POSTED UNDER Tattoo Removal REVIEWS
Feel Sick and Depressed Due to New Tattoos! - Melbourne, AU
ORIGINAL POST
I'm 27 and got 2 new tattoos a few days ago and...
animalspiritJune 26, 2016
I'm 27 and got 2 new tattoos a few days ago and ever since I have been crying on and off, feel sick,depressed, loss of appetite and bad anxiety. I just want them gone! I want to turn back the clock and not get them. I seriously feels like a bad dream.
The tattoos were planned, I got a tattoo of a fox and of a wolf. I did my research & tried to find the best artist,paid a small fortune. What I originally wanted was a fox and a wolf jumping in a circle about 3 inches in total size on my inner forearm..so pretty small. I had a picture of the exact fox I wanted but sent a lot of wolf pics to the artist and tried to explain what I wanted him to create. He didn't get back to me dispite my efforts untill 12 hours before I was due to be tattooed,and I didn't like his design for the wolf and I ended up picking a completely different wolf picture and decided if I didn't like it in the morning I would just get the fox tattoo.
So I get there and he tells me having the fox horizontal on my arm like I wanted it would look bad so he talks me into having it the other way, he then made it double the size because if I was going to get the wolf on the other arm like he suggested then I'd want them to match in size. He made the wolf then larger than I had imagined too to cover some old scars which actually now look worse and more obvious when he told me it would look better! I felt like I was put on the spot for every decision and every time I said I wasn't sure I was talked into something. I wish I had got up and left and thought about it. I know at the end of the day I agreed and it's all my fault.
I love tattoos on other people,strongly influenced by social media and Instagram and love all the tattoos I see and thought I would love these.What I didn't anticipate was maybe I love tattoos on other people but not on myself!!!!
My partner doesn't like tattoos and told me not to get any more which adds to my guilt and feeling ugly. I already had one tattoo but it was just writing and hidden on my body and it never bothered me.
Whenever I look down now I see these large dark things on my forearms and feel sick when I look at my body in the shower and the mirror. I know some of this is irrational because the tattoos are 5 inches by 3 inches roughly,but to me it looks huge and dark and I'm praying this feeling goes away or I'm going to have to get lazer which I can't afford.
I've been researching ways to change the tattoos so I like them more but don't want to risk hating them more, aswell as removal creams.
The tattoos them self are quite good, I don't dislike them because they are bad tattoos,and you'd hope they are good quality for what I paid, they just don't feel like me! And they are too big and dark.It's so hard to explain.
On top of that my partner and I aren't well off and I feel extreme guilt in spending money on something I hate and don't want when it should have gone towards our holiday which we are getting into more debt to go on.
I feel so stupid. Why did I do this why!!!! Honestly so depressed.
I just literally feel sick and want them gone. I was actually happy for the first time in ages planning my first trip away ever to Thailand with my partner we are supposed to go in a few weeks and I'm no longer excited. I feel ugly. Anyone got a time machine?
My brains so scattered right now I can't even think straight, overwhelmed.
Will I ever like them? How long should I wait before I decide to get lazer?
UPDATED FROM animalspirit
Healed
animalspiritOctober 3, 2016
Keeping them for now, still not happy with one but have grown to like the other. Planning to add to them.
Replies (4)

October 4, 2016
I think that's an intelligent decision. They are beautiful tattoos in my opinion, but nobody's opinion should matter but your own. Keep us updated if/when you add more!
October 5, 2016
I second mtenter's comment! Tattoos are a shock at first, but you really can grow to love them. I would love for you to kick off the conversation in the following forum post: Love It or Laser It?

Replies (23)
I showed my best friend tonight and she really likes them. They just feel so alien to me.
I'm going to try and wait it out a few months because I don't want to make ANOTHER permanent mistake. Currently I am thinking about laser but I'm scared that I won't be able to remove the whole thing completely. Do you know is complete removal possible?
I wish they were smaller for sure especially the wolf.
I just don't want to make another mistake. I hate feeling like this. I would never get another tattoo now no matter how sure I thought I was. Thank you for your kind words.
How long did it take you to remove yours?
How long ago did you get your tattoos?
Do you still dislike them?
I don't have a time machine, but I hopefully can help you put things into perspective. First off, I'm truly sorry you are going through this and I thank you for having the courage to openly share your story with the community. Here, you will connect with others in the same boat sailing through different waters -- at the beginning of your journey it's pretty rough, and you get caught in a destructive current of negative thoughts, it takes a little work to get your mind off of your tattoos so you can start to paddle forward, but in time you will, and it will be smooth sailing. How do I know this? Well, because I have been there too, and I have also been in this community for a long time and I have seen many people make it through this just fine regardless of the decision they made about either removing or keeping their tattoo(s).
So how do you put this all into perspective and move on, well, there is only one way to say this...you have to get out of your own way. The very first thing I encourage you to do is to stop calling yourself stupid, you are not stupid and your tattoos don't make you ugly and they most certainly don't define who you are -- they are just on your skin and you are not happy with them. So take a step back, and look at this situation from the perspective of another person. What would you tell somebody in your situation? By doing this we broaden our own personal view of the situation and we suddenly become more aware of what's going on and the consequences that can arise if the situation continues to spiral out of control.
You have a wonderful trip coming up, focus on that. Trust me, you don't want to miss out on seeing Thailand. I was recently there for one month and I never wanted to leave -- you will love it! I digress, I missed out on a trip during my months of depression over my tattoo regret, I was supposed to go to Costa Rica with the family and I just couldn't get myself to go, so we canceled. Do you know how bad I feel about that? Arg, if I could hop on that time machine that we both wish existed in times such as this, then I would get on it and go change how I dealt with the situation, I don't even think I would change the fact I got a tattoo because I learned so much from that situation, as rae.88 says "we need to believe this is just another lesson in our path that we have to learn from." Those are some very wise words.
My heart goes out to you, every single time I read a new story about a new tattoo that leaves somebody feeling sick, anxious and depressed, it makes me so sad. Because I know that a tattoo that you don't like right now isn't worth living in misery and allowing that misery to control your life. Let it go, and you will see -- everything will work out.
I leave you with this video that I watched over and over because she is so darn inspiring, please have a look: Kathryn Schulz Shares Her Story of Tattoo Regret
Now, chin up! Get out there and enjoy your life!
Deffinately true how the stages of regret work and what goes through your head.