.Loved to read this post! Thank you! Wonderful
That's how it works. For very personal reasons, those of us in this forum have made the choice to cross that line, whether as a provider or as a client, and that bell can never be unrung. Like the joke goes, once you suck one cock, you're always known as a cocksucker. Same goes with being a provider or a hobbyist, even if it's only internal, and no one else in the "civilian world" knows about it.
Some of the complications of this stuff are very unique. But some of them are challenges plenty of other industries/hobbies/occupations face.
The first occupation I always think about with a similar challenge to the hobby, is psychological therapy.
The difference is that counselors at all levels go through a great deal of training, whereas there's no such thing as a Provider University (although I would found one if it was feasible!).
Counseling training talks about the difference between "empathy" and "sympathy", and the importance of distinguishing between the two. Empathy is when you listen with your heart, but you don't emotionally identify with the person. Sympathy is when you start identifying with the person's struggles. A line is crossed, which can lead to an unproductive and emotionally dangerous treatment.
One of the techniques I've read about is 'anchoring', where you anchor one figurative foot in reality. You know who you are, what's important to you, where your values come from, what you go home to, etc.. Then you take your other figurative foot, and take a step into the other person's world.
Frankly, it sounds like it would be pretty fucking complicated in the real world, but there you are.
Other professions like police enforcement, military action, CPS workers, health industry workers (specifically in intensive care, nursing homes, or ambulance services --- places where death is constantly imminent) actors/actresses, spies, folks involved in long sales cycles, and plenty of others, face somewhat similar challenges.
How do you perform a job which is wrought with emotional investment and a variety of moral dilemmas, and then walk away to act around peers who do not go through anything remotely similar?
The biggest difference in all of these and the hobby industry is barrier to entry. In the end, anyone (with very few exceptions) can get involved in the hobby as long as they either have a pussy or they have cash. Which means there's a lot of us who are simply unprepared for the psychological ramifications of the choices we're making.
And while I'm sympathetic to that, I also at least intellectually understand the risks. I also understand why I've made this decision, and the reasons far out weigh the issues I'll have to deal with.
Originally Posted by proudoftexas
This is not really my story to tell, so my apologies to Say What if he'd prefer I didn't post this link. I'm all in favor of deleting my post, or having the mods do it for me if I offend.Thank you for the find, that was EXCELLENT!
But this is right in line with the OP, so I though it was germane. And as sad as it may be on one level, it's an EXTREMELY entertaining "review" on another, so I wanted to share it. Say What had me rolling with a few of his descriptions.
Say What writes a review of his SO Originally Posted by proudoftexas
This is not really my story to tell, so my apologies to Say What if he'd prefer I didn't post this link. I'm all in favor of deleting my post, or having the mods do it for me if I offend.
But this is right in line with the OP, so I though it was germane. And as sad as it may be on one level, it's an EXTREMELY entertaining "review" on another, so I wanted to share it. Say What had me rolling with a few of his descriptions.
Say What writes a review of his SO Originally Posted by proudoftexas
Whenever I hear of a "sexless marriage" I just have a difficult time understanding why or what is the point of it. I just can't stand and I find it impossible for me to bear the concept of a "sexless marriage" as something that can be considered "normal". What is the point of getting married if you can't have sex? It is like having a juicy steak being served in front of you and then being told that you can only stare at it and not eat it. This is just sad = ( Originally Posted by TheAntichrist666There are a variety of reasons how this could happen.
I've had a married client tell me that his wife approved of having sex with other women as long as be didn't "flout" the option. The wife was undergoing stage 3 breast cancer and had to have her breast removed. Combine low energy levels due to chemo and a lack of self esteem due to her breast being removed.....having sex would be an issue. Originally Posted by brownsugarbabyBullshit. The wife has terminal cancer, lost a breast, and subsequently has self-esteem issues? Then it's up to the husband to convince her that he still loves her smile, her ass, the way she holds him when they're making love, and the way she kisses him. It's up to him to find ways to build her up.
Bullshit. The wife has terminal cancer, lost a breast, and subsequently has self-esteem issues? Then it's up to the husband to convince her that he still loves her smile, her ass, the way she holds him when they're making love, and the way she kisses him. It's up to him to find ways to build her up.Eh...Thank you for the passionate reply!
Low energy levels? Fine, let them work out ways for her to participate without having to engage in strenuous activity. There are ways. It just takes a little creativity.
That wife who told her husband that she was okay with him getting release elsewhere was probably dying inside. That husband is a selfish pig who doesn't understand the definition of a three letter word: VOW. He took vows, and when the going got rough, he thought of himself. It says "For better or worse" and "forsaking all others." It doesn't say "except for him."
I was married thirty years total, ten years the first time and twenty the second time. I never, not ever, not one time strayed from the marriage bed. My first wife nearly died from a burst appendix that happened during the delivery of our second child. Her recovery took months. We figured it out. My second wife suffered from a handful of different diseases that combined to steal her energy and sap her sex drive. We figured it out. Not only did I not use their illnesses as an excuse to get my rocks off somewhere else, I was offended when the idea was mentioned to me. We took vows. I had three major surgeries, all in my lower back. Recovery wasn't quick, and try engaging in any kind of sexual activity without moving your lower back. Good luck.
I know how I would have felt if either of my wives would have said "I need the physical release, but don't worry, I still love you." No way I could put someone I care about through that.
So don't hand me that crap about sex being an issue. You figure it out. Unless you're a schmuck thinking only of yourself, you do what you need to do for the woman who should be the center of your world. If she is, you could no more cheat on her than cut off your own leg. If she's not, then you've been lying to yourself and her...and shame on you for doing that. Originally Posted by Poet Laureate