"Thriving in Sex Work Workbook": Mind/Body/Emotions

I’m so happy to announce that I’ll be releasing the Thriving in Sex Work Workbook in March. A companion guide to Thriving in Sex Work, it's filled with exercises, budgets, self-care guides, and business plans to keep your mind, body, and business thriving. The illustrations by Felicia Gotthelf make the book especially warm, yummy, and fun. Here's a taste!

From the Introduction of the “Thriving in Sex Work Workbook”:

Mind/Body/Emotions Check-In Throughout this workbook, I routinely prompt you to check in with yourself. A helpful self-care skill is distinguishing between the three states of being: mental, physical, and emotional. Most of us were taught to lump them together, and call that what we’re “feeling.” They’re not the same; they are, however, deeply interconnected. Our thoughts affect our emotions; our emotions are housed in our bodies; our bodies color our thoughts and emotions.

Most of us regularly tune parts of ourselves out. A mind/body/emotions check-in accesses what we are truly experiencing, rather than what we “should” be feeling. As sex workers, we run the risk of tremendous damage by shutting ourselves down. Connecting authentically to all states of being on a regular basis empowers us to protect and comfort ourselves.

A mind/body/emotions check-in doesn’t need to take a lot of time. Sometimes all we need to do is draw in a conscious deep breath and then exhale. On the inhalation, take stock of whatever script or song or phrase is running through your active mind. Hold your breath for one beat and name your mood in any way that is useful to you. Then, as you exhale, scan the active points of your body—your eye sockets, your jaw, your ribcage, your pulse. Do you notice alignment, or disconnect? Are you ignoring or overriding a certain side of yourself? If that’s what’s necessary to get through what you’re facing in the moment, promise yourself to check back in later when it’s safe to do so.