Explore the Archives
A Journal of the Plague Year Arizona Collection Australia Boston Bronx Community College New York Brooklyn College New York Canada Las Americas Lockdown Staten Island New Orleans Oral Histories Philippines Sacramento Community Based Organizations Southwest Stories Teaching the Pandemic The City College of New York

Collected Item: “Quarantine Tattoo”

Give your story a title.

Quarantine Tattoo

What sort of object is this: text story, photograph, video, audio interview, screenshot, drawing, meme, etc.?

text story

Tell us a story; share your experience. Describe what the object or story you've uploaded says about the pandemic, and/or why what you've submitted is important to you.

In August I got a tattoo that I did not want and did not like for seemingly no reason. Then in October I mentioned this to my psychiatrist and was promptly diagnosed with bipolar disorder. I had gotten my tattoo during a manic episode. The typical risk-taking behavior that I would do in my day to day life became more drastic and dramatic during COVID. When I am not manic I'm very careful with regard to the pandemic so the pandemic made my behavioral differences more pronounced and more obvious to a doctor. Due to the pandemic, I was able to receive a diagnosis and begin treatment. Had there not been a pandemic I likely would not have sought treatment as I would have continued to assume that these behaviors were just a normal part of my personality.

Use one-word hashtags (separated by commas) to describe your story. For example: Where did it originate? How does this object make you feel? How does this object relate to the pandemic?

#mentalhealth, #bipolardisorder, #tattoo

Who originally created this object? (If you created this object, such as photo, then put "self" here.)

n/a

Give this story a date.

2020-10
Click here to view the corresponding item.