Touchy subject I know.  But I was reading this article about a Provider and she stated that she got into the business because of several issues and one of them was depression.

I thought that's interesting.  It would seem to me that you would do the exact opposite if you suffered from depression.

Would you feel guilty about "dating" a Provider that you knew suffered from depression?

You must not feel guilty Hopefully it helped her ..

get past any issues she has and move in a direction that suits her best now.
I think everyone in life has ups and downs..
I hope she is well now..
sincerely
Lovely Lorena

I'm not sure this deserves a serious answer, but here goes anyway.

The. OP obviously knows nothing about clinical depression.

Seeing a depressed lady would not bother me.  After all it would give us a common interest to talk about.  Perhaps we could even swap therapy stories or meds (just kidding).  And the OP's example was of a provider who said that one of the things that got her into this field was depression.  There was no indication that being in it made her more (or less) depressed.

Now - and this may be what he is really asking -I would not want to see a lady if I knew I was significantly making her feel worse about herself, but that's just me.  She might well feel the money/self esteem trade off was worth it, but it would definitely bother me.

A lot of people (presumably including some providers) feel that their jobs are demeaning, stressfull,  degrading or even immoral.  Certainly at least sometimes.  Most of them are not clinically depressed.  And most of them (depressed or not) keep going to work anyway.

I get the feeling (and maybe i am wrong, but i think not) that the OP feels that providers are (or even should be?)more liable to be psychologically "damaged"  as a group than the general population.  I would guess that they might well be (certainly there are older statistical studies about things like child sexual abuse that would suggest so,  but that might be true of any group operating outside of traditional societal moral norms.  However, I would guess that changes in the same norms over the last fifty years, along with the availability of the Internet and other societal changes,, have radically this difference in likelihood.

But, as others may point out, I am not a provider and don't really have either the right or the knowledge to say how they feel.

Aren't you the dude who doesn't care if your hookers are nice or friendly or not as long as they f#@! good...Why would you care if they suffered from depression?

***

Seriously, though, I'm 99% sure half of the professors in my department suffer from depression, and I don't feel guilty. I also wouldn't feel guilty hiring a depressed lawyer/accountant/therapist/doctor/waitress/massage-therapist/beautician/bar-tender... but maybe I'm just a bitch.

Maple, I suspect you can definitely be a bitch sometimes, but we have met, and you are definitely not JUST a bitch and maybe not "just" anything.

Are you talking about that provider that was an Olympic athlete and she just got in trouble? Forgot the name. She said she got into this business because she was depressed. I bet she is more depressed now. There are many women in this business that are depressed. There are many people in this world that are depressed.

 There are different levels and types of depression. Everyone goes through it at some time in their life. I have times I felt down and it passes. I have known people that are sleeping all the time, it's tough to get out of bed and start the day. Even taking a shower is a task. They seek help ad have managed to deal with it.

referencing her being an olympic athlete were pulled.

Life is to good to be depressed!

As far as "dating" a provider...that's a whole set of issues on its own before even talking about "dating" one that has depression issues.

I can't give a blanket statement to your equally one-size-fits-all/broad-stroke question.

"Escapist Behavior" lol. Who here is trying to escape from the mundane routine of marriage with no sex...men or women? That's what I thought lol.

Fact is, many people, but women especially suffer from one form of depression...it may be higher here, but somehow I doubt it. I doubt there are more women working as hookers, than there are women working in all other professions combined, so that right there suggests it is not about one's job. If I want to "escape" something, I would not run to the next d*ck to suck. Sure, many providers are depressed because they have nothing going for them outside of this, and feel trapped, but that could be said for a CNA cleaning shit all day to feed three kids.

There is also a huge difference in chemical depression that must be treated with medication and therapy, and other forms of depression that stem from sitting around feeling sorry for yourself all day. People who tend to do nothing but think about themselves, their problems, and never consider someone else always has it worse, are prone for depression.

Wanna get out of your "poor me" rut? Go spend a few hours a week at a children's cancer research hospital like St. Jude. Talking to some of those children, you would never know they have a death sentence, because they are so happy and full of life. They just live the best they can every day, and don't even focus on their illness. I think many people could learn a thing or two from them.

Go actually sit with the next homeless person you toss change at, vs. just walking away. Listen to their story, and show them you care. Many people are too lazy to take steps to get over themselves, and as a result...they are depressed. OTOH, chemical depression is very serious, but even taking some of the above steps to get your mind off of YOURSELF has been shown to dramatically improve feelings of sorrow and pain.

So, though agree that WITHIN this profession the percentage of providers with depression is higher, I do not agree that it is higher overall, if you consider how many 'women' suffer from it in the entire world. It is also a cultural thing...look up the stats in Europe, and you will find it is not nearly as high. Americans are lazy for the most part, eat a bunch of crap, don't work out enough, are overweight, drink too much, party too much, the list goes on. We are not exactly the "moderation" generation lol so that has a lot to do with it too.

People who do nothing but spend every waking moment looking for ways to make THEIR lives better by being oblivious to those they love, do well to be depressed. Just saying. Selfishness is the root cause of many states of depression, that are not chemically related.






-- Modified on 1/25/2013 12:11:10 PM

Not all of us suffer from Depression. Every one have up and down days. But I love my Job as a FBSM Provider and look forward everyday to getting up and start working.
I love being able to make people feel good, it make me feel good.

LMFAO! Yep, about to reach for the Prozac.

Kinda saw a bit of me in your response LR. Something to think about for sure...

At one time, I also saw myself in that response, or how would I know? We have all been there at one point or another babe, so don't beat yourself up. When I take a look at the things in my life I a am most proud of, they all have to do with what I did for someone ELSE, to make their lives better. All of this superficial bs we talk about being important, really is not.