El viaje de Alyssa Zebrasky hacia la eliminación de sus tatuajes faciales

Alyssa Zebrasky’s battle with addiction

Alyssa began using pills at the age of 13 when her step-sister asked if she wanted to try something new. She hoped it could quell the desire to self-harm, something that was already a routine part of her life.

“When I was growing up, I felt different, like I didn’t belong,” Alyssa says. Self-harm acted as a means of channeling a more abstract, all-pervasive emotional pain into something tangible, something that she could pinpoint. She knew about alcoholism, but she didn’t know about pill addiction, so she had no way of knowing what she was getting into.

A year or so later, she started getting in trouble with the cops. She was on house arrest as a minor for about five years, and she was arrested as an adult a couple of months after she turned 18. She was using on and off throughout that time.

Her boyfriend at the time was in a gang, which she wanted to join. To be initiated, she’d have to get her face tattooed, he told her. She decided during this stage of her life to do it. At the time she didn’t think much of it. Alyssa already had a record with the police and didn’t see her life pivoting when she agreed to tattoo her face. Today, she is two years sober and realizes that her face tattoo is the only thing holding her back.

Pill addiction is fairly common for Americans with Alyssa’s background.

Though her tattoos are unusual, her story is not. Pill addiction, which can be detrimental on its own, can easily lead to other devastating addictions. Both are all too common in the Rust Belt and countless communities across the United States. A full 19.7 million Americans age 12 and older were dealing with a substance use disorder in 2017, and mental health issues can make people more susceptible to substance use, reports the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH).

“Now, I am just normal.”

Removing: Stigma

Alyssa’s full-face skull tattoo can look intimidating at first glance. The Pittsburgh Removery had just started accepting clients through the INK-nitiative program when she came in. “We were a little bit intimidated at first,” says Becca, a technician who has been working with her. Becca’s initial reaction was, “I’ve never seen so many tattoos on someone’s face,” she remarks. “We didn’t know what her background was; why she went to jail.” But as they talked with Alyssa, their concerns melted away.

“She’s so sweet. She’s funny,” says Becca. “When she came in, you could tell she was nervous, too. It’s a commitment for her. She’s never done tattoo removal before. We were nervous; she was nervous, but we warmed up to each other.”

Becca has gained exposure to people she wouldn’t ordinarily meet through the INK-nitiative program, she says. “I was very sheltered growing up, and it’s given me a chance to see people in a different light. They’re good people that want to change, and we’re just trying to help them,” she explains.

Removing the heavy stigma of face tattoos

Now 29, Alyssa is focused on living a normal life these days. “I’ve already kind of worked on healing,” she says. “More now than ever, I just want to feel as close to whatever ‘normal’ is as possible.” But feeling “normal” in public is tough with a face tattoo—especially one as unusual as hers. “I go into a store, and people stare at me. It makes me uncomfortable,” says Alyssa.

Some people say they love her tattoos; others won’t even talk to her. “I want to be looked at like a normal person. I live my life just like everybody else,” she says. “I still work a job, have a boyfriend, have friends, and cook dinner,” she says. “I live a fairly normal life besides people staring at me all the time.”

Her tattoos also affect her ability to get work. She wants to go back to school for CNC machining. “I feel like once the tattoos are removed, better job opportunities will present themselves for me,” she says.

Capacitación y recuperación

La eliminación de tatuajes suele ser el paso final de un viaje de empoderamiento y autodescubrimiento. Eliminar un tatuaje que te recuerda un pasado doloroso puede permitirte entrar de lleno en la nueva vida que estás creando.

La eliminación de tatuajes también es estimulante para el técnico. En Recovery, estamos agradecidos por tener la oportunidad de sentirnos elevados al ayudar a otros a transformar sus vidas. Ver las grandes transformaciones que están haciendo nuestros clientes de la INK-nitiative y desempeñar un pequeño papel en ellas es uno de los aspectos más gratificantes de nuestro trabajo.

Si sientes que tu vida se ha descontrolado, no tienes por qué seguir luchando solo. «No tengas miedo de tender la mano. Hay mucha gente a la que le encantaría ayudar. Hay mucha gente que te ayudará», dice Alyssa. Tender la mano y buscar ayuda es lo más fortalecedor que puedes hacer para seguir adelante.

Por fin libre

«Durante mucho tiempo, sentí que no era libre. Como si tuviera que vivir de una determinada manera por las cosas que pasaban en mi vida con la adicción y las autolesiones», dice Alyssa. «Y ahora siento que ya no tengo que vivir así. Puedo vivir mi vida, por fin soy libre».

«Lo que la gente ha hecho en sus adicciones no define quiénes son hoy si están en recuperación», dice. Se imagina la sensación de alivio que sentirá tras su última sesión. «El cielo es el límite; todo es realmente posible».