Meet Kerry-Anne, tattooer and owner of Cock A Snook tattoo parlour in Newcastle… for years she suffered with mental health problems, but she suffered in silence, she felt unable to tell anyone due to the stigma… read her story and find out how you can help below. She has now organised a charity tattoo day to raise awareness of mental health issues and also has a support group called Tattoo The Taboo on Facebook.
“Even though I have suffered with long-term mental health issues, I didn’t ask for help until I was 31. Because of this I lost friends, let customers, colleagues and peers down, which over time made my illness worse. This also greatly impacted my ability to make tattoos. When I decided to ask for support and treatment, I wondered what I had been so afraid of? Why didn’t I seek help before?
“I was terrified of other people finding out, I felt like it was showing weakness. I had subjected myself to a self-inflicted stigma that had festered to the point that I had no idea how poorly I was. I thought it was completely normal to hate myself, be riddled with doubt and see the world through negative eyes. I believed that I would never be happy and that I was just really shit at life. In hindsight, and after starting treatment, I can look at things more objectively. I’m not worthless, I’m kind, caring and compassionate and I have just as much right as anybody, to live a happy and normal life. I wasn’t shit at life, I was just struggling with a crippling illness.
“I decided I couldn’t bare the weight of keeping secrets and lying about my illness, so I took the step to gradually let people know. Even though I was scared, I was surprised at how supportive everybody was. This encouraged me to tell everybody else without being apologetic, as I realised the stigma surrounding mental health was the biggest factor as to why so many people go untreated and unsupported through their illness.
“I also wanted to do something about tackling the stigma, as the more people I told, the more I realised that it was so much more common than I had expected. Some of my favourite people, who I knew inside and out (or so I thought) then shared their own struggles with me. I decided to share my story and made a support group on Facebook called “TATTOO THE TABOO” to raise awareness of mental health issues and also to do some fundraising to boot. This group is inclusive and for anybody who has, or is suffering with any mental health problems and also for people who have been affected in some way, whether it be caring for somebody who is suffering, or if these issues have impacted on you in some way.
“The group is a platform for people to share their stories and to do some fundraising. The the stigma needs to stop and understanding needs to start. I already have over 100 artists keen to take part in some “TATTOO THE TABOO” events. The first being on 4 July 2015. Tattooers will be making flash, etc to tattoo on customers who support the cause, the money raised will go to a mental health charity. Lots of the artists are donating paintings, prints, and merch, or whatever they can, to be exhibited, photographed for a book and then auctioned, with all the proceeds donated to the same charity.”
Kerry-Anne is still looking for other tattooers who wish to participate or donate to the event. For more info email cockasnook@hotmail.com. Hopefully as a tattoo community we can all pull together and make this worthwhile.
Check out the following links for more info: Facebook event, Cock a Snook, and the Instagram accounts: @cockasnook @littlekezz