Thank you for the comprehensive creative process, and thank you so much for being vulnerable and giving your testimony about self-harm. This makes your video helpful in ways we may not even fathom.
Thank you so much for being so open about your own mental health struggles. I have a history of that particular struggle and it didn’t even occur to me that that could be one of the reasons why it was so easy to do my (one and only) stick and poke until someone came at me saying that I was doing it as a form of that. I suppose causing yourself pain is alien to some people. But anyway, you mentioned that you want to make videos but you don’t want to do a tattoo. I love to see your non-tattoo vlogs and listen to you talk about books!! You don’t have to make only tattoo videos.
I've been tattooing myself for over a year now, your videos have encouraged me a bit and thanks to them I haven't made a few mistakes that I could have made. Thank u :3
Thank you so much for checking this project out. There are the silliest mistakes to be made it tattooing... Because I film with time lapse settings on, I couldn't catch it on video, but I had one scary misspoke when I was pulling my calf up- (my glove was too slippery from Hustle Butter and I 'dropped' my leg as I poked. Totally poked outside the tattoo, but it's okay, no one knows where it is but me.) Mistakes happen! As long as we're safe, it's all good. This IS art, anyways.
Thank you for your videos and for who you are! I always enjoy watching your content so so much 1 because I am also doing Stick and Pokes and 2 I reeaaally love your vibe 💚 Also thank you so much for talking about mental health. May I ask what the name of the book is you are referring to in your video? About feeling trauma etc. in your body and pushing it out?
You're so kind, thank you so very much. And I appreciate you asking, I've spent more than a decade in therapy, which never benefited me in the long term at all. I didn't get diagnosed with C-PTSD until my late 20's, and even then it's difficult to find a professional to help that doesn't cost $600 bucks an hour out-of-pocket, therefore I'm being my own therapist now. I will be totally straightforward, the Processing-Trauma-Out-Of-Your-Body is one that you should ~probably~ have a professional Somatic / somatotherapy instructor for, as the practice involves triggering yourself intentionally. That's... really not possible for the vast majority of us, though. The parallel therapy I would suggest is called Internal Family Systems therapy, and that's safer to do alone. There are subreddits for IFS that are extremely useful. Some somatic-type tools are things like, "Having a panic attack? Locate what you're feeling + where. Take your shoes off, and rub your socked-feet on carpet, generating heat. Push all that tension down into the earth, away from your body." whereas IFS is separating out the internal parts of your inner-monolog and identifying their purpose in your life. I massively struggle with deep-seeded shame and this is literally the ONLY thing that has ever allowed me to feel any degree of self-compassion. It's difficult (and sounds crazy on paper; a lot of people name their parts and speak directly to them) but that's my #1 suggestion. Now, when it comes to books, I like to use the Libby library app, but there is typically a long wait for these books. Most of the time I order used books of AbeBooks, but books of this nature are often cheaper buying new, honestly. I started out reading a non-therapy related book *(Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain by David Eagleman) which gave me a different framework for how the mind functions. We are not a top-down system, the consciousness is NOT in charge. Also, we think of our brains like computer programs, which are constantly trying to optimize things, but a computer will stop optimizing; the mind never does. For therapy books, the biggest one is *(Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents by Lindsay C. Gibson) Highly suggest this book for EVERYONE who cares about self improvement. It's half-filled with example stories which is good because its an intense read. I'm currently taking notes on *(Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving by Pete Walker) which is also one I have to pace myself through. Through Reddit, I've found suggestions for *(No Bad Parts by Richard C. Schwartz) which is specifcally about the Internal Family Systems Model. Also, *(The Body Keeps Score by Bessel Van Der Kolk, M.D.) and *(The Tao of Fully Feeling, also by Pete Walker) about living with PSTD. Those last two are on my reading list but I haven't started them yet, I need to take a mental break in between these by reading some science fiction escapism. Apologies for the huge wall of text!! When looking up self-help books, be sure to check the qualifications of the author before incorporating their practices into your life. Best of luck to you!
@MadsMcKay Omg thank you so much for your wall of text 💚 getting into good therapy and improving mental health is so god dammed difficult (and scary 👀) that I am super happy about every person sharing their experience! I think those struggling can benefit alot from that 💚 The first book you recommend sounds super interesting, and also the "The Tao of Fully Feeling". I am always super happy about book recommendation, so I'll most likely give them a try 😊 I wish you all the best on your mental health journey and stay strong 💪
That is impressive! I'm curious if you have a half-dozen Stardew Valley playthroughs like I do, or if you've just dedicated yourself to one farm through all that time. I still haven't unlocked a lot of Ginger island, I can't believe how much there is to do in this game. Thank you for your kind words!
@@MadsMcKay i have like 10 saves! i'm a completionist at heart, so i completed all the steam achievements, got 1 of my farms to 100% perfection, and then got a 2nd farm to 100% perfection after the latest update added a bunch more stuff! so that accounts for like 1000 or so hours lol. definitely a game i don't really get bored of bc there's so much, like you said!
Great content!! You’re my new favorite person to watch. I did want to ask, how often do you have to change out the needle when poking? Like is it okay to go a hour or so before replacing with a new one? I have always been into diy even though I have some tattoos done by a professional but nowadays we’re all learning so much from being quarantine a few yrs back. An plus I don’t have funds to just go get a tattoo everytime I want one so I’ll learn on my own and correct mistakes if I can along the way. Stick n Poke has become my new obsession. Tattoos & piercings but mainly tattoos is like therapy session for me. Hell I trust me doing my own piercings and they turned out just fine. My mentality is “I’ll try it so if it f’s me up, you won’t have to do it🤦🏾♀️”. But there’s always going to be someone that wants to try it so I like that you show the better way to do it and how sanitized you are too. Like what’s the worst that can happen and I know that sounds bad but I’m being honest & As a medical professional I probably shouldn’t say that but it’s best to be honest. If something goes wrong I’ll go to urgent care. So far everything has been fine and I am still here to tell my story☺️. Also, I love the way green looks on you it is one of my favorite colors. I hope to see more content of your work and your sense of humor is very appreciated🫶🏾💛. Sorry for the long comment but you seem laid back & kind and I like that about you.
Ahh thank you so much for your wonderful comment! I'm so happy to have you here, and the encouragement will definitely help me focus on my next projects. For needles, I've recently internalized that they are cheap enough, and if I buy a whole box, they're going to expire before I can go through all of them, so I encourage changing them as soon as they feel like they're dulling. That's gonna depend on the quality of needles, but I've noticed the first hour of poking goes a lot smoother, so that's probably a good rule of thumb! Having a half dozen ready to go makes things a lot more comfortable. Plus I don't have to worry about cleaning them out between breaks now. And you have inspired a new subject to talk about soon!! Yes, I have also invested in some professional tattoos for myself, and even though I could probably save up a little while and have someone else do all these tattoos for me, there is something different about tattooing yourself. It's very relaxing and very satisfying to do them for yourself. I think my personal logic is that I'll tattoo my legs and save my arms for professional tattoos. I'm not really satisfied by conventional 'self care' type activities, but this makes me feel self-love. I acknowledge my wants, put a lot of work and thought into myself, and I practice aftercare. I never really thought about it before, but you're right, this is a bit like personal therapy. And yeah, the sanitation aspect is sort of a paradox, isn't it? Like, on paper, this is a terrible idea and there are so many sanitary tattoo shops to get this done 'properly'. But at the same time, we all get cuts and scratches as we go throughout our lives, we don't treat every single one as a life-threatening injury. I think most people have a good sense of "Hey this looks infected, lets draw a line and see if the redness starts spreading towards my heart. If so, I'll go to urgent care." That thought process applies to any skin abrasion. Thank you so much for your kindness; you've made my day!! Happy poking!
@@MadsMcKay You’re very welcome love!!☺️ Thank you for your tips and advice. I most certainly will take into consideration. It’s so amazing to know I could inspire anyone I look forward to the subject once you get around to it.. I am tuned in already. Honestly, the fact you already have an idea of how you want your work to be is amazing to me because that lets me know it has been thought out and planned. I don’t have much leg work but I want a sleeve on one side..weird, right? I just have this thing that it’s certain art I want on one side of my body.. like I don’t like odd numbers much but I can embrace it if it happens. See! Yes I knew you would catch my drift lol..this is a therapy session for sure. I have this thing when I go into the shop to get inked I find myself breathing calmly and I fall asleep and seeing a trusted artist they’ll just leave you be but I never woke up to my work being jacked up. I’m not sure what to call this but it’s satisfying. You got me laughing..It’s the sense of humor that is making me smile. I am glad to make your day, you made mines by watching your videos I have to go back and watch the rest. Happy Poking!! SN:/ what ink you prefer for sensitive skin? I get irritated easily and I hate it😩. I hear ppl say vegan ink but I want to make sure I get the brands you would use.
