No Regerts: We Need to Talk About Steve

Why do people get tattoos?

For some, they're works of art. For others, they're reminders of the people they've loved, the battles they've survived, or the identities they've built along the way. In this episode of Psycho Babble, Sarah and Crystal explore the fascinating psychology behind tattoos and why humans have been marking their bodies for thousands of years.

From ancient tattoo traditions and cultural identity to memorial tattoos, trauma recovery, self-expression, belonging, and even tattoo regret, we examine what tattoos can reveal about human behavior and the stories we tell ourselves about who we are.

Along the way, we discuss grief, healing, pain, stereotypes, first impressions, and why a simple piece of ink can carry a lifetime of meaning.

Whether you're covered in tattoos, have one you've been hiding from your parents for years, or have never considered getting one at all, this episode explores the psychology behind one of humanity's oldest forms of self-expression.

Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational and entertainment purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical or mental health advice.

Transcript

Crystal 0:00

Welcome back to the dollhouse.

Sarah 0:02

I'm Crystal and I'm Sarah and we are the Marionette dolls.

SPEAKER_03 0:16

You know just how to twist a job. Make the angels feel like a lucky job. I shouldn't remember here and I did uploading your wicked little plan.

Sarah 0:33

Welcome back to the dollhouse, y'all. Thank you guys for listening and exactly. And I wanted to announce that we did hit 500 downloads. Yeah. Since we started in January, so that's good. So please continue to share episodes as they come out. Hopefully, we you know put out something that you guys are interested in or that you feel deeply about. If you haven't been able to connect to any of the topics we have so far, I apologize, but we're still beginning. We'll get there. And you could reach out and send us stuff that you want to listen to or about. Exactly. Just um check out our link in the bo in the description box. In our bio. In our bio. Well, on our social medias, it is in our bio. So yeah, check it out. We're on all platforms. And if you're listening right now, obviously you know that. But for your friends, spread it out. You know what I mean? Like, I'm not trying to insult your intelligence only, huh? But let's jump in today's episode.

Crystal 1:39

Before we get into the psychology of tattoos, I have to ask, how many tattoos do you have?

Sarah 1:48

I had a feeling we were gonna start here.

Crystal 1:50

And it feels important. We're doing an entire episode about tattoos. People are going to wonder.

Sarah 1:57

That's fair. Hmm. Three, four, five, six, six, I believe. I can think off the top of my head. I feel like I'm missing. No, seven. I'm missing one. I think what's funny is that people assume tattoos are either something deeply meaningful or completely impulsive. Sometimes they're both.

Crystal 2:15

I think that's what makes tattoos interesting. You can have one person who spent five years planning a tattoo, and then another person who walked into a shop on a random Tuesday and said, you know what? Sounds like a great idea today.

Sarah 2:28

And somehow both people leave happy.

Crystal 2:31

Hopefully.

Sarah 2:32

Hopefully.

Crystal 2:32

What's funny is that tattoos feel like a modern thing, maybe because they're everywhere now.

Sarah 2:37

I think a lot of people assume tattoos become popular recently. In reality, humans have been tattooing themselves for thousands and thousands of years.

Crystal 2:45

Which honestly surprised me. I knew tattoos were old. I didn't realize they were ancient.

Sarah 2:51

Very ancient. One of the most famous examples is a man called Let's see, the Iceman. He lived over 5,000 years ago. 5,000 years? That's oh.

Crystal 3:03

That's older than most of the things I could even comprehend.

Sarah 3:07

Same. And when researchers found his body preserved in the Alps, they discovered he had dozens of tattoos.

Crystal 3:13

Which immediately makes me wonder what tattoo removal looked like back then.

Sarah 3:18

I have some unfortunate news. I suspect as much. What's fascinating is that many of his tattoos weren't decorative. Researchers think some may have been placed near painful joints in areas of chronic discomfort.

Crystal 3:31

So one of the oldest tattooed people we've ever found may have been getting tattoos for pain relief?

Sarah 3:37

Possibly. Which means one of humanity's first tattoo stories might have started with my back hurts. Honestly, that's relatable. Very relatable.

Crystal 3:46

But that's what I find so interesting. If tattoos were around 5,000 years ago, then clearly this isn't just a trend.

Sarah 3:53

Exactly. And that's where things get really interesting because tattoos weren't unique to one culture. They'll appear all over the world, each in Egypt, Polynesia, Japan, indigenous cultures throughout North and South America. Different groups develop tattoo traditions independently.

Crystal 4:09

Which means people separated by ocean somehow landed on the same idea.

Sarah 4:14

Right? Nobody was posting tattoos, inspirations on social media. There wasn't a global trend. Yet humans across different places and time periods kept deciding to mark their skin.

Crystal 4:25

And that feels important because if people keep doing the same thing over thousands of years, there's probably a reason.

Sarah 4:31

Psychologists would agree. Human beings rarely spent this much time repeating a behavior unless it's serving some kind of purpose.

Crystal 4:38

And tattoos seem to serve a lot of purposes.

Sarah 4:41

They do. For some cultures, tattoos represent family lineage. For others, social status, spiritual beliefs, achievement, protection, community membership, sometimes all of those things at once.

Crystal 4:54

So a tattoo wasn't necessarily decoration, it was information.

Sarah 4:58

It told people something about who you are.

Crystal 5:00

Kind of like wearing a permanent name tag, except much cooler.

Sarah 5:04

Much cooler.

Crystal 5:05

One thing I've always wondered is why humans seem so determined to decorate themselves, not just tattoos, piercings, hairstyles, jewelry, clothing. People have always found a way to change how they look.

Sarah 5:18

That's actually something psychologists study. A lot of it comes down to identity. Human beings are constantly communicating who they are. Sometimes we're doing it consciously, sometimes we're not.

Crystal 5:28

So even somebody who says, I don't care what people think, is still communicating something.

Sarah 5:33

Absolutely. The decision not to participate can become part of someone's identity too. Everything from clothing choices to music preferences tells a story. Tattoos are one of the most permanent versions of that. And maybe one of the boldest, because once it's there, it's there. Exactly. A shirt can go in the closet, hairstyle can change, tattoos. It's much harder to walk away from.

Crystal 5:54

Unless you're willing to spend a small fortune and sit through laser treatments.

Sarah 5:58

Which I've heard are significantly less fun than getting the tattoo.

Crystal 6:02

That's what everybody says. It's almost like your body doesn't enjoy being blasted with lasers.

Sarah 6:07

Apparently not.

Crystal 6:09

Humans really looked at his skin and decided there was no comfortable way to customize it.

Sarah 6:14

We seem committed to that philosophy.

Crystal 6:17

Something else I've noticed is that tattoos seem to satisfy two completely opposite needs. People want to belong, but they also want to be unique.

Sarah 6:26

That's actually a huge concept in psychology. We all have a need for connection. We want to feel accepted. We want a community. At the same time, we want to feel like individuals. We want to be recognized as our own person. And tattoos somehow do both. A tattoo can connect someone to a culture, family, military unit, religion, or community. And at the same time, it can feel deeply personal, something that belongs only to them.

Crystal 6:50

Which is probably why tattoos never really go away. The style changes, the technology changes, the meaning stays.

Sarah 6:57

That's a great way to put it. For thousands of years, humans have been using tattoos to tell stories. The tools have evolved. The need behind them really hasn't.

Crystal 7:05

And that's why I think we're headed next. Because we've talked about how long tattoos have existed. What we haven't talked about is why somebody decides to get one in the first place.

Sarah 7:14

Because the answer is rarely as simple as people think.

Crystal 7:17

Sometimes it's meaningful. Sometimes it's impulsive. Sometimes it's both. And that's where the psychology starts getting really interesting.

Sarah 7:25

If tattoos have ex existed for thousands of years, there has to be something they're doing for us psychologically.

Crystal 7:32

So let's talk about the question everybody asks at some point.

Sarah 7:36

Why do people get tattoos at all? The funny thing is that people ask that question like there's one answer. There isn't. Not even close.

Crystal 7:45

I've met people who spent years designing a tattoo. I've also met people who got one because their friend said, You won't.

Sarah 7:51

Both of those people exist and somehow both end up the same tattoo shop.

Crystal 7:56

One arrives with a folder full of research, the other arrives with confidence and poor judgment.

Sarah 8:01

A dangerous combination.

Crystal 8:02

Historically proven to create some incredible stories.

Sarah 8:06

What's interesting is that when researchers ask people why they get tattoos, the answer usually falls into a few categories: identity, memory, self-expression, belonging, achievement, grief, sometimes rebellion, and sometimes simple aesthetics.

Crystal 8:21

Which makes sense because tattoos are one of the few things people choose to carry with them everywhere.

Sarah 8:26

Most possessions stay at home, most memories stay in our heads, and tattoos stay with us.

Crystal 8:31

That's actually kind of a big commitment when you think about it. I struggle to pick a phone wallpaper.

Sarah 8:37

Meanwhile, some people are deciding what they'll be looking at every morning for the next 40 years. And that confidence is impressive. Or terrifying. Depends on the tattoo. Fair. One thing psychologists find fascinating is that tattoos can become part of a person's identity. Identity isn't something we're born with, it's something we build. We're constantly figuring out who we are, what matters to us, what kind of person we want to be. And tattoos can become a little marker along that journey. A tattoo might represent a value, a belief, a milestone, a turning point, a relationship, or an accomplishment. It's often less about the image itself and more about what the image represents.

Crystal 9:17

And I think people forget that part. They see a tattoo and think they're looking at artwork. The person wearing it is usually looking at a memory.

Sarah 9:24

That's a great distinction because tattoos function a lot like symbols. The image itself isn't necessarily what's important, it's the meaning attached to it. Kind of like a wedding ring. Objectively, it's just a ring. What makes it important is what it represents. Tattoos work the same way.

Crystal 9:42

Which explains why two people can have identical tattoos that mean completely different things.

Sarah 9:48

One person gets a compass because they love traveling, another gets a compass because it reminds them of a parent who passed away. Same image, different story.

Crystal 9:55

And honestly, that's one of my favorite things about tattoos. You never really know the story unless someone tells you.

Sarah 10:00

Sometimes the story is incredibly personal, sometimes it's surprisingly simple.

Crystal 10:04

Sometimes the story is I thought it looked cool.

Sarah 10:06

And that's perfectly valid. I think people sometimes overcomplicate this conversation. Not every tattoo represents a childhood trauma. Thank goodness. Some people simply enjoy art, some people like decorating their bodies, some people appreciate aesthetics. There's nothing psychologically wrong with that.

Crystal 10:23

I feel like social media has convinced people that every tattoo needs 20-minute explanation.

Sarah 10:28

Sometimes a dragon is just a dragon.

Crystal 10:30

Yeah, we deserve stickers.

Sarah 10:32

Right? Although what's interesting is that even when people think they're choosing tattoos purely because they like the design, there can still be a psychological influence they're not fully aware of.

Crystal 10:44

Okay, now you've got my attention.

Sarah 10:46

Well, think about it. Why do you like certain images? Why are you drawn to certain themes? Why do people love nature tattoos while others love geometric designs? Why do some people choose dark imagery while others prefer bright colors? Our preferences don't appear out of nowhere. They're often connected to our experiences, personality, interests, and values.

Crystal 11:05

So even when people think they're making a random choice, there may be more happening underneath the surface.

Sarah 11:12

Not necessarily in a dramatic way, but our choices often tell us something about ourselves.

Crystal 11:16

That's actually kind of cool because now I'm imagining people listening to this episode and staring at the tattoos, trying to psychoanalyze themselves.

Sarah 11:25

Please don't blame us for any existential crisis, please.

Crystal 11:28

Too late. We've already started.

unknown 11:30

Dang it.

Sarah 11:31

Something else researchers have noticed is that tattoos can serve as reminders. And I don't just mean memorial tattoos. People get tattoos to remind themselves of goals, values, life lessons, recovery, personal growth. Sometimes a tattoo acts almost like a permanent note to yourself.

Crystal 11:48

A very expensive sticky note.

Sarah 11:50

Permanent sticky note. Which somehow makes it funnier. But seriously, there's there are people who look at tattoos every day and use it as motivation. It reminds them where they've been or where they're trying to go. I now want to get like a sticky note tattoo. So bad.

Crystal 12:06

So we can write in it. Yes. Oh my gosh. And then we can erase it. Yeah. That's so smart. And that's where tattoos start to become more than decoration, though.

Sarah 12:16

They're carrying meaning. For some people, a tattoo becomes part of their personal story, not the whole story. Just one chapter, one reminder, and one moment captured in time.

Crystal 12:27

Which is interesting because the older I get, the more I realize people are constantly looking for ways to preserve important moments. Photos, videos, journals, keepsakes. Tattoos kind of fit into that category.

Sarah 12:39

They do. In many ways, tattoos are one of humanity's oldest memory keeping tools. There's a way of saying this matters.

Crystal 12:47

And sometimes what mattered wasn't a moment, sometimes it was a person.

Sarah 12:52

Which brings us to one of the most emotional reasons people get tattoos, not to express who they are, not to show where they've been, but to hold on to someone they love.

Crystal 13:00

Because if you spent any time around tattoo culture, you've probably seen memorial tattoos.

Sarah 13:06

And what makes those tattoos so fascinating isn't the artwork. It's what they're trying to preserve. A connection. A memory.

Crystal 13:13

A relationship that continues even after someone is gone.

Sarah 13:17

And that's where our conversation turns next. Grief, remembrance, and why so many people choose to carry their loved ones with them in ink.

Crystal 13:25

I think memorial tattoos are probably some of the most emotional tattoos people get. Even if you've never had one yourself, you've probably seen them. Names, dates, handwriting, portraits, angel wings, birth flowers, coordinates, all kinds of things.

Sarah 13:40

What's interesting is that memorial tattoos are incredibly common across cultures. People have always looked for ways to remember those that they've lost. The method changed over time, but the motivation stays remarkably similar.

Crystal 13:52

Because losing someone is weird. That's the best way I can describe it. One day someone is a part of your daily life and then suddenly they're not. But your relationship with them doesn't just disappear.

Sarah 14:02

That's actually a really important point. For a long time, people thought healthy grieving meant letting go and moving on. Modern grief research doesn't really support that idea.

Crystal 14:11

I think a lot of people will be surprised to hear that.

Sarah 14:13

The older model of grief suggested that eventually you detach from the person and move forward. Newer research talks more about something called continuing bonds. Which sounds much nicer, honestly. And it really does. The idea is that healthy grieving doesn't necessarily mean ending the relationship emotionally, it means changing the relationship.

Crystal 14:31

Can you explain that? Because I think that's something a lot of people feel but don't know how to put into words.

Sarah 14:38

Absolutely. When someone dies, the physical relationship ends. You can't call them, you can't visit them, and you can't create new memories with them. But that doesn't mean that they stop existing in your life psychologically. People think about them, they talk about them, and remember their advice, carry their values, tell stories about them. In that sense, the relationship continues. It's just different.

Crystal 14:59

I actually love that because I think most people who have lost someone understand exactly what you're talking about. There are people who have been gone for years and you still hear their voice in your head.

Sarah 15:08

And memorial tattoos can become part of a continuing bond. They're not necessarily about refusing to move forward, they're about carrying the relationship forward in a different way.

Crystal 15:18

That's probably why memorial tattoos feel so different from other tattoos. They're not really about self-expression, they're about connection.

Sarah 15:25

Often yes. And one thing researchers have found is that rituals can be incredibly important during grief. Human beings naturally create rituals when dealing with loss, funerals, memorial services, anniversaries, visiting graves, looking at photographs. Tattoos can become another form of ritual.

Crystal 15:42

I've never really thought about it that way.

Sarah 15:44

And for some people, the tattoo process itself becomes meaningful. They spend time planning it, choosing the sign, thinking about what they want it to represent. And sometimes family members are involved, sometimes friends are involved, and the tattoos become part of how they honor someone's memory.

Crystal 16:00

I think that's why these tattoos can be so personal because they're not just remembering a person, they're remembering a relationship.

Sarah 16:06

That's beautifully put. Because grief isn't really about losing a person in the abstract. It's about losing your specific relationship with that person, the jokes you share, the traditions, conversations, experiences. That's what people are missing.

Crystal 16:20

One thing I've noticed is that memorial tattoos aren't always sad.

Sarah 16:24

That's true.

Crystal 16:25

People assume grief is always serious and heavy. Sometimes memorial tattoos are funny. Sometimes they're joyful. Sometimes they're based on inside jokes.

Sarah 16:33

Those are the best.

Crystal 16:34

Sometimes they're based on something completely ridiculous that only two people would understand.

Sarah 16:39

And those are the best too. And that's actually consistent with what we know about grief. Healthy grieving isn't about being sad all the time. People often move back and forth between sadness, gratitude, humor, anger, love, and reflection. The emotional experience is much more complicated than most people realize.

Crystal 16:56

I knew someone who got a tattoo of a coffee cup after losing a family member. At first glance, it looked random. Then they explained that every important conversation they ever had with that person happened over coffee. Suddenly it wasn't a coffee cup anymore. It was a relationship.

Sarah 17:10

Aww, and that's a perfect example of symbolism. To everyone else, it's a cup. And to the person wearing it, it's an entire story.

Crystal 17:18

Which I think is why tattoos can sometimes be difficult to understand from the outside. You're only seeing the picture. You're not seeing the memory attached to it.

Sarah 17:26

And sometimes the simplest tattoos carry the most meaning. People often assume meaningful tattoos need to be larger or elaborate. And that's not necessarily true. A small symbol can hold decades of emotional significance.

Crystal 17:39

And I think that's why people get so protective of memorial tattoos. They're not just protecting the artwork, they're protecting what the tattoo represents.

Sarah 17:47

Absolutely. Because in many ways the tattoo becomes linked to the memory itself. Not because the memory would disappear without it, but because the tattoo became a physical reminder of something emotionally important.

Crystal 17:59

And honestly, I think there's something very human about that. We constantly looking for ways to hold on to people we love. Photos, videos, letters, keepsakes, jewelry. Tattoos just happen to be one more way of doing that.

Sarah 18:12

I agree. And whether someone chooses a tattoo or not, the underlying motivation is something most people can understand. The desire to remember, desire to stay connected, desire to carry someone forward. Those are deep, deeply human experiences.

Crystal 18:28

But grief isn't the only reason people use tattoos to mark important life experiences. Sometimes the story isn't about losing something. Sometimes it's about surviving something.

Sarah 18:37

And that brings us to another powerful part of tattoo culture. The people who use tattoos to reclaim, rebuild, or redefine parts of themselves after difficult experiences.

Crystal 18:47

Because some tattoos aren't about remembering the past, they're about taking ownership of the future.

Sarah 18:52

Recovery, survival, growth, healing. Those themes show up in tattoo stories all the time.

Crystal 18:58

And that's where things get really interesting psychologically. And I think this might be one of the most misunderstood parts of tattoo culture because people see a tattoo and assume it's about the artwork. Sometimes it's about much more than that.

Sarah 19:13

Definitely. I think it's important to make this distinction. Tattoos are not therapy and not a replacement for mental health treatment. They're not a cure for trauma.

Crystal 19:22

That's important. Because we're going to talk about healing. We're not gonna say tattoos magically fix emotional. I mean, it helps, but it doesn't fix emotional pain.

Sarah 19:32

Exactly. What we're talking about is how some people use tattoos as part of their healing journey, not the entire journey, just one piece of it.

Crystal 19:39

And honestly, once I started looking into this, I realized how common that is.

Sarah 19:43

It's very common. Many people describe tattoos as marking a turning point on their lives. Not necessarily because the tattoos change them, but because it represents a change that has already happened.

Crystal 19:53

Kind of like a milestone marker.

Sarah 19:55

That's a great way to put it. A tattoo might represent recovery from addiction, leaving an unhealthy relationship, surviving a serious illness, overcoming a difficult period of depression, completing military service, achieving a major life goal. The tattoo becomes a symbol of something they've already fought through.

Crystal 20:13

I think that's why so many people use the word earned when talking about certain tattoos.

Sarah 20:18

Absolutely. For some people, the tattoo feels less like decoration and more like recognition, a reminder of what they survived.

Crystal 20:24

And that's very different from someone just like liking a design. Neither is wrong. They're just different experiences.

Sarah 20:31

And one of the things researchers talk about is the importance of agency. Agency is the feeling that you have control over your choices and your life. Trauma often disrupts that feeling. People can come away from traumatic experiences feeling powerless, helpless, or disconnected from themselves.

Crystal 20:47

Which makes sense. Trauma often involves situations where somebody didn't have control.

Sarah 20:52

Right. So for some individuals, choosing a tattoo can feel meaningful because it's an intentional choice. They're deciding what goes on their body, where it goes, what it means. The process can reinforce a sense of ownership and personal autonomy.

Crystal 21:05

I never thought about it like that because when people hear body autonomy, they often think about medical decisions or major life choices, but tattoo fits into that conversation too.

Sarah 21:16

They do. For some people, especially after they're after experiences where they felt powerless, making a deliberate decision about their own body can feel significant.

Crystal 21:24

One thing I've noticed is how often people talk about covering scars.

Sarah 21:29

That's a huge part of tattoo culture. There are artists who specialize in scar cover-ups.

Crystal 21:34

And we're talking about all kinds of scars: surgical scars, burn scars, injury, self harm.

Sarah 21:41

Exactly. For many people, those scars tell a story they didn't choose. The tattoo allows them to decide what story they want to see moving forward.

Crystal 21:49

That's actually really powerful because the scar doesn't disappear. The history doesn't disappear, but the way they relate to it changes.

Sarah 21:58

And that's an important distinction. Tattoo isn't erasing the experience. It's changing the way the person engages with their experience.

Crystal 22:05

I remember seeing photos of mastectomy tattoos while researching this episode. Some of them were absolutely incredible.

Sarah 22:12

Those are often discussed in research and survivor communities. Many breast cancer survivors describe those tattoos as helping them reconnect with their bodies after treatment.

Crystal 22:20

Because treatment can change how someone sees themselves.

Sarah 22:23

Very much so. Illness, surgeries, injuries, and trauma can affect body image. For some people, tattoos become a way of reclaiming ownership of the body that suddenly felt unfamiliar.

Crystal 22:34

I think that's what stands out to me is a lot of these tattoos aren't about pretending something didn't happen. They're about acknowledging it did happen.

Sarah 22:42

The message isn't often they never occurred. It's more like they occurred and I'm still here. And that's a huge difference. It really is. And that theme shows up repeatedly in recovery tattoo. People in addiction recovery often get sobriety dates, symbols representing milestones. Where does that remind them of why they keep going? Those tattoos almost function like an anchor. They can serve as a visual reminder of commitments people have made to themselves.

Crystal 23:09

Which is interesting because earlier we talked about tattoos as memory keeping tools. This feels similar, except instead of remembering a person, you're remembering a promise.

Sarah 23:18

I love that. Because that's exactly what some of these tattoos represent: a promise, a turning point, a decision, a version of yourself that fought through something difficult.

Crystal 23:28

I think that's why the story resonates with people. Even listeners without tattoos probably understand the desire to mark an important chapter in life.

Sarah 23:37

Absolutely. Humans have always created symbols around major life events, graduations, weddings, religious ceremonies, military service, retirement. We naturally look forward to a way to recognize these transitions. Tattoos can become one of those symbols.

Crystal 23:52

And that's probably why tattoo stories can get emotional so quick. You think you're asking about a piece of artwork, then somebody is telling you about the hardest part of their life.

Sarah 24:03

Very true, because sometimes a tattoo is really a doorway into a much larger story.

Crystal 24:07

Now, speaking of stories, we have to talk about something that comes up every time tattoos and psychology get discussed. I know exactly where you're going. Pain.

Sarah 24:16

Pain.

Crystal 24:17

Because eventually somebody always asks the question if tattoos hurt, why do people keep getting more of them?

Sarah 24:24

And that question leads us into one of the most misunderstood conversations surrounding tattoos. The relationship between pain, coping, self-expression, and self-harm.

Crystal 24:33

Because from the outside, some people looking at tattooing and thinking, you're voluntarily letting somebody stab you with needles.

Sarah 24:40

Which sounds alarming when you phrase it that way. I mean, I'm technically not wrong. You're not. But psychologically, tattooing and self-harm are very different experiences.

Crystal 24:51

All right, let's discuss and address the question that comes up every single time tattoos get discussed. Do tattoos hurt? Yes.

Sarah 25:00

Next section. Thank you for listening, everyone. We're kidding. But yes, tattoos hurt. The degree depends on the placement, the person, the size, and a hundred other factors.

Crystal 25:12

I've always found it funny that people ask tattooed people if tattoos hurt. Like they're hoping the answer changed overnight. Right? No, mine came with a pillowtop mattress setting. Luxury tattooing. Exactly. But joking aside, I think this is where some people start getting confused because they'll say, if getting tattoos hurts, why do people enjoy it?

Sarah 25:33

Or they'll take a step further and ask whether tattoos are a form of self-harm. That's a question researchers have explained, and it's worth talking about carefully.

Crystal 25:41

Because on the surface, they can look similar. Pain is involved, skin is involved, something physical is happening.

Sarah 25:48

But psychologically, they're usually very different experiences. One of the biggest differences is intent.

Crystal 25:54

Meaning why somebody is doing it.

Sarah 25:57

Exactly. Self-harm isn't generally associated with emotional distress and is often used as a coping mechanism to manage overwhelming emotions. The goal is usually emotional relief. Tattoo typically has a completely different purpose. People are getting artwork, making an experience, expressing an identity, celebrating a milestone, remembering someone. The pain isn't usually the goal, it's a byproduct of the process.

Crystal 26:21

So if I want a tattoo of a raven, the goal isn't pain, the goal is the raven.

Sarah 26:26

Exactly. The discomfort is something you're willing to tolerate to achieve the outcome.

Crystal 26:30

Kind of like running a marathon. Nobody's doing it because they love shin splits. At least I hope not. If they are, that's a different episode.

Sarah 26:40

A completely different episode.

Crystal 26:42

What's interesting though is that people often describe tattooing as therapeutic.

Sarah 26:46

They do. And that's where things get nuanced. Therapeutic doesn't necessarily mean therapy. And that's an important distinction. For some people, the process feels meaningful. They're focused on something important. They're creating something permanent. They're marking a significant moment in their life. That experience can feel emotionally powerful.

Crystal 27:06

I've heard people describe it as almost meditative.

Sarah 27:10

That's actually pretty common. Still sitting um sitting still for hours, focusing on one thing, disconnecting from everyday stressors, thinking about the meaning behind the tattoo. Many people describe it as entering a very reflective state.

Crystal 27:23

Meanwhile, I'm over here wondering how long I could sit still before becoming a problem.

Sarah 27:28

Well, that's another challenge entirely.

Crystal 27:30

I think that's what's interesting is how different people experience tattoo pain. Some people hate every second of it, others act like they've spent the afternoon at a spa.

Sarah 27:40

And there's a biological reason for that. Pain perception varies tremendously from person to person. Previous experiences matter, stress level matters, expectations matter, location matters. Yes, it does. Even mood can influence how pain is experienced.

Crystal 27:54

So when someone says that tattoo didn't hurt at all, they're not necessarily lying.

Sarah 27:59

Not necessarily, though I occasionally have questions. What's fascinating is that pain isn't purely physical. Pain is both a physical and psychological experience. Our brains are constantly interpreting sensory information. Meaning and context can influence how something feels.

Crystal 28:15

So a tattoo and accidental injury might hurt physically, but emotionally they're completely different experiences.

Sarah 28:23

One is chosen, one isn't. One has meaning attached to it, one is unexpected. The brain processes those situations differently.

Crystal 28:30

That actually makes a lot of sense. Most people would rather walk into a tattoo appointment than unexpectedly step on a Lego.

Sarah 28:39

Without question. The Lego wins every time. That's the true enemy of humanity. Agreed.

Crystal 28:45

Something else I noticed while researching this episode is that some people almost view getting tattooed as a challenge.

Sarah 28:51

That's true. There can be an achievement component, especially with large pieces. Sleeves, back pieces, long sessions. People often feel a sense of accomplishment afterwards. Pain, but accomplishment. It's like surviving a weird marathon. That's actually not a terrible comparison. I'll take it. The key difference is that accomplishments isn't necessarily about enduring pain. It's about completing something meaningful. The pain simply becomes a part of the story.

Crystal 29:19

Which is interesting because humans seem to attach value to things that require effort.

Sarah 29:24

There's actually research supporting that. People often value experience more when they invested time, energy, or effort into them. The tattoo becomes more meaningful because it required a commitment.

Crystal 29:35

You know what's funny? Nobody ever brags about the tattoo that took six minutes.

Sarah 29:40

No. They tell you about the 20-hour session.

Crystal 29:43

The one where the questioned every life decision they've ever made. Exactly. I think this also highlights something bigger. Humans have complicated relationships with pain.

Sarah 29:53

Very complicated. Pain isn't always viewed negatively. Athletes in their discomfort. People climb mountains, run marathons, lift heavy weights, learn difficult skills. The context matters, the meaning matters.

Crystal 30:05

And tattoos fit somewhere in that conversation.

Sarah 30:08

They do. For many people, the discomfort becomes part of a meaningful experience rather than the purpose of the experience. And that's a very important distinction.

Crystal 30:17

So if there's one takeaway from this whole thing, it's probably this. Tattooing and self-harm may involve some similar physical elements, but psychologically, they're usually serving very different functions.

Sarah 30:30

Intent matters, meaning matters, context matters. Those factors make a tremendous difference.

Crystal 30:35

Now speaking of belonging and meaning, there's another reason people get tattoos that have existed almost as long as tattooing itself. The desire to be part of something larger than yourself. Families, military units, religious groups, sport teams, communities.

Sarah 30:51

Because tattoos aren't always about individual identity. Sometimes they're about collective identity as well. Humans spend a lot of time trying to figure out who they are. But they also spend a lot of time figuring out where they belong.

Crystal 31:04

And sometimes those two things end up written in ink. I think one of the oldest reasons people get tattoos is one of the simplest. People want to belong.

Sarah 31:13

Absolutely. When you're looking at a tattoo history, belonging shows up everywhere. Long before tattoos were personal expressions, they were often social expressions. Meaning they told people what group you were part of. Your family, your tribe, your community, your military unit, religion, your status. The tattoos wasn't just about you. It was about your connection to other people.

Crystal 31:35

Which makes sense when you think about it. Humans are incredibly social creatures.

Sarah 31:40

We really are. Psychologists often talk about belonging as a basic human need. People need food, shelter, connection, and we want to feel accepted, valued, included, part of something larger than ourselves.

Crystal 31:53

And honestly, most of us can probably think of a time when we felt like we belonged somewhere and a time when we didn't.

Sarah 32:00

And those experiences can be incredibly powerful. That's one reason people often form strong attachments to groups. Being a part of something can create identity, support, purpose, and meaning.

Crystal 32:10

I think military tattoos are a really good example of this.

Sarah 32:14

Definitely. Military tattoos have a long history. People get unit insignias, deployment dates, memorial tattoos, branch symbols, inside jokes that only people from the community would understand.

Crystal 32:25

And sometimes they're absolutely impossible to explain to outsiders.

Sarah 32:29

Very true.

Crystal 32:30

You'll ask somebody what their tattoo means, and they'll spend 20 minutes explaining a story that starts in another country 15 years ago.

Sarah 32:38

That's because the tattoo isn't really about the image. It's about the shared experience. And the story behind it. And shared experiences are often one of the strongest ways humans build bonds. When people go through difficult, meaningful, or memorial experiences together, these connections tend to become very strong.

Crystal 32:55

Which is probably why tattoos show up in so many close-state communities.

Sarah 33:00

Absolutely. Military groups, first responders, motorcycle clubs, sports teams, fraternities and sororities, religious communities, tattoo culture itself in some ways.

Crystal 33:10

That's funny. The tattoo community has tattoos being in the tattoo community.

Sarah 33:15

Humans love recursion.

Crystal 33:17

Apparently.

Sarah 33:18

Apparently. But seriously. When psychologists study group identity, one thing that comes up repeatedly is symbolism. Groups often create symbols that help members identify with one another. Flags, logos, uniforms, colors, rituals. Tattoos can function the same way.

Crystal 33:36

Kind of like saying, These are my people.

Sarah 33:39

Without saying a word.

Crystal 33:40

I think family tattoos fit into this conversation too.

Sarah 33:44

Definitely. People get matching tattoos with siblings, parents, children, partners, entire family sometimes.

Crystal 33:49

Which sounds sweet until you imagine organizing that group text.

Sarah 33:53

That may be the most challenging part of the process.

Crystal 33:55

Forget the tattoo pane. Try scheduling eight adults.

Sarah 33:59

That's the true test of commitment.

Crystal 34:01

What's interesting about family tattoos is that they're often less about the design and more about the shared experience.

Sarah 34:08

Very much so. The tattoo becomes a symbol of connection, a reminder that you're part of something and that you're linked to other people.

Crystal 34:14

And I think that's a theme that keeps showing up throughout this episode. People often think tattoos are about individuality, but a lot of tattoos are actually about relationships.

Sarah 34:24

That's a great observation. Many tattoos tell stories about connection, connection to family, culture, to friends, communities, or to personal history.

Crystal 34:34

Even tattoos that look incredibly individual often have social roots.

Sarah 34:39

Humans don't exist in isolation. Our identities are shaped by relationships. So it makes sense to that our tattoos often reflect those relationships too.

Crystal 34:48

Now, with all that being said, not everyone loves tattoos.

Sarah 34:52

That's very true. And in fact, some people absolutely hate them. Historically, some societies have viewed tattoos very negatively.

Crystal 35:01

And even today, tattoos can trigger strong reactions.

Sarah 35:04

Which raises a really interesting psychological question. Why do people make so many assumptions based on appearance?

Crystal 35:10

Because the second somebody sees a tattoo, they often start creating a story about that person wearing it.

Sarah 35:15

Whether that story is accurate or not.

Crystal 35:17

Because tattoos aren't just about what the person's wearing them thinks, they're also about how other people react to them. And those reactions can tell us a lot about stereotypes, first impressions, and how humans judge one another. Or let's talk about the people who are listening right now thinking I would never get a tattoo.

Sarah 35:37

And some of them are saying that very passionately.

Crystal 35:40

Very passionately. Like we personally showed up at their house with a tattoo machine.

Sarah 35:45

Against their will. Exactly. What's interesting is that tattoos have a complicated reputation throughout history. Depending on the culture and the time period, tattoos have been viewed as symbols of status, spirituality, rebellion, criminal criminality, art, self-expression, or all of the above.

Crystal 36:02

Which means people's opinions about tattoos are often shaped by more than the tattoos themselves.

Sarah 36:08

Absolutely. A lot of it comes down to association. When we encounter something repeatedly in a particular context, our brain starts to link those things together.

Crystal 36:16

So if someone grows up hearing that tattoos are unprofessional, irresponsible, or associated with troublemakers, they're probably going to carry some of those assumptions into adulthood.

Sarah 36:26

Even if they've never had a negative experience with a tattooed person. Our brains love shortcuts. Psychologists call these cognitive schemas. They're basically mental frameworks that help us make quick judgments about the world.

Crystal 36:39

That brain version of I've seen this before, so I know what this means.

Sarah 36:43

Exactly. The problem is that those shortcuts aren't always accurate.

Crystal 36:48

Which is probably why tattoo stereotypes have aged so badly.

Sarah 36:52

Very badly. There was a time when seeing someone with visible tattoos was relatively unusual. Today tattoos are incredibly common. Teachers have tattoos, nurses, lawyers, business owners, psychologists. Cause I mean, I'm going there.

Crystal 37:06

Your dentist could have a full sleeve and you'd never know until they reach for a tool.

Sarah 37:11

The stereotype and the reality doesn't always match anymore.

Crystal 37:15

I think that's one reason younger generations often react differently to tattoos than older generations.

Sarah 37:21

That's definitely part of it. Social norms change over time. What one generation views as rebellious, another generation may view as completely ordinary.

Crystal 37:29

It's kind of funny when you think about it. There was a time when tattoos could genuinely shock people. Now somebody walks into a grocery store with a sleeve and nobody even looks up.

Sarah 37:38

Social exposure changes perception. The more common something becomes, the less unusual it feels. That doesn't mean judgment disappears completely, though. Not at all. Humans make first impressions very quickly. Research suggests people begin forming impressions within seconds of meeting someone. Sometimes even faster.

Crystal 37:55

Which is wild because most of us know how terrible humans can be at first impressions.

Sarah 38:00

Very true. First impressions can be influenced by appearance, clothing, posture, facial expressions, attractiveness, age, and countless other factors. Tattoos simply become one more piece of the information people use when forming those judgments. Even when they don't realize they're doing it. A lot of these processes happen automatically. The brain is consuming and constantly making predictions and assumptions. It's trying to categorize information quickly.

Crystal 38:26

Basically, our brains are nosy.

Sarah 38:28

That's one way to put it.

Crystal 38:29

I think one of the funniest things about tattoo stereotypes is how often they're wrong.

Sarah 38:34

Very often. People tend to assume that they can understand someone's personality by looking at them. The reality is much more complicated.

Crystal 38:42

You could have someone covered in tattoos who is incredibly reserved, and someone with no tattoos who is absolutely chaotic.

Sarah 38:50

Appearance doesn't always tell us nearly as much as we would like to believe.

Crystal 38:53

I feel like that's a good lesson outside of tattoos, too.

Sarah 38:57

Absolutely. Tattoos are really just one example of a larger psychological tendency. Humans make assumptions based on limited information. We constantly do it. And the difference is that tattoos make those assumptions visible. Because tattoos often become a canvas onto which other people project their beliefs. Sometimes positive, sometimes negative, and sometimes completely inaccurate.

Crystal 39:21

And meanwhile, the person wearing the tattoo is just trying to buy groceries. And I also think there's a difference between disliking tattoos and judging people for having them.

Sarah 39:31

Absolutely. Personal preference is completely normal. Someone can dislike tattoos aesthetically without believing tattoo people are bad, irresponsible, or less professional. Those are very completely different positions.

Crystal 39:43

Oh, it's like the lady clutching her purse because she thinks that you're a criminal. But like, lady, my tattoos on my body cost more than your handbag does. Like because, you know, not wanting tattoos for yourself doesn't automatically mean you're against tattoos.

Sarah 39:59

Right. People are allowed to have preferences. The psychological conversation becomes more interesting when those preferences turn into assumptions about character. Because that's where stereotypes start showing up. And stereotypes can be surprisingly resistant to change even when evidence contradicts them. Humans aren't always great at updating their opinions. No, we are not.

Crystal 40:19

I say that as a human. Same. Now, speaking of changing opinions, we should probably talk about something that happens to a lot of tattooed people. Sometimes the tattoo stays exactly the same, the person changes.

Sarah 40:32

And that's where things get really interesting because tattoo regret isn't always about bad decisions. Sometimes it's about personal growth.

Crystal 40:39

And occasionally it's about getting your boyfriend's name tattooed on your neck at 19.

Sarah 40:45

That too.

Crystal 40:46

Because eventually we have to address the elephant in the tattoo shop.

Sarah 40:50

Regrets.

Crystal 40:51

The cover-ups, the laser removals, the stories people definitely don't want their children asking about.

Sarah 40:57

And the psychology behind why a tattoo that once felt perfect can start feeling very different years later.

Crystal 41:03

So let's talk about tattoo regret. Because even if we spent this entire episode talking about meaning and identity, eventually we have to talk about what happens when those things change.

Sarah 41:14

Which they do. People change constantly. That's one of the most predictable things about being human.

Crystal 41:19

Unfortunately, tattoos don't always get the memo.

Sarah 41:22

They tend to stay exactly where you left them.

Crystal 41:25

Very rude of them.

Sarah 41:26

Honestly. Like extremely.

Crystal 41:28

I think when most people hear tattoo regret, they picture a very specific situation.

Sarah 41:34

The ex name.

Crystal 41:35

Ah, the ex the same. Always the ex the same.

Sarah 41:38

Tattoo artists everywhere just sighed collectively. They knew this section was coming. What's funny is that the relationship tattoos get all the attention, but they're actually only one type of regret. There's so many categories. There really are. Bad artwork, misspelled words, poor placement, impulse decisions, tattoo trends, and sometimes no mistakes happened at all. The person just changed.

Crystal 42:02

And I think that's one people don't talk about enough.

Sarah 42:05

I agree, because from a psychological perspective, identity is constantly evolving. The person you are at 18 isn't the person you are at 30.

SPEAKER_00 42:13

100%.

Sarah 42:14

And the person you are at 30 isn't the person you'll be at 50. Ideally, we're all growing and changing throughout our lives.

Crystal 42:21

Which means a tattoo can end up representing a version of yourself that no longer exists.

Sarah 42:26

That does not necessarily mean that the tattoo was a bad decision. It may have been completely meaningful at the time.

Crystal 42:32

It's actually kind of comforting.

Sarah 42:34

How so?

Crystal 42:35

Because people often treat regret like proof that something was a mistake. Sometimes it's just proof that you've grown.

Sarah 42:41

I love that. Because you're right. A tattoo can represent a chapter of your life that was important even if you wouldn't make the same choice today.

Crystal 42:49

Most of us have old photographs that make question. Look at this photograph. Most of us have old photographs that make us question our life decisions.

Sarah 43:00

The early 2000s were a difficult time for a lot of people. Very difficult. The difference is that photographs stay in albums. Tattoos stay attached. And a much more committed scrapbook. Exactly.

Crystal 43:14

What is interesting is that some people end up loving tattoos they originally hated.

Sarah 43:18

That's true. There's actually something called narrative identity. The it's the story where we tell ourselves about who we are and how we become that person. Over time, people often reinterpret experiences. A tattoo that often felt embarrassing might later become part of a story they appreciate.

Crystal 43:34

Like the tattoo is a terrible decision, but it reminds me of who I was.

Sarah 43:39

The meaning changes. Sometimes the tattoos don't.

Crystal 43:42

And I think that's why cover ups are so interesting.

Sarah 43:45

They really are.

Crystal 43:46

Because a cover up isn't necessarily erasing the past, it's building on it.

Sarah 43:51

That's a great way to put it.

Crystal 43:57

Which honestly feels very human. Most people. Aren't trying to erase their past. They're just trying to make peace with it.

Sarah 44:03

And that theme shows up repeatedly in psychology. Growth isn't about pretending something never happened. It's about integrating experiences into a larger story.

Crystal 44:11

You know what's funny? People without tattoos often act like tattooed people must spend all day worrying about regret.

Sarah 44:18

Meanwhile, plenty of people regret haircuts, relationships, jobs, purchases, social media posts, and an entire phase of our lives.

Crystal 44:26

And the tattoo just happens to be visible.

Sarah 44:29

Regret is a human experience, not a tattoo experience.

Crystal 44:33

That's actually a really good point.

Sarah 44:35

And if we're being honest, most major life decisions come with uncertainty. Nobody knows exactly who they'll be 20 years from now. That's true whether you're getting a tattoo, choosing a career, moving to a new city, or getting married.

Crystal 44:49

So maybe the surprising thing isn't that some people regret tattoos. Maybe the surprising thing is how many people don't.

Sarah 44:56

That's actually supported by research. Most tattooed people reported being satisfied with their tattoos. Even when there are specific tattoos, they might not choose to choose again.

Crystal 45:05

That's interesting. Because if you listen to public conversations, you'd think regret was the norm.

Sarah 45:10

The dramatic stories tend to get more attention.

Crystal 45:12

Nobody makes a viral post saying, I've had this tattoo for 15 years and still like it. Not nearly as exciting.

Sarah 45:19

Right.

Crystal 45:20

So I think this whole point comes back to something we've talked about throughout this episode. Tattoos are really about stories.

Sarah 45:27

Absolutely. Some stories are we're proud of, some stories make us laugh, some stories make us cringe a little. And most stories contain a little bit of everything.

Crystal 45:36

Which brings us to probably the biggest question of the entire episode. Why do humans keep doing this for thousands of years across culture, across generations, across completely different societies?

Sarah 45:50

Because once you strip away the ink, the needles, the artwork, tattoos may be telling us something much bigger about human nature. Because tattoos aren't just about skin, they're about memory, identity, connection, meaning.

Crystal 46:03

And maybe the real question isn't why people get tattoos.

Sarah 46:07

Maybe the real question is why human beings are so determined to leave pieces of their stories behind.

Crystal 46:12

You know, after researching this episode, I don't think tattoos are actually about tattoos. I had the same thought. Which sounds ridiculous considered we spent this last hour or so talking about tattoos.

Sarah 46:26

A little bit.

Crystal 46:32

Stories.

Sarah 46:33

Exactly.

Crystal 46:34

Because every point we've talked about keeps coming back to the same thing: identity, grief, healing, belonging, growth, memory. None of those things are really about ink.

Sarah 46:44

The tattoo is often just the vehicle. The story is the important part.

Crystal 46:48

And humans love stories. We're we've always loved stories.

Sarah 46:52

And for as long as we've existed, long before books, long before movies, long before podcasts, people tell stories about around fires through song, through art, through symbols, and through tradition. It's one of the primary ways human beings make sense of the world.

Crystal 47:08

Like cave drawings.

Sarah 47:10

And tattoos kind of fit right into that. They really do. Psychologists often talk about something called narrative identity. It's the idea that people build a sense of self by creating stories about their lives. We connect events together, we assign meaning to experience, and we decide what moments mattered, and we decide what those moments say to about us.

Crystal 47:31

Which means we're all walking around with stories in our heads.

Sarah 47:36

Right. And tattoos are unique because sometimes those stories move from our minds onto our skin.

Crystal 47:41

And that's probably why people get emotional when talking about tattoos. They're not really talking about artwork, they're talking about themselves.

Sarah 47:48

Or someone they loved, or something they survived, or something they've learned, or a chapter they've never wanted to forget.

Crystal 47:55

That's what surprised me the most while researching this. I expected a lot of discussion about designs. Instead, I found stories everywhere.

Sarah 48:03

And some of them were incredibly moving.

Crystal 48:05

Very much so. People remembering parents, children, friends, military buddies, partners, pets, major life milestones, moments of recovery, moments of transformation.

Sarah 48:17

And what stood out to me is how often tattoos were connected to meaning. Even when the tattoo itself wasn't particularly complicated.

Crystal 48:25

Right. A simple date, a small symbol, a few words.

Sarah 48:28

To everyone else, it might look ordinary. To the person wearing it, it could repres could represent an entire lifetime of experiences.

Crystal 48:34

Which honestly feels kind of beautiful. I think so too. Even the tattoos people regret become part of that story.

Sarah 48:42

The regretted tattoos, the cover-ups, the memorial tattoos, the impulsive tattoos, the carefully planned tattoos, they're all a piece of the same larger narrative.

Crystal 48:51

A record of being human.

Sarah 48:54

And that's a great way to put it because when you step back far enough, that's really what we've been talking about this whole time. Human beings trying to make meaning out of life. And that's not unique to tattoos. Not at all. Some people write journals, some people make scrapbooks, some people collect photographs, and some people create art. And some people tell stories. And some put these stories on their skin and on podcasts. Different methods, same goal. To remember, to express, to connect, and to preserve something important.

Crystal 49:25

And I also think this episode says something interesting about judgment. How so? Well, we spent a lot of time talking about how easy it is to look at a tattoo and make assumptions, but after hearing all these different reasons, people get tattoos, it's hard to not realize how much we don't know about other people.

Sarah 49:42

And it's a really important point, because the tattoo someone dismisses as random may represent the most meaningful experiences of the person's life. The tattoo someone loves may have no deep meaning at all. Appearances rarely tell a full story.

Crystal 49:54

Which is probably true for people in general.

Sarah 49:57

I would agree with that. Most people are carrying stories that aren't immediately visible. Tattoos just happen to make some of those stories a little easier to see.

Crystal 50:05

Or at least easier to ask about.

Sarah 50:07

Exactly.

Crystal 50:08

So I guess the answer to our original question is that people get tattoos for all kinds of reasons.

Sarah 50:15

Identity, belonging, memory, healing, self-expression, achievement, love, loss, art. Sometimes simply because they like the design.

Crystal 50:24

And honestly, all of those reasons seem pretty human.

Sarah 50:27

And they do. Because at the end of the day, tattoos aren't really about being rebellious or fashionable or tough. They're often about meaning. And meaning is something every human being searches for in one way or another.

Crystal 50:38

Whether it's writing in a journal, framed on a wall, stored in a photo album, or tattooed on someone's arm.

Sarah 50:45

Exactly.

Crystal 50:46

So if you have tattoos, maybe this episode made you think about them a little differently. And if you don't have tattoos, hopefully it gave you some insight into why so many people have chosen to get them.

Sarah 50:57

Because whether you love tattoos, hate tattoos, have dozens of them, or never plan on getting one, they're a fascinating window in the human psychology. They tell us a lot about identity, memory, grief, healing, belonging, and the stories people carry through life.

Crystal 51:11

And maybe that's the biggest takeaway. When you see a tattoo, you're not just looking at ink, you're looking at a story. You may not know the whole story yet.

Sarah 51:20

Exactly. And before we close out, I do have to ask you, since you asked me, how many tattoos did you get? Yeah?

Crystal 51:28

I have too many to count.

Sarah 51:29

Oh well, that's nasty.

Crystal 51:31

I've lost, I've lost count.

Sarah 51:32

That's okay.

Crystal 51:33

I deserve stickers.

Sarah 51:35

You do.

Crystal 51:35

Like a beautiful, a beautiful cathedral.

Sarah 51:39

Oh, cathedral.

Crystal 51:39

You know, they say your body's a temple.

Sarah 51:43

You just need to inside the windows and the art window.

Crystal 51:46

Like a stain, I'm like a beautiful stained glass window. Yeah.

unknown 51:49

Yeah. Good. Yeah.

Crystal 51:52

All right. I like that. Thank you for joining us for this episode of the Marionette Dolls Podcast.

Sarah 51:57

And if you enjoyed today's discussion, follow, subscribe, and share the episode with someone who has a tattoo story of their own.

Crystal 52:03

Or someone with a tattoo, they definitely regirt.

Sarah 52:07

Especially that person. As always, be kind to yourselves. Be kind to each other. And keep pulling back the curtain on the human mind. We'll see you next time. Okay. Bye.

unknown 52:19

Go get a tattoo. Do it.

SPEAKER_03 52:22

Don't be sad. Go get a tattoo. Thank you for listening. Please like and subscribe. Please follow us on social media. I just don't need to. Okay.