LOS ANGELES—GoAskAlex has written an article for sex work community resource center MelroseMichaels.com titled "My Work Helps My Mental Illness - and My Mental Illness Helps My Work (Managing Sex Work and Borderline Personality Disorder)."
The Canadian model, adult performer, content creator and outspoken industry advocate sees her "affliction" as an "advantage" when it comes to navigating her chosen career: "What if instead of holding us back, our mental illness is something that could possibly help us to achieve greatness?”
Said Alex, "It can seem downright impossible to see a silver lining when living with pervasive mental illness, which is why I feel the need to share my story—and to explain how my diagnosed personality disorder helps me to excel at my work. Running my own business allows me to prioritize my mental and physical health. Being my own 'Sex Work CEO' allows me to work at a pace that is manageable for me. I am even able to choose work-related projects based on what makes me feel good. Over the course of the past eight years, this has become paramount to my comfort, happiness and success.
"Many people living with BPD tend to think in 'all-or-nothing’ ways, so it’s common for us to initially love our jobs, but impulsively quit shortly after," she continued. "This leads to frequent career changes and instability, making it difficult to reach long-term goals. The ability to switch back and forth between different facets of sex work (such as live streaming and content creation) has helped me to stay passionate and engaged with my work. People with BPD are described as ‘emotional chameleons,’ and are known to excel at mirroring those around them … this type of familiarity builds lasting connection with customers, which in turn nurtures customer retention." In addition, she noted, their "captivating energy and enthusiasm" and "hyper-fixation associated with BPD … can present as attention to detail, and that perfectionism coupled with passion and creativity never ceases to amaze our fans.
"I know from experience that living with mental illness can feel hopeless, especially in a world where our worth is often measured by our conventionality," she concluded. "It’s important to remember that we can lead full, happy and successful lives not just despite our mental illness, but because of it!”
Read the full article here.
For more info about GoAskAlex, find and follow her at GoAskAlexOnline.com, Twitter and Instagram.
