Really good topic, apd4041,
I have referred to provider health in previous threads. It's a touchy issue, pun intended. I'm not sure of what came first, the chicken or the egg...meaning that I think this particular vocation attracts [or makes] women that can have health problems in the first place. And certainly, the mental stress can be enormous. Yes, the job looks easy from the outside, but reality can surely paint a different picture.
Most people in general imagine that sleeping with a bunch of strange men is disgusting, weird, strange, and unpleasant. That's the cliché that permeates media - the street hooker, the slave woman underneath some sweating, unattractive, greasy-haired john pumping away..or, remember Jane Fonda in "Klute," looking at her watch?
I believe that nothing could be further from the truth, particularly when clients come from TER. Providers who cultivate an image of reasonable intellect, good conversation, glamour and dependability, end up meeting with wonderful clients. This is a consistent theme in providerland. Many providers prefer clients to civilians, since they are treated with more respect, kindness and deference in general. So we can rule out the larger part of client behavior as a stressor.
But the rest of it can be brutal: the Damocles sword of unsatisfactory reviews; the worry over LE; the constant attention to appearance; the huge worry over client supply and demand; the super stressor of leading a double life; the tax man...and a myriad of issues too complex to list [and which I have listed in past threads.]
All of this takes its toll healthwise. For some providers, living in sort of a psycho-physical denial creates somatic conditions. Many providers do have health complaints directly related to unverbalized stress, and these complaints take on various forms. Some have sore breasts, others have generalized body aches [fibromyalgia, anyone?] or recurrent low-grade infections. If there are chronic conditions present such as lupus or diabetes, most providers try to make the best of it, but the chronic, ongoing stress of the job can surely exacerbate these conditions.
Can they be grounds for calling it quits? Yes, but it's EXTREMELY difficult to call it quits. As I've mentioned before, only a fraction of all providers have an exit plan. And the longer the job goes on, the harder it is to quit. The money is probably the biggest variable, but for others it's the freedom from 9-5 jobs, bosses and other assorted benefits. Also, some providers who DO have health conditions which would complicate civvy jobs have chosen providing as a means to earn a living with is more compatible with their condition. Paradoxical maybe, but it might be easier physically to work an hour a day, in real time, instead of putting in a 40 hour week, plus commute and perhaps even taking work home.
Now, providers and women in general are a tough lot when it comes to chronic physical conditions. Studies show that women are able to handle physical pain significantly better than men. The benefits of providing may outweigh the drawbacks...until the scales tip, and the time comes for a provider to either do or die, perhaps literally.
There are definitely providers who are forced to quit because of health problems. But the majority of providers are under 50, and the job by definition rules out those who can't engage somewhat physically. Those with chronic conditions will NOT discuss them with clients, for obvious reasons, unless they become very friendly or feel like they can open up. And so yes, your assumption may be valid in this case. As to lupus for this particular provider, your guess is as good as mine. Maybe she has had an enhancement that has made her breasts very, very sensitive in the wrong places? Most providers devise a lifestyle that creates pathways around any type of health problem. But the stress around providing can make things worse, thereby forcing a quitting situation...it's a strange Catch-22, for sure.
What do other providers say,
the Love Goddess
