How a tattoo changes a person

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Are tattoos just decoration or something more? Can the pattern on your skin somehow affect your character, preferences and life in general?

Now tattoos are no longer considered some kind of underground trend, and a tattoo can be seen on a person of any age, gender, profession and worldview. The tattoo decorates, emphasizes the character of a person, his beliefs and affections. But is this really all that a tattoo can, because this drawing remains with a person forever? In this post I will try to figure out whether a tattoo can change people, influence their character and change their lives.

You can't go to a girl empty-handed, so hammer both of your hands with tattoos.

It is difficult to call a tattoo just an ornament, and not everyone can decide on this, because one phrase always looms in the head: "this is for life." And the point here is not the worn out and, in my opinion, senseless argument "How will you look when you become a grandmother?" in the end, he will begin to be perceived as an integral part of you, like moles or blue eyes (green, brown, whatever).

So, before you get yourself a tattoo, you need to seriously think about what exactly will appear on your skin and how it will affect your life. I'm not talking about mystical cases, but about a completely scientific explanation - about psychological factors and the impact on the subconscious of a person. But let's talk about everything in order.

The agony of choice or how we decide to make it

Which drawing will you choose when you decide to get a tattoo? The simplest answer: of course the one you like. There is an opinion that a person likes in others what he himself has. Each person loves himself very much (despite inferiority complexes and imaginary imperfection), and therefore his qualities, seen in someone else, attract him.

That is, the chosen tattoo is a reflection of your character, those qualities that you value in yourself or those that you would like to see. It is like a small reflection of you, a symbolic expression of your essence. Here are some testimonials from tattoo artists and people who have tattooed themselves.

I am of the opinion that a person makes a tattoo for himself as a reflection of his personality and individuality. And this is often supported by experience. Even in some popular inscription there is a meaning, but not what is written there, but why a person made such a tattoo for himself. Sometimes, looking at tattoos, you can determine what their wearer is. Alexander Sinitsyn, tattoo artist, Novosibirsk

On the other hand, as some well-known writers and philosophers believed, for example, Hermann Hesse and Erich Fromm, a person initially contains all personality traits and all characters at once, and he can manifest them at any time.

If you make yourself a tattoo, expressing some certain personality traits, you emphasize them, and by emphasizing them, as if affirming just such a character, reducing the possibility of showing another. After all, what we think of ourselves is what we are.

A little about the subconscious

Besides the emphasis on certain personality traits, a tattoo is something that you see every day. Any images that fall into the area of your attention (or are not even noted in consciousness) settle in the subconscious and from there influence behavioral reactions.

Now imagine: a pattern with a special meaning slowly appears on your skin, appears with painful sensations that last several days. It is likely that before getting a tattoo, you looked at this drawing for a long time, thinking whether it is worth doing it and where exactly.

This alone is enough to leave a serious imprint of the image and what is associated with it in the subconscious. And if you consider that after all this, you continue to see the tattoo every day, even not paying attention to it … well, you get the idea.

The BBC has a great film about the influence of the subconscious on our lives (BBC. Horizon. Can the subconscious be controlled?). It shows how little we actually control, and how much information remains outside our attention, but, nevertheless, this information is used and affects us.

Maybe a matter of faith

Speaking about the influence on the psyche, of course, the factor of faith cannot be excluded. If you believe that a tattoo will change something in your life, most likely it will happen. It is generally common for a person to believe in mystical forces that can help, protect and even radically change life.

In Thailand, there really is such a tradition. In March, Bang Phra Monastery hosts a festival of magical tattoos, sacred drawings that only men can receive. Thais believe that Sak Yant tattoos with prayer and blessing provide protection from all misfortunes.

Perhaps it really helps them if they believe.

We understand perfectly well that it is not a tattoo that changes a person, but only himself. And the belief that a tattoo will help in this, like some kind of amulet or talisman, just helps. As you remember, in Ryazanov's famous film "Beware of the Car" there was a phrase that all people believe: some believe that God exists, others that he does not exist. So it is here. Andrey Lord, tattoo artist, UFO art workshop, St. Petersburg

So if you believe in mystical powers, a tattoo is a great choice. Unlike a talisman, you will not lose it, and if something helps you, why not?

Some tips

In connection with all of the above, I would like to give some tips about tattoos:

1. See who we are

When you have chosen a drawing that should appear on your skin, consider it in more detail: all the details that are in the drawing, especially if it is complex, the general feeling of it. Since you have chosen it, it reflects some traits of your character, personality traits. Think you want these traits to stay with you for life? And one more thing: the process itself can be fascinating, because it is a kind of "cast of your nature."

2. Better not to have names

Each person goes his own way during his life, and it is almost impossible to share it with someone. People often break up, and attachment is replaced by indifference or hatred. Tattoos with the name of the ex-beloved (oh), of course, can be filled with new ones, but even if photos can cause a lot of negative emotions, what can we say about the picture on the skin. And in order not to want to act like the British Thorse Reynolds, who cut out a piece of leather with the name of a former friend, it is probably better to choose something else.

3. Careful with symbols

If you are not a logical impenetrable nihilist, whose sound mind so rejects mysticism that she runs away from him in horror, it is better to be careful to use ancient symbols, gods and spirits, which, at one time (or still), are not deprived of the attention of believers.

4. Positive

Probably, few people will agree to get a tattoo, which will initially symbolize something negative, but there are some. As you know, anger and fear lead to the dark side of power, and the constant reminder of negativity is unlikely to make you happy, even if it looks mega-cool.