Sometimes you stumble across things totally by accident on the internet and they turn out to be something positive. Okay, admittedly, usually it’s the opposite and it’s something negative but this time it was something that while I’m not 100% convinced of, it’s certainly been a positive.
Someone on a Facebook group that I am a member of had asked for recommendations for tattoo studios in the Antrim area and being nosy about tattoos in general, I decided to take a look at this company’s page and see what sort of work they produced. One of the most recent posts on the page was from their piercer talking about daith piercings which are supposed to help with migraines and shen men which are supposed to help with anxiety and depression.
I have had a daith piercing for a couple of years now and it has made a real difference to me, I’ve only had one or two migraines since I got it and as soon as I got the piercing, I felt as though some pressure in my head had been popped. It’s hard to describe but it’s been a very positive experience in general so another piercing that’s supposed to help with anxiety and depression was always going to appeal to me.
While I hadn’t heard of this particular piercing before, I was intrigued and for £15, it wasn’t a huge amount of money to spend if it didn’t make any difference and I’d have a cute new piercing.
Sometimes I think the universe is trying to send me messages, as weird as that sounds. When I was considering getting my tattoo, the tattoo cost £40 and my bonus from work that month was £40 so I took that as my sign that I should get it. Something similar happened with this piercing. When I first heard about the piercing on Facebook, I tagged my friend and said that I was intrigued but slightly anxious about the actual piercing. The following day I had a message from the studio to let me know that it wasn’t as painful as I had feared and it would be over in a few seconds. After a few messages between us, they said they were open to 5pm on the Saturday. I was meeting a friend who lived close to the studio after 5 that day so I took all of these coincidences as a sign that I should go ahead with the piercing that afternoon. With this in mind, and a gentle nudge from a friend, I found myself in the studio around half 4 on the Saturday and as I didn’t have any cash, a dash to the nearest ATM meant I lifted £40 (£15 for the piercing and £25 for other stuff). When I was talking to the piercer, he asked what jewellery I wanted. It only took me a few seconds to choose an Angel Opel trio jewellery piece, which cost an extra £20, so it’s almost as if I knew I’d need the extra cash for the jewellery!
It took a while to sterilise the jewellery and the piercer was very good at talking to me about the piercing, general chat and dealing with my obvious nerves. When it was time, I nervously went into the other room and I found his suggestion that I took a deep breath when he said he was about to start meant I was suitably distracted and while it was a nip, it was over in seconds as he promised.
Initially, I had a burst of relief and sense of achievement when I knew it was over, but I quickly felt my legs go wobbly. Next thought was coming round to two big guys with tattoos peering at me with obvious concern since I had passed out. I was embarrassed but thankfully I was soon on the mend and I was so happy with my new jewellery. I’ve had it a couple of weeks now and it’s been pretty uneventful healing wise, I clean it twice a day and while there have been a few days where it has throbbed slightly, it’s been a lot less hassle than my daith was.
It’s early days and while it hasn’t cured my anxiety and depression, it does seem to have eased things and I find that I can bounce back quicker than I used to and my periods when I feel like I could drown in my thoughts have certainly gotten better. I don’t think it’s a miracle cure, but worth a try if you do suffer from anxiety – and if it doesn’t help, at least you have a cute new piercing.
Oh, and my experience hasn’t put me off, I’ve already booked in to get two more piercings from the same guy – just need to remember to ask what his name is this time!
Learning to dance through life's storms 