I am a young man still at 35.
When I was 16 my nephew, slightly older than me, committed suicide.
This put me in a long struggle with bipolar depression. I recieved prescribed drugs and psychiatric treatment for close to 10 years. After which it was as if the bipolar disappeared.
I was well for a long time, and about 2 years ago i started getting slightly depressed when life pushed a bit harder than ussual, i still managed, but it was getting slightly worse every time. There were no manic episodes, just the depression.
What I noticed is that whenever i feel down and I get some tattoo work done, its asif I get out of that down episode and i am sure it was not about the tattoo but about the pain. Maybe that is why some people tend to hurt themselves during depression.
Early last year my mother died.
I have been back on the meds for the past 4 months, but managing much better.
Sorry, I know its a long winded, slightly off topic post.