Trying to be a Daily Camgirl with a Set Schedule and MENTAL ILLNESS

[Lilita]

PTSD. Anxiety. Depression. Personality disorders. Disassociative disorders. Etc.

Any help would be appreciated...
But mostly wondering about keeping a consistent schedule, what to do o prep for cam, how to not let prioritizing camming get in the way of appointments and self care, etc.

For anyone about to say "maybe this isn't the job for you" please don't. I have already found so much joy and freedom in camming and it is not triggering any of my mental health stuff , I just want support and obviously reaching out to the people coming to watch me take my clothes off isn't really super sexy... and if it is I don't think I'm into that. So.... thanks in advance !!!!

XOXO GOSSIP GIRL

 

[Sterling Silverthorne]

This is a very personalized topic, but I can tell you what I do. To put it simply, I just do what I can. I do my best to work from 8-4p with video related tasks M, W, F and live cam Tu, Th. I take weekends and nights off to spend time with friends, family, my partner, and myself. I try to do as much self-care as I can, when I can since I am VERY prone to deep depression spells and anxiety and once I succumb to them, it takes literal weeks if not MONTHS for me to recover. I have a whiteboard with goals broken down and try to stick with the strict work schedule. It is very important for me to stick with a strict schedule, do a little bit of work every weekday, and pay very close attention to my spoons. Also, medical things come first every time. I have a therapy/doctor/specialist appointment? Fuck the schedule! On a side note, if my SW area isn't clean, picked up, or organized and I don't have boppin music, I won't get on, so I've learned to lift myself manually. I go outside, look at the sky, make some coffee, blast some music, reevaluate my goals, gussy up, and do my best. The days that I don't have the spoons for my whole workday, I try to do at least a little thing - clean up my room, edit, watermark pics, organize my folders on the computer, record audio, something, anything. It took trial and error to find out what works for me and what works for me, may not work for you!

Take the "SW isn't for you" with a grain of salt. SW is a job like any other and the most stressful one I have personally had. It can be hard sometimes to meet your financial goals and "competing" with other models can be take the wind out of you, but with that being said, I think SW can be terrific. I do what I can, when I can as it's the only job I've had that let's me have the flexibility to take the time off I need when I need it and I can also get the satisfaction of being self-employed. I personally find SW very fulfilling.

I think I may have rambled a bit, but best of luck.

EDIT: I have a problem with stepping away from work. When it's time to get off, get off. I can spend hours flicking between Twitter, my traffic on clipsites, and my email even when nothing is happening! Don't do that, lol, it's horrible for your mental health.

 

[SaffronBurke]

For anyone about to say "maybe this isn't the job for you"

That's a pretty nasty thing to say about someone who is having trouble keeping to a schedule (this is directed at people who have told you that, not at you yourself). Not all of us are good at following a schedule, but that doesn't mean that we can't cam. Being consistent helps with building regulars, but even without consistency it's possible to do well.

 

[GrantinLove]

hey this can be a good thing. you have work, something to look forward to, a routine you can develop and follow, a new challenge to improve yourself and be a better version. You can do it!

 

[thinkinboutit]

Obviously this is very individual so take what I say with a grain of salt. I've struggled a lot with this in the past, but heres what helped me:

Edit: I just saw that you're trying to cam daily, I schedule myself two days off a week, sorry if I'm no help!

• Picking a schedule that really works for my life. I feel comfort in the fact that *I* chose it, and can make sure I have time off for things like Dr appts. (at my vanilla job I couldn't do that!). I also use Google calendar to plan my downtime and responsibilities (like cleaning, appts, meal prepping etc). Feeling organized and in control makes me feel safe, which gives me confidence, which means I do better when I stream!
• If I'm having a really bad time, I make a deal with myself to just show up. Sometimes that means I'm online for 15 mins, sometimes I stay longer and do really well! After I sign off, I allow myself to feel accomplished for getting on even though I felt like shit.
• I try my best not to let how I'm doing on cam influence how I feel about myself. Camming is like fishing, you show up with the bait, and wait patiently for the right fish to come. Sometimes the fish just aren't in that part of the lake, and that doesn't mean the bait was bad! But if you keep showing up, eventually they will come past your boat. You can carve out an audience at any timeslot with enough consistency.

I should tack this up on the wall for when I feel like catastrophizing...

 

[Lilita]

This is a very personalized topic, but I can tell you what I do. To put it simply, I just do what I can.

Take the "SW isn't for you" with a grain of salt.

I think I may have rambled a bit, but best of luck.

EDIT: I have a problem with stepping away from work. When it's time to get off, get off. I can spend hours flicking between Twitter, my traffic on clipsites, and my email even when nothing is happening! Don't do that, lol, it's horrible for your mental health.

Thank you for taking the time to relate to and advise me on this (yes , very personalized and personal!) topic! You were a WEALTH of information and if that's rambling , well , I at it up like a good dick.

Obviously this is very individual so take what I say with a grain of salt. I've struggled a lot with this in the past, but heres what helped me:

Edit: I just saw that you're trying to cam daily, I schedule myself two days off a week, sorry if I'm no help!

I should tack this up on the wall for when I feel like catastrophizing...

LMAO little did you know , the advice to TAKE A DAY OR TWO OFF ON PURPOSE was perfect.

Also , I'm find that writing things down , taking time to take a step back not just to criticize but APPRECIATE , blah blh albaldah can y'all tell I had a good brain day.

______________________________________________________________________

Everyone was so helpful ! Just responding and validating my interaction was really enough , at this point. Not sure if many people get into camming bc their IRL interactions with other humans have been A1... so this was a lovely toe-dip into ACF and I'll be back with some of the tools I implemented and how they worked out for me to help anyone else and if u guys think of anything ... I am always trying to improve and stay "in tha solution" on this topic so I will DEFINITELY have more to add in the months (years??) to come.

PS. VITAMINS. LOTS OF VITAMINS

xoxo gothip girllll