A replacement for cutting?

Speaking of tattoos, my therapist is convinced I traded cutting for tattoos. I totally think she's right. Whenever I get super stressed now I think of getting a tattoo. I have about 6, but one is a full back piece. It's truly awesome, and I love the feeling I get from getting a tattoo. The only problems with covering your back are: you can't see it; there's nowhere else to put a tattoo that no one else can see.

I would love to continue the tattoo down my arm and make a sleeve out of it, but that's damn hard to cover up. I'd have to wear long sleeves all the time, or at least ones that come to my elbow. I think I could manage it, but I would be wearing my black sweater constantly. I already can't wear dresses without a sweater to work, so there's no difference there. Maybe I'll just do it. I only trust one artist, and I would like it to be all of his work. I have three that aren't his, and they don't come close to the kind of special work he's done.

Also, what to do next? A sleeve requires a lot of thinking. I could just continue the rose pattern all the way down my arm, but it would be nice to have another symbol of myself built in there. I could put another scene from Alice in Wonderland, but I wonder what I would do. The red queen and Alice was another one I wanted in the back piece, but didn't fit. Perhaps that's the way to go. Or since the bear paw would be in the middle, that might have to fit into the theme.

I'm always getting ahead of myself. I still have 4 hours left on the back piece!