cutting

I have a mental illness. I am mentally ill. I can barely bring myself to say the words. I have not uttered the phrase “I am mentally ill” out loud.

[CN: cutting, dissociation, auditory hallucinations] I struggle with the need to have physical, visible proof of my inner world. That’s when I realized tattoos can replace my scars. I can reinterpret what my scars stand for and transform them into something beautiful, something worth remembering.