Mental illness used to be something that people hid from the rest of the world. It was a taboo topic. In some cultures, children with mental illnesses were locked away in their rooms so that the family could avoid embarrassment.
Now, both newer and older generations are fighting back against the stigma. Post-partum depression is talked about, which is something no one even mentioned to me.
Suicide hotlines and suicide awareness help people feel like they’re not alone. It’s a wonderful movement that continues to gain more momentum as the years go by. One way that people are helping spread awareness is by tattoos.
Mental health awareness tattoos are more than just another tattoo. They help raise awareness of mental health issues that were once a stigma to both people and society.
Long gone are the days that people were encouraged to hide their mental illnesses, and these tattoos can help you show awareness for yourself, friends, or anyone else in the world.
In this article
The Semicolon Tattoo
The semicolon tattoo is one of my favorites. It is a great way to represent suicide awareness. It is when a person could have or wanted to commit suicide but chose to keep living.
This is because the semicolon represents a place in the sentence when the author could have chosen to put a period, but instead of ending the sentence, they chose to keep going.
A Heart Beat With A Semicolon
This is one of my favorites because of both the quote and the heart rate. When you are hooked up to a machine, this is what your heart rate looks like. The quote lets other people know that we all have our flaws, and there is nothing wrong with that.
Semicolon With A Quote Tattoo
I also really enjoy this tattoo. The quote lets people that are feeling suicidal know that it’s their choice. They don’t have to end their story, and that they should never let anyone make them feel like they have to.
With the rise in suicides due to bullying and cyberbullying, I think this is an important quote to remember.
Semicolon Tattoo With Birds
This tattoo is gorgeous to me. It represents suicide awareness with the birds flying off to enjoy another day. I like that it’s simple yet its message is so powerful.
Semicolon Tattoo Meaning
This tattoo does more than just symbolize suicide awareness, it also explains it. Because of that, it’s a wonderful tattoo! So many people will see a semicolon tattoo and not know what it means, so it’s exceptional that this one explains it to people to further raise awareness.
Arrow Tattoos Represent Strength, Struggle, And Triumph
Arrow tattoos are quickly making their way into the world of mental health awareness. These tattoos represent the strength that it takes to work through life with a mental illness. The struggle that we go through.
The triumph that we feel when we finally have a good day or they actually get the right dosage of medication. There are plenty of awesome arrow tattoos that you can use as mental health awareness tattoos.
Arrow Tattoo With Semicolon
Combination tattoos are great for symbolizing more than one thing. This person chose to represent both suicide awareness and the strength that it takes to overcome mental illness.
Arrow Pointing Down Tattoo Meaning
When a person gets an arrow tattoo, it generally means strength. However, the direction that the arrow points in can symbolize different things as well. An arrow that points down symbolizes peace.
One pointing to the right direction, and an arrow that points to the left symbolizes warding off evil. A broken arrow also represents peace.
It’s common for people to get arrow tattoos to also represent mental illness because they represent strength, and them pointing downwards represents that they are finally at peace.
Arrow Pointing Up Tattoo
Arrow tattoos have many different meanings. Some of them are created by popular culture, and other meanings come from native Indian tribes that used arrows as symbols.
An arrow that is pointing towards the sky often represents moving forward or seeing the bigger picture. It reminds us that mental health is not who we are.
We’re also kind, generous, wonderful mothers, and much more. During depressive episodes, it can be hard to see beyond despair, but this tattoo is a constant reminder to look at the entire picture.
Arrow Tattoo Pointing Out Of The Body
An arrow tattoo pointing out of the body is often used to mean the energy leaving the body.
Putting this somewhere that you can see is a constant reminder to breathe out the negative energy and anxious thoughts, and to breathe in the strength that you need to make it through the challenges of living with a mental illness.
A Lime Green Ribbon Tattoo Represents Mental Health
Lime green is the color that represents depression, childhood depression, mood disorders and is the mental health ribbon. You can get this ribbon by itself, or use it with other words or tattoos for a unique look.
Green Ribbon With Butterfly Tattoo
A butterfly has such a short life, hence why some people use this as a symbol to represent the loss of a loved one. This combined with a green ribbon can symbolize a loved one that was lost due to mental illness.
Mental Health Awareness Tattoo For Hope
I love that this tattoo simply says hope. It reminds people that have a mental illness to always have hope. One of my former professors used to say that the only thing more powerful than fear is hope.
I’m sure that she was the original person behind that quote, but just her saying that always reminded me to have hope. Those words, and that single word of hope, have brought me through a lot of struggles throughout adulthood. This tattoo is simple yet powerful.
Mental Health And Suicide Awareness
Thousands of people commit suicide every year due to mental illness. Sometimes, the symptoms are too much to bear and they simply want them to stop. Other times, their mental illness makes them feel very suicidal.
There are various reasons why people commit suicide. Regardless of the reason, they are never forgotten. A ribbon with a name and date is a wonderful tattoo to both raise awareness and remember a loved one with.
Green Ribbon With A Heart Tattoo
If you’re searching for a green ribbon tattoo that is unique, designs like this are right up your alley. It expresses love, mental health awareness and is a nice reminder to love yourself.
Unique Mental Health Tattoos
An arrow, ribbon, or semicolon is a great way to raise mental health awareness. However, some people are bound to think that those are cliche tattoos. These tattoos are wonderful mental health awareness tattoos and can say what you want to say.
I Am Not Afraid To Keep On Living
This tattoo symbolizes strength. It uses a powerful quote with a heart rate to show that their heart will keep on beating through all of their trials. They will not let mental illness take over.
Where Is My Mind Tattoo
Sometimes, you’re going to feel like you’re losing your mind. We all do, but this is especially true if you have a mental illness. This tattoo explains how you feel perfectly.
Hopeful Mental Health Awareness Tattoo
This tattoo is one that has their fingers crossed as they wish that either they or someone else continues to have hope. This tattoo is nice because it’s both realistic and unique.
Feel Too Much
Sometimes, when we have a mental illness, we just feel so much. There’s so much anxiety, sadness, and even so much happiness. It’s as if everything is extra. I think that this tattoo explains that perfectly. I found this tattoo on Reddit. The poster got it to represent her struggles with bipolar disorder, and it does that beautifully.
Everything Is Temporary Tattoo
Everything in life is temporary. Even our lives are temporary if you think about it. This is a beautiful reminder that our symptoms can also be temporary.
It can help us remember that the feelings of anxiety from PTSD are only temporary. While mental illness may last a lifetime, the symptoms don’t always last as long.
Mentally Ill Totally Chill Tattoo
I love that this tattoo represents being mentally ill and not being a psychopath. I feel like mentally ill people get stigmatized a lot, and most people think of worst-case scenarios.
It can be easy to envision a bipolar person as going through a manic phase and being violent.
Sometimes, people think of the images that they see on television, and these are often overexaggerated for entertainment purposes. Just because you’re mentally ill doesn’t mean that you aren’t totally chill too.
Chemical Compound Tattoos
Chemical compounds can help you remember that something isn’t your fault, such as with the compound for Serotonin or Dopamine. Some people prefer the tattoo of the oxygen compound to remind them to breathe when they are feeling anxious.
Not only do these tattoos make an awesome conversation starter, but they can also really help you if you have a mental illness. They look pretty cool too.
Serotonin Chemical Compound Tattoo
Serotonin is a chemical found in the brain that plays a vital role in mood regulation and your emotions. I think all of us with a mental illness can use a little boost in serotonin at times.
Creative Serotonin Tattoo
I like that this is a serotonin tattoo, but they got creative with it. You can use flowers, vines, arrows, or anything that you can imagine to create the chemical compound used in chemical compound tattoos.
Colorful Chemical Compound Tattoo
I like that she added shades of color to the background of this serotonin tattoo. It represents mental health awareness, it’s on the same arm as her semicolon tattoo, and it’s beautiful.
It’s a nice creative twist on a trendy tattoo, and we love that! You can use this as inspiration to design your own unique mental health awareness tattoo.
Combined Chemical Compound Tattoos
There’s no reason you have to stick with one chemical compound! For example, the tattoo below combines the chemical compounds for both dopamine and serotonin.
Consider what chemicals you need for your mental illness, and check out what the compound looks like to start creating your next tattoo.
Dopamine, Serotonin, And Norepinephrine Tattoo
These are the three main chemical imbalances that contribute to mental illness. They act as mood regulators, help you deal with stress, etc. For example, norepinephrine is commonly found in most anti-depressant medications. If you need all three, why not get all three tattooed?
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Quotes/Words About Mental Illness Tattoos
Quote tattoos are always going to be in style. You can pair them with any tattoo that you would like, whether it’s a flower that symbolizes hope or a semicolon tattoo. These are some of the coolest quote tattoos about mental illness.
Realistic Mental Health Quote Tattoo
When you have a mental illness, there are going to be days that you feel as though you are at war within yourself. A voice of reason injects itself between the manic voices in an attempt to balance things out. Sometimes it wins, and sometimes it loses.
Mental Health Quotes Tattoo
If you’re religious, this can help you remember that God will never give you more than you can handle. Instead, he will always make sure that you are okay.
Fighter Tattoo
In order to make it through life with mental illness, sometimes you have to be a fighter. It feels as though you’re always fighting, and this is a great way to remind yourself of that on tough days.
Mental Health Saying Tattoo
This tattoo is wise, meaningful and a powerful reminder that what you are going through will also pass as time goes on. A quick glance down can remind you that you need to take a deep breath and wait for the rain to pass.
A Battle Within Tattoo
When you wage war on yourself due to your mental illness, it always feels like a battle within. There’s the part of you that wants to lash out, that wants to simply do what you feel like doing.
Then, there’s always the part that knows that can’t lose your shit. It’s a nonstop battle that few people seem to understand. This tattoo expresses it perfectly.
No Rain No Flowers Tattoo
It’s hard to remember that growth comes from stress and change, but it does. This is similar to the way it has to rain in order for there to be flowers. Without the rain, we would never be able to watch the flowers grow.
Quote And Semicolon Tattoo
As a writer, I love semicolon tattoos. I like that this tattoo encourages other people to use a semicolon instead of a period.
It tells them that they should turn the page and begin the next chapter of their life instead of putting the book down. The beautiful colors only add to the beauty of this mental health awareness tattoo.
In Conclusion
Mental health awareness tattoos should represent what you’re about. If you want a tattoo that symbolizes anxiety, consider one that you feel suits that, not something that everyone else has.
PTSD tattoos are going to look different than depression tattoos at times. What’s more important than anything is that you love both yourself and your new tattoo.
