Advice For A Model W/ Mental Illness

[Quinn]

Hey all,

I'm 24 and have been camming on and off (emphasis on off ) for the last year or so now. I've had to really put it on the back burner due to extremely bad anxiety and depression. For about 6 months, I was barely able to get out of bed and burned through all of my savings going to doctors and living.

I really enjoy doing shows but struggle with regularity. I thought having a cam schedule would help but it actually caused me a lot of stress.

I don't want my followers to think that I'm not dedicated to this. I am, very much so. I had a period of doing very well before my health declined and can't wait to get back to that when I'm doing better again. In the mean time, my shows have been sporadic at best. What kind of things do you think I could do to ensure my followers that little by little, I'm getting back to being a regular camgirl? Or do you think I should just keep at it until I get there?

 

[Darcy DeVasto]

Hi Quinn!!

I also struggle with debilitating depression,anxiety,etc (bipolar or whatever) and it's one of the reasons camming is ideal for me since I have difficulty with normal job schedules (I've had over 40 jobs mainly in the service industry). The downside is that camming makes it extremely easy for people like us to isolate and go into a downward spiral because we work from home staring into a screen doing physical/emotional/intellectual labor.

This is how I manage the situation-

I go on as much as I can and when I do I make sure I am ON and ready to fully engage. I do my best to satisfy my tippers and make them feel special. I really try to get in the hours while I can since I dont have a set schedule and I try to compensate by being like full throttle.

I utilize social media to maintain contact and promote myself when I'm offline. I talk to my regulars,I am open and honest about my condition and they are very understanding. If I'm having an off week or two I'll take a few minutes to let my followers know that I am not feeling well and that's why I'm not camming/responding to messages promptly. I'll have some reserves of sexy pix to post sporadically.

Cliche self care shit. I make sure I leave the house atleast once a day and have some type of physical activity to get my endorphins going and improve energy.

But when you are in a deep long term depression,it's hard to keep up with anything at all. All you can do is your best,endure the pain,and do whatever you can to feel better. As you feel better you'll be able to get on more.

My last thought on this- long term regulars are great but dont discount the temporary regulars. The guys that are regular for a few weeks or months. They come and go but I make most my $ off that type.

I just wrote a lot of stuff...hopefully it was helpful or atleast made you feel less alone being a cam girl struggling with chronic illness.

 

[Darcy DeVasto]

I think if you are just honest with them and they are half way decent they should understand. Or have a cover illness/story that's less stigmatized and dismissed to explain the time gaps.

I told one of my old jobs that I had gastroparesis,was hospitalized for four months and had a pace maker implanted in my stomach.

(Complete lie... only nugget of truth was that I was a bulimic so the throwing up thing was accurate)

 

[Vera]

Stay active on social media. I use an app called Buffer to queue shitposts and personalized tweets. If you let your social media or blogs lapse they will assume you've burnt out, but just interacting with your fans some will help carry you through sporadic times.

 

[n_i_c_u]

I think if you are just honest with them and they are half way decent they should understand. Or have a cover illness/story that's less stigmatized and dismissed to explain the time gaps.

I told one of my old jobs that I had ,was hospitalized for four months and had a pace maker implanted in my stomach.

(Complete lie... only nugget of truth was that I was a bulimic so the throwing up thing was accurate)

Was that really necessary? The whole gastroparesis thing for an old job (seems like a lot of thinking)? I'm just wondering.

 

[Darcy DeVasto]

Was that really necessary? The whole gastroparesis thing for an old job (seems like a lot of thinking)? I'm just wondering.

No not really lol ... atleast the level of detail and backstory I had prepared wasn't necessary,I'm just a paranoid individual and had to find a good excuse as to why I abruptly stopped showing up to work or answering my phone for four months.

But in general most neurotypical people don't understand how mental illness can be as debilitating as physical illness so it can be useful to have a cover illness for jobs that involve ignorant people.

 

[Quinn]

Thanks so much for all of the advice and encouragement. It has really helped me think about things in a more positive way.

 

[Magnolia]

A lot of camgirls struggle with mental illness, you aren't alone.

A good way to get income in those periods where you need to step away is to make clips. Maybe make some while you're feeling better then upload them in the down periods?