Is It Possible To Have Tattoo Addiction?

 

Tattoos have increased in popularity in recent years, and they’ve become a fairly accepted form of personal expression.

If you know someone with several tattoos, you may have heard them mention their “tattoo addiction” or talk about how they can’t wait to get another tattoo. Maybe you feel the same way about your ink.

It’s not uncommon to hear a love of tattoos referred to as an addiction. Many people believe tattoos can be addictive. (There’s even a television series called “My Tattoo Addiction.”)

But tattoos aren’t addictive, according to the clinical definition of addiction. The American Psychiatric Association defines addiction as a pattern of substance use or behavior that’s not easily controlled and can become compulsive over time.

You might pursue this substance or activity regardless of the problems it might cause and have trouble thinking about or doing anything else.

This description generally doesn’t apply to tattoos. Having a lot of tattoos, planning multiple tattoos, or knowing you want more tattoos doesn’t mean you have an addiction.

Many different reasons, some of them psychological, could drive your desire for multiple tattoos, but addiction probably isn’t one of them. Let’s look more closely at the factors that could be contributing to your desire for more ink.

Your body releases a hormone called adrenaline when under stress. The pain you feel from the tattoo needle can produce this stress response, triggering a sudden burst of energy often referred to as an adrenaline rush.

This might cause you to:

• have an increased heart rate
• feel less pain
• have jitters or a restless feeling
• feel as if your senses are heightened
• feel stronger

Some people enjoy this feeling so much that they seek it out. You can experience an adrenaline rush from the process of getting your first tattoo, so adrenaline may be one of the reasons people go back for more tattoos.

Some adrenaline-seeking behaviors might resemble compulsive or risk-taking behaviors often associated with drug addiction. You may have even heard someone call themself an “adrenaline junkie.”

But there’s no scientific evidence supporting the existence of adrenaline addiction, and the “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders” doesn’t list it as a diagnosable condition.

Part of the reason you want another tattoo could be that you enjoy the rush you feel when going under the needle, so you may want to take some extra time to make sure you really want that ink.

If getting another tattoo doesn’t cause you distress or put anyone else at risk, go for it.