Read this blog’s related story.

While writing my story, I had to examine my relationship with tattoos, one which goes back about five years.

The theme of tattoo addiction is one I’ve thought about a lot, one I’ve talked about with other tattooed people, but not one I’d ever taken that seriously.

But when I analyzed the five-year pattern of getting inked, I discovered that maybe the addictive behavior was at work; the behavior I’ve witnessed in alcoholics my whole life.

I realized that addiction can encompass much more than just drugs, alcohol or food.

There’s a book I saw at the library one time called “The Literature of Addiction,” with essays dating back two hundred years up to the present, on various addictions, such as sex and gambling. Also included were, of course, drugs, booze and food.

Maybe they should’ve added an essay on other topics, like tattoos and shopping, both of which I profess to being addicted to.