See the moving before-and-after photos of painful scars turned into art.
Violence against women scars both emotionally and physically; this artist tries to help.
A Brazilian tattoo artist is helping survivors of domestic violence in a unique way.
Two years ago, tattoo artist Flavia Carvalho was contacted by a woman who wanted to cover a large scar on her abdomen with a tattoo. The woman's story — a man stabbed her with a switchblade in a nightclub after she turned down his advances — was heart-wrenching. After tattooing the woman and seeing the joy and relief in her reaction, Flavia realized that her ink and needles could be used in a new way: to heal.
Flavia Carvalho has been giving back in an awesome way. All photos via Flavia's Facebook page and are used with permission.
Flavia began offering free tattoos to women who had scars resulting from domestic violence or mastectomies.
The project is called "A Pele da Flor," which translates from Portuguese as "The Skin of the Flower."
"The project's name refers to the Portuguese expression 'A flor da pele' (deeper than skin), which speaks of how strongly we feel when facing an extremely difficult or challenging situation," she told the Huffington Post. "'A Pele da Flor' also alludes to the fact that all of us women are like flowers and deserve to have our skin protected and embellished."
These scars were caused by a stab wound to the abdomen. Flavia tattooed this, as well as scars on the woman's hip.
Her work takes the traumatic and turns it into something empowering.
Scars can be permanent reminders of some of life's toughest moments. That's why it's so cool to see the transformation these scars undergo when Flavia layers a tattoo on top of them.
This woman was shot. Her tattoo covers the scar left by a bullet.
Each woman has her own story, and each one also has a unique way of moving forward, so Flavia works with each client to find a design to draw strength from.
"It is wonderful to see how [survivors'] relationship with their bodies changes after they get the tattoos," she said in her Huffington Post interview. "I follow many of them on Facebook, and I see how, after being ashamed of their scarred bodies, they now post pictures in dresses, and they look happy, changed. It is transformative."
One of Flavia's goals is to raise awareness about domestic violence.
It's a noble goal, but Flavia knows it'll take much more than her tattoos for the world to end violence against women.
This woman's ex-boyfriend stabbed her on the street.
"[My work] is a grain of sand; the world is full of things that need to be addressed," she told Huffington Post. "We have a long way to go regarding protecting women against violence."
"Now your fishes will be warmed."
"To have one’s eyes lined with ham."
"To lay your head in water."
"Repetition teaches the donkey."
"I only understand train station."
"To speak directly from the liver."
"Horse horse, tiger tiger."
Beaver in water. Photo by 
An actual beaver dam on the now-thriving Price River
Medusa image of giant squid in Gulf of Mexico off of Mississippi Gulf CoastPhoto credit: 
Sign warning against feeding alligators next to alligator in Mississippi marshlandsCourtesy of Jacalyn Wetzel
Mississippi Gulf Coast beach in BiloxiCourtesy of Jacalyn Wetzel
2009 photo of giant squid caught in Gulf of Mexico near Mississippi GulfPhoto credit: 
Thank goodness this story has a happy ending.
There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."