Meet Brenna Rose

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Brenna Rose. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Brenna, we are so appreciative of you taking the time to open up about the extremely important, albeit personal, topic of mental health. Can you talk to us about your journey and how you were able to overcome the challenges related to mental issues? For readers, please note this is not medical advice, we are not doctors, you should always consult professionals for advice and that this is merely one person sharing their story and experience.

I’veI struggled with depression and anxiety for my entire life, and I am fairly confident I deal with undiagnosed ADD/ADHD. When I was 18-19 I went through a pretty severe mental health crisis due to a quick change in my planned career path as continued education being too expensive for me to pursue. I didn’t realize at the time how easy it was to shift focus; the high school I went to (or at least the teachers I’d had there) had always drilled into us that a 4 year college plan was basically the only good option, making community college and trade schools sound like terrible choices. I was unable to even make it out of bed most days, any type of self care and making it out of the house was a struggle. I also didn’t really understand or appreciate at the time all that my friends and family were doing for me, and definitely didn’t show them enough gratitude for it. I think I was in a pretty bad place mentally for at least a year, but the really bad episode was probably about 3-4 months.

I ended up getting two part time jobs, and having very little time to sit for too long at the time did help quite a bit. I didn’t have the time to just lay in bed, so I couldn’t. After a while I had some space between that dark place and my life at the time, and could better reevaluate a career path and start the wheels turning to make that happen. I’d decided to move to a different city to pursue a career as a tattoo artist. Having that goal also helped me continue working the two jobs, knowing working long hours would help me save and move sooner.

That ordeal has really stayed with me, and whenever I’ve noticed I’m starting to get into a more depressive mindset I’ve really tried to make sure I’m not allowing myself to just sit at home too long. I do allow myself more self indulgent things as little dopamine boosters like getting myself a frivolous coffee, playing my favorite video games, or reading a good book instead of cleaning the house or laundry for a day or two. That said, I do try to keep busy and get myself out of the house whether it’s to work, on a walk with my dog, visit my family, or grab dinner with a friend. I also make sure I’m not staying in bed literally all day on my days off (something which sounds easy, but can be incredibly difficult for some of us with mental health struggles). I also try to clean at least one thing a day. If I’m able to continue cleaning and get more done that’s awesome, if not I at least will have gotten one thing done.

I have a job that puts me face to face with a lot of people where I hear their stories, and I give them a little piece of art that they like and can be meaningful to them. Seeing people receive something that they are happy with is really great for me especially I’m feeling down, even if it is just from my job. Drawing cute animals a lot of the time can also be a nice little source of dopamine, haha.

As a final note here: if you have mental health disabilities it is important to find a therapist that works well with you and, if necessary, find the medication that works for you. Unfortunately for me I have not found that yet, but many people in my life have and have benefited a lot from it.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I am a tattoo artist. I’ve been tattooing for almost eight years, and I love it so much. I’m currently working in Portland, Oregon at Upper Moon Tattoo.

It’s definitely not for everyone; there are a lot of really long hours involved, constant work outside of the studio, and there’s always a risk of someone not liking what you’ve made for them. There’s a lot of back pain involved if you don’t take care of yourself, we have really bad caffeine addictions a lot of the time, and it’s easy to have terrible habits around eating properly.

For those of us that can deal with that though it is an incredibly special and meaningful job. We do “fun” tattoos, sure, but we also do memorial tattoos for loved ones or beloved pets, we do tattoos for couples that want something more permanent to express their love for each other, we do tattoos to symbolize a new chapter in someone’s life, we cover tattoos from past mistakes or that represent someone no longer in their lives. I’ve done tattoos where people have cried when they’ve seen it because of the meaning behind it (it makes me cry too, I’m a sympathy crier). Sometimes we just do beautiful tattoos for people because they want to feel better about a specific part of their body, and that’s special to me too as they’re taking control to improve the way they see themselves.

I just opened my books for clients to book for January-March 2025 and I am already so excited for all the tattoos I’ll get to create next year. I’ve been doing a lot of art nouveau inspired pieces and so many animal tattoos lately and so far it’s looking like that will continue in the new year.

Traveling and participating in tattoo conventions or doing guest spots is also large part of the tattoo industry that I enjoy. I think I’ve done either a convention or a guest spot at least every other month for the last couple of years and though I keep saying I’m going to be taking a little break, I keep traveling.

This year I’m looking forward to returning to the Literary Ink tattoo convention in Chattanooga, TN from September 5th-7th. This convention is a phenomenal book oriented tattoo convention hosted by the incredible Jennifer Edge. This year’s theme is Enchanted Forest, and many of the attendees and vendors dress and have merchendise available accordingly. It is a really cool convention, even if you are not going to receive a tattoo there is a ton of really amazing artwork and there are authors to meet.

I will also be attending Anime Ink Con in Richmond, VA from October 3rd-5th. Anime Ink is a tattoo convention set up the way anime cons are; there are artist alleys and larger vendors, voice actors and panels, and rows of tattoo artists as you’d find at a traditional tattoo convention. Similarly to Literary Ink it is a really cool one to just walk around and look at all the amazing artwork even if you do not get tattoo yourself.

Lastly: I am also planning to do a guest spot at The Dolorosa Tattoo Company in Studio City (Los Angeles area) sometime in 2025. The dates for this one are not set yet, but I will be announcing them both on my website and on my Instagram account when they are set. All booking announcements are done through social media and my website.

I’m already looking forward to all the tattoos I’ll get to create for people and all the travel opportunities already in place for 2025.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

I think three things that were impactful for me in working through mental health issues have been investing in hobbies outside of just work, spending more time with family and friends, and spending time learning different things to further my creative abilities.

It’s important to have other hobbies outside of just your job or spending time with friends, it’s super helpful in avoiding burnout and it can help to have an outlet when you’re dealing with mental health issues. I enjoy video games, reading books, crocheting, spending time with my dog, and occasionally watching different TV shows. All of these are completely unrelated to my job. I do also love to draw, but currently this is more work oriented to me so I don’t view it as a “fun non work related hobby” right at the moment.

I’ve been trying really hard to spend more time with family and friends. When you’re working through a depressive episode for instance it can be very easy to isolate yourself, to not feel like doing anything outside of the house. Sometimes just getting out and being around people can help you feel a little bit better, and voicing how you’re feeling to them will let them help you if they’re in a position to. Some people don’t have the luxury of having people like this in their life, in which case (for those of us with mental health issues at least) it is even more important to spend the time to find a great therapist. Talking to someone really does do more than we think it will.

Personally I spend a lot of time learning techniques to improve my work as a tattoo artist or to improve my art in general. I think if you have a creative hobby or passion it is important to continue to learn new ideas and ways to improve that side of yourself. Creatives thrive on making things, and when we make things we’re proud of it’s wonderful for us mentally. Learning new techniques allow us to make even more things we are proud of, even more things that we can share with people or that can be useful for ourselves.

Once again here; if you deal with mental health disabilities, please seek out a therapist that you get along with and, if you need it, find a medication that works well for you. It’s helped a lot of people in my life so much, and it’s something that is a huge goal for me in the coming year.

What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?

My biggest challenge right now is actually the same one a lot of us are dealing with right now: the economy. Everything is very expensive and things are very hard for a lot of people.

This can be especially difficult for those of us with depression and anxiety, and for those with other mental disabilities. Things that can just seem like a bump in the road can often look more like a mountain to us.

Currently to work through it I’m really turning to the things that help me most personally: learning new things, hobbies that aren’t work, and spending time with my family and friends.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Brennarosetattoo.com
• Instagram: @brenna.rose.tattoo
• Twitter: @brennarosetat2
• Other: TikTok: @brenna.rose.tattoo

Image Credits

Brenna Benjamin