Tattoos symbolizing mental health awareness

Last year, I got a semicolon tattooed on my inner ankle.

A semicolon symbolizes a sentence you could have ended but choose not to. The reason I got this tattoo was to remind myself that I'm part of a huge community of people that are going through the same thing. It's my badge of pride for getting through everyday and a reminder from my healthy self when I'm having a panic attack that this feeling won't last.

A few months later I got a tattoo of the words "Love Always" on the side of my foot." Love" is in my dad's handwriting and "always" is in my mom's. I got this because, when I'm having a panic attack, I feel alone and like no one loves me. At times like this, this serves as a reminder that, no matter what happens, I know there are two people who will always love me.

That's what I love about tattoos (to my parents' dismay) -- that it can serve as a reminder that you carry around with you everyday. For me, it's a reminder to be strong, to survive, and that things will get better. It's a reminder that I am not alone.

Model/Actor/Director Travis Deslaurier has a tattoo on his upper arm that reads "That which does not kill me makes me stronger" and a tattoo on his forearm that says "Time to shine," which he got when he felt he needed to change his life.

He said this about tattoos: “Tattoos means a lot to me. I had a really tough upbringing. … I was struggling with depression. ... Tattoos helped me get through that. It helped me repair myself through all the struggles of life. … It’s like being reborn again." 

Here are more tattoos that people have gotten that symbolize overcoming their mental illness:



Monica's goal is to raise awareness about suicide and help erase the stigma associated with mental illness. In 2012, she won first place in News Enterprise Reporting by the Michigan Press Association for her series on suicide in the community, and in 2013, was named “Digital Innovator of the Year” by the Local Media Association. In 2019, she received the Ambassador Award from the suicide prevention nonprofit Six Feet Over. She started the blog Meant to Live to help others by sharing signs of depression, reasons to live, resources, suicide and bullying prevention groups, other people’s stories and memorials. She especially wants to show people that they are not alone.

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7 comments

  1. UnknownAugust 25, 2016 at 2:09 AM

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  3. Anna MichaelsonSeptember 14, 2021 at 12:40 PM

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