Joy as pain..

Piercings to date:
Left ear: 20mm lobe, 4mm lobe, 1.6mm lobe, 1.6mm conch, 3 x 1.6mm helix spikes (DIY)
Right ear: 20mm lobe, 1.6mm lobe, 6mm inner conch (dermal punched), 1.6mm helix
Septum: 2.4mm
Both Nostrils: 1.2mm
Side Lip (DIY)
Inner Labia (DIY)
Retired : Snakebites, 4x lip piercings, inner labia, navel (DIY), 2 helix piercings and 3 lobe piercings, Transverse Vertical Lobe

Unusually, I did not have any piercings, not even earlobes, until the age of 17. At that time i was getting into the underground hardcore/screamo scene and fell in love with stretched lobes and have been carrying on ever since. Im not sure what it is about having piercings or getting pierced that I love so much, but they are important to me, and feel like a part of me.

It has crossed my mind that they are an obscure form of self-harm, as I do have a tendency to want / get / stretch / DIY piercings when I feel my lowest, but the result is not a scar on my arm but a lovely round barbel through a piece of flesh that would otherwise be boring and ordinary.

However, like self-harm.. the adrenaline rush, is addictive. What started as 4 ear lobe piercings is now 15 piercings and two tattoos, getting more and more extreme. My dermal punch, I love it so much.. now that wildflowers are blooming I pick them and feed them through the tunnel. As a piercing though, it was intense. The equipment used was a circular blade - like an apple corer - which removed a circle of flesh and cartilage from my inner conch. This was done under no anesthetic and no freeze spray. For the first time in my life i thought i was going to pass out.. the pain blocked my mind and took over my body. I squealed in agony and curled up into the foetal position on the bed, i could feel my eyes rolled back into my head and i could think of nothing but pain. Most piercings are over in a matter of minutes, this took half an hour to clean up..

And then came the blood. It bled, non stop, for two days and two nights. Everything i did.. everywhere i went i was mopping blood from my neck and my hair and cleaning it out of my ear so i could hear properly. I was feeling feint and weak and too disorientated to go out of the house. I estimated i must have lost at least half a pint.

yet this memory.. is a good one, and i can honestly say it was an amazing experience and i enjoyed every minute of it. The pain, the blood, the mess, the disorientation, the taste of blood in my mouth for days on end (i have a bad habit of eating blood/pus off piercings), and i would do it again! Will i? probably not, for aesthetic reasons.. but i will be getting more piercings, and i plan on doing my first suspension some time this summer, but more on that another day maybe.
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