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Maybe it’s the butterfly tattoo you got in college, or the name of a former lover. The truth is, many of us have gotten a tattoo that we eventually came to regret.

Like our personality or our fashion sense, our tattoo preferences can change as well. Unfortunately, it’s not necessarily something we can change or remove easily, as one Reddit poster is learning. A man said he didn’t know what to do about his tattoo regret, which is causing him severe depression.

A man claims that he regrets his large tattoo, and it’s causing him to fall into a severe depression.

The man posted on Reddit asking for advice on what to do about his unwanted tattoo. He explained, “Around 2 years ago I completed this huge torso piece and for a while i really liked it but over the past few months ive really started to hate it and feel like ive completely ruined my life to the point where im constantly anxious and my skin feeling dirty because i know the tattoos are under my clothes.”

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Though he said he likes the individual tattoos in the piece, he has begun to hate the symmetry and filler tattoos in it. The man shared that he’s begun to feel extremely depressed about it and that he’s losing hope.

He feels like he’s run out of options and added, “Laser removal would be impossible and i dont think i would like a blackout either so i feel my only option is to try and live with it but i really dont know how i can do it. Does anyone have any words that could help?”

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Commenters offered encouragement, with some sharing their own tattoo anxiety.

Many said they actually think the tattoo is great and sympathize with his feelings of depression. Several suggested that the man should reach out to a therapist if he’s able to. One user wrote, “i would honestly seek therapy. i don’t think ‘feeling dirty’ is normal and i think this has less to do with the tattoo and more to do with your mental health. wish you the best!”

Another user shared, “A lot of us discover we’ve leaned into getting tattooed as a way to cope with stuff in our lives. I’ll never stop getting tattoos, but my life was made infinitely better with the right medication and counseling.”

In this man’s case, the tattoo itself isn’t a portrait of an ex or a name of a toxic partner; his disdain has more to do with how he feels about himself, and that’s where therapy might help. Tattoo artist Dominique Holmes explained, “Learning to love, or at the very least make peace with, a tattoo you no longer enjoy may not change the world, but it can certainly spark a change in the way we see, accept, and ultimately appreciate ourselves and the complexity of our life stories.”

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Experiencing tattoo regret is not uncommon.

The man isn’t alone in feeling regret over his tattoo, according to a 2023 survey by Advanced Dermatology. They discovered that 1 in 4 Americans regret getting at least one of their tattoos. The top reasons cited were that they didn’t like how it looked, changed their mind about it over time, or that the tattoo artist did a bad job.

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Tattoo regret is often delayed, like in the case of the Reddit poster. The survey also discovered that, for the majority of participants, the regret didn’t sink in until 2+ years later (51%). However, some did report regretting the tattoo just a few days after getting it (18%).

While tattoo removal is an option, it can be pricey and painful. Even a small tattoo can take multiple sessions to remove and cost hundreds of dollars each time, so it’s always worth taking your time to consider the tattoo you want and whether it aligns with your future goals.

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Kayla Asbach is a writer currently working on her bachelor’s degree at the University of Central Florida. She covers relationships, psychology, self-help, pop culture, and human interest topics.