watering can tattoo.
11. No Rain, No Flowers
We’re almost done with the flower metaphors, we promise. We know not every trial ends in beauty. Some experiences don’t need a silver lining. Still, some do. If you want to remember how a challenging experience led you to growth and beauty, consider tattooing this phrase in small font next to a floral design.
12. Serotonin Compound
If you struggle with anxiety or depression, you’re probably familiar with serotonin. This chemical compound is responsible for stabilizing your mood. You might find it entertaining to get this compound tattooed on your body as an ode to your mental health journey and your brain’s chemical functions.
13. Keep Moving Forward
Perhaps you experienced a break-up that left you feeling disoriented and lost. Maybe a dream you had always planned on accomplishing is no longer available to you. Though it’s challenging, you can dream new dreams. Tattooing the phrase “keep moving forward” might help you remember to believe in taking the next step, even when it’s tough.
14. Kintsukgi
Have you heard of Kintsugi? It’s a Japanese art form that uses broken pieces to make a more beautiful creation. With this method, you would fill the cracks in broken bowls or vases with gold. The new filling makes the piece more valuable when it’s repaired than when it was whole.
Consider a Kintsugi-related piece if you’re looking for a meaningful tattoo to represent your mental health journey. You might ask a tattoo artist to fill in a part of your body with gold ink as if you were a broken vessel. It’s a creative tattoo that’s sure to start engaging conversations.
15. A Semicolon
What’s a semicolon’s purpose? Grammatically, this punctuation lets a reader know that a sentence could have ended, but it didn’t. In recent years, the semicolon has become a beloved tattoo choice for those who have encountered mental health struggles. This piece can be your reminder that you’ll always show up for yourself even when it’s easier to give up.
Why Mood Health Can Benefit Your Mental Health Journey
Where are you on your mental health journey? Have you been going to therapy for years, and now you’re looking for a change of pace? Perhaps you’ve been out of therapy for a while, and your mental health isn’t doing so well. With Mood Health, you can experience mental health care in a fresh, convenient way.
At Mood Health, we offer virtual talk therapy and psychiatry visits as well as medication management. You can talk to someone about your mental health goals and have a psychiatric provider assess your medication needs from your couch. If you use Mood Health psychiatry, we can mail your prescriptions straight to your door to make your care even more manageable.
What’s your budget for mental health care? Traditional mental health services can cost anywhere from $75 to $200 an hour for talk therapy and psychiatry. At Mood Health, we help you access the care you need right away by cutting costs on your first month. Between convenient, affordable care and complimentary prescription delivery, Mood Health has you covered when you’re ready to book your first appointment.
In Conclusion
Tattoos can be a brilliant want to memorialize an idea or feeling. When it comes to mental health, being open with others about your personal story can be powerful. Sharing your story with others through mental health tattoos is one way you can contribute to helping the world recognize the importance of mental health and accessible mental health care.
When you’re ready to go back to therapy, Mood Health is the perfect place to go. You may even get inspired with your next tattoo idea during one of your virtual talk therapy sessions.
Sources:
Mindfulness Definition | What Is Mindfulness | Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley
What Are Thoughts & Emotions? | Taking Charge.edu
Positive thinking: Reduce stress by eliminating negative self-talk | Mayo Clinic