feeling the pain after a tattoo on my rib cage

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emma
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Wed Aug 31, 2005 1:57 pm

:!: hi i got a tattoo of a daisy chain from the top of my ribs and was supposed to go to my belly button but i had to quit half way down as the pain was too much for me to handle. I didnt get it coloured in and am thinking of getting it finished soon but am unsure. this is my second tattoo and my first was on my back, is there anyone with any ideas on taking my mind off the pain???

thanx
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BadWolf
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Thu Sep 01, 2005 3:57 pm

The point isn't to take your mind OFF the pain. It is to focus on and understand the pain so you can overcome it. Tattooing in it's purest form was always a ritual. It had very little to do with the "pretty picture" and much to do with understanding of self and the reconciliation of the duality of pain and pleasure, life and death, etc.
emma
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Thu Sep 01, 2005 7:07 pm

thanx for your reply, so my artist telling me to suck on a lolly pop is a load of crap. so basically all i have to do is put up with it right?

reply back with your views ppl xx :twisted:
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BadWolf
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Thu Sep 01, 2005 8:46 pm

I don't see any real benifit to sucking on a lollipop and avoiding the situation. Addressing the situation at the source of the problem is usually what works best. The situation is that you are in what you percieve to be PAIN. The source is the mind, and perception can be changed from within. Learning that is far more valuable than rotting your teeth sucking on a lollipop every time you experience something you don't like.
emma
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Fri Sep 02, 2005 6:30 am

thanx ill give it a go when i go to get it finished although im not promising anything. xx :D
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MaraJade
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Fri Sep 02, 2005 11:42 am

I don't think you necessarily have to just sit there and totally focus on pain if you don't want to.



Let's face it, we all know that tattoos were a lot different and for different reasons way back when. Now everyone gets them.



If someone wants to take their mind off of it - go for it.

As for how to do that, it's hard to say because I'm sure it varies from individual to individual.



On my third tat I barely felt anything anymore because I guess I'm already used to it or something.

But on my first one - ow! When I'm nervous I distract myself by talking or reading. So. . .I did both.

I talked with my boyfriend about all sorts of stuff that we had never really sat down and talked about before (nothing serious, just random stuff) and part of the time I read one of my favorite books.

I also made the mistake of trying to be chatty with my artist. Al's just not like that. :lol: I know that NOW. . .

I asked him "how long have you been doing this?"

::sigh:: "all day"



Yea. . .That's Al. Now I know better. :wink:



But yea, if you want to take your mind off of it try doing something that won't interfere with the tattooing but will distract you for a time.
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BadWolf
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Fri Sep 02, 2005 1:21 pm

So, when you find yourself in a situation where you percieve pain, and there is no one there to talk to, nothing to read, and no one to shove a pacifyer in your mouth, what do you do? How do you deal with it? What have you learned?

The beauty of controlled situations is that it allows you to learn all these things in a "controlled" setting so you will know how to deal with it when the time comes that you have NO control. The indiginous peoples who used these rituals were FAR FAR more prepared to deal with things than most people in our modern society are.

As a tattooist, I couldn't really care less how you deal with it. I get paid by the hour...you wanna squirm around and pay me more, knock yourself out! But if you want to use the situation to it's ultimate advantage, then as a nice guy, my suggestion is, leave the stuffed animals and pain killers at home, and deal with it by confronting your 'self' directly.

It's all you.
emma
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Fri Sep 02, 2005 3:23 pm

wow those are some really interesting views, thanx. i think it all boils down to the fact that my first tattoo was really wanted. id wanted it doing for so long and the determination built up so much that the pain i experienced through that made me think to myself that when it was finished id have what id been geering myself up for "a tattoo". The one i have only just had, well half had wasnt as much wanted as the first, so would that have anything to do with the fact that the more determined you are the more fearless you are and the less you want one the more pain youi feel????? :?:
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BadWolf
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Fri Sep 02, 2005 8:12 pm

so would that have anything to do with the fact that the more determined you are the more fearless you are and the less you want one the more pain youi feel?????


Yep...now you are on the right track. Meditate on that.
emma
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Sat Sep 03, 2005 9:41 am

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

cool

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
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MaraJade
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Tue Sep 06, 2005 9:17 am

BadWolf wrote:So, when you find yourself in a situation where you percieve pain, and there is no one there to talk to, nothing to read, and no one to shove a pacifyer in your mouth, what do you do? How do you deal with it? What have you learned?


I've never had a problem with you on this board but that comment was slightly out of line. Especially the pacifier part.

I pointed out directly in my post that tattooing is not now what it originally was.

Reading a book does not "make the pain go away". It allows you to focus on something besides it. So sorry if that makes me "unworthy" of getting a tat by your high standards.

And as for feeling pain at all, I also pointed out in my post that my first one was really sucky in regards to that but the next two I barely felt. Should I have made myself focus on them more so that they hurt more? Does that make a tattoo "real" or something? I think you can feel plenty pain from it whether you are reading a book, talking to a friend, etc. If it doesnt' matter to you how people deal with it then why bother commenting on it?
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MaraJade
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Tue Sep 06, 2005 9:27 am

I do, however, agree that you should be determined to get a tattoo before you go. Not just show up randomly at a shop and pick something out right then and there. If it's important to you, it won't be as bad.



I just don't see why you have to sit there and be crazy about it thinking "pain is good" when you can just as easily take your mind off it a little bit without losing anything from it. No big deal.
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BadWolf
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Tue Sep 06, 2005 9:44 am

I've never had a problem with you on this board but that comment was slightly out of line. Especially the pacifier part.


The pacifier part had nothing to do with you. She mentioned sucking on a lollipop...which is nothing more than a pacifier. And the fact is, all things designed to quiet your discomfort are just pacifiers if we really think about it, aren't they? Look up the definition of the word "pacify" **

In our modern society, in which we are controlled by rich men who have their own best interest in mind, EVERYONE should be aware of the word, the idea, and how it effects them. It is an important word.



Do I feel you should earn it? Fuckin' straight! I did. The inability to reconcile those issues is the biggest reason modern humans are unable to deal well with crisis and adversity. It is why we have not significantly evolved, as a species, for many many years. It's why our children have become weak and worthless, and must be on medications to deal with everyday reality, and must live vicariously through the safety of video games instead of potentially "painful" raw experience. And most importantly, (which is why I am making such a big deal over it) it is how you are CONTROLLED...cheated out of your own life for the benifit of others. They will give you comfort, and in exchange, you will remain OBEDIENT.

Will you rise up and have a revolution, no matter how bad things get?

The answer is:

NO...IT MIGHT BE TOO UNCOMFORTABLE...and you have been programmed to not be able to tolerate that.



It is also why people have a hard time dealing with facts and truth, and are deeply offended by the inconvienience of the two. Rather than deal with the chaos, they wish to deny it...it is less "painful" to deny than it is to accept. But acceptance and dealing with things directly is the best and most benificial method of dealing with anything. It cuts out all the bullshit, and the need for security blankets and pacifiers and makes you the controller of your destiny, instead of a quivering mass being obediently blown about by charlatans, while pretending to not notice.

Yes, people get tattoos for different reasons, these days. But that doesn't mean they should necessarily forget the most important aspect of the art form. Without it, it really is just a mark on the body. With it, the mark becomes a sign of having been through it...which is far more powerful, like it or not. Why not get the most you can from the experience? Why cheat yourself out of the most enlightening aspect, and just accept the most unimportant? Get what you paid for, fer Christ's sake!

Obligatory disclaimer: This post was not intended to offend anyone. It is merely an observation based upon much exploration.



**

Function: transitive verb

Inflected Form(s): -fied; -fy·ing

Etymology: Middle English pacifien, from Latin pacificare, from pac-, pax peace

1 a : to allay the anger or agitation of : SOOTHE <pacify a crying child> b : APPEASE, PROPITIATE

2 a : to restore to a tranquil state : SETTLE <made an attempt to pacify the commotion> b : to reduce to a submissive state : SUBDUE <forces moved in to pacify the country>

- pac·i·fi·able /"pa-s&-'fI-&-b&l/ adjective

synonyms PACIFY, APPEASE, PLACATE, MOLLIFY, PROPITIATE, CONCILIATE mean to ease the anger or disturbance of. PACIFY suggests a soothing or calming <pacified by a sincere apology>. APPEASE implies quieting insistent demands by making concessions <appease their territorial ambitions>. PLACATE suggests changing resentment or bitterness to goodwill <a move to placate local opposition>. MOLLIFY implies soothing hurt feelings or rising anger <a speech that mollified the demonstrators>. PROPITIATE implies averting anger or malevolence especially of a superior being <propitiated his parents by dressing up>. CONCILIATE suggests ending an estrangement by persuasion, concession, or settling of differences <conciliating the belligerent nations>.
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bobdolejr
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Tue Sep 06, 2005 10:41 am

Somebody needs to relax .... just a tad
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BadWolf
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Tue Sep 06, 2005 10:49 am

I rest my case. I WAS relaxed. The fact I made a statement based on facts caused you to think I was excited. It proves my point, beautifully.

You would rather "pacify" me than see me be passionate about an idea, or cause you to think I was excited about something.

Good show!
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