View Full Version : How to Burn Out from Stripping: A Guide
charlie61
11-16-2015, 12:14 PM
I can identify with a lot of stuff in this thread, especially this. I got burned out from dancing about a year ago and still haven't managed to recover. Wish there was a guide on how to get motivated and excited to get back into it....I guess I'm retired now, lol.
Honestly, time is key. Years away from the biz if need be. I have a thread around here somewhere about chronic stripper burnout...
charlie61
11-16-2015, 12:17 PM
Work somewhere very close to your home so that whenever you're out running errands, you're practically guaranteed to bump into regulars! That constant feeling of looking over your shoulder will ensure you leave your home as little as possible, which will help you feel like a caged animal. Trust me, in no time at all, you'll dread even going out to get the mail!
charlie61
11-16-2015, 12:31 PM
Try to find a club where the clientele is 100% regulars who don't spend unless they have your email and phone number so they can be in constant contact. This will help you get to a point where you can't even use your phone without being filled with dread and loathing. Each club shift will be basically the same as the last, which insures soul-deep boredom. And you'll feel increasing pressure to keep your regulars interested, which will help you feel like you aren't good enough for even perverted, smelly old men.
Selina M
11-16-2015, 12:45 PM
Make sure to work on days you know are dead, because you have "nothing better to do" than sit in the club making $10/hour.
charlie61
11-16-2015, 12:52 PM
^Umm...yes. I could write a book on self-sabotage as related to my dancing career. Jesus. I'll be sure to add some gems of my own later.
mm621
11-16-2015, 05:11 PM
hah. Quit your day job, and make stripping your ONLY means of income (while trying to adjust to full stripping v part time stripping) so you spend your shifts a big ball of stress trying to hit your goals.
MetalRoses
11-16-2015, 09:23 PM
Instead of relaxing on your nights off, use that time to ruminate over how much money you're "missing out on." Text your DJ / manager to ask if the club is busy. At the beginning of your next shift, ask half of the dancers in the club whether last night was good or not. Remember this feeling the next time you take a night off, and beat yourself up about it for days afterwards.
^^This in addition to the others are such hard habits for me...no wonder the thought of going to work lately has me feeling off. I had stripper burnout and didn't even realize it, I was beating myself up for not being in a super great mood every single shift. This thread has opened my eyes that it's not just me.
Selina M
11-17-2015, 12:22 PM
Read "My last shift" and beat yourself up seeing everyone else's huge money nights. Forget to consider the fact that you work in a $10 dance city (meaning their numbers must be cut in half to actually compare), AND that you work day shift because night shift fucks with your sleep/school schedule.
Work at a club that requires use of the busiest freeway in the state. Be sure to leave for work around 3-5pm when rush hour traffic keeps you in the car for 2 hours, thus adding 3 hours to your work day and making going to work for a 4 hour shift literally an all day affair.
charlie61
11-17-2015, 01:07 PM
Try to be your authentic self at work, in every way possible. Talk about topics that are very meaningful to you with your customers, and when they express their medieval, inane beliefs, argue passionately with them before remembering to ask them for a dance. Bring up anything that might be a turnoff for your customers. This way you'll challenge yourself continually to make any money (easy money is boring) and will constantly expose your vulnerable self to people who could not care less about you as a human being. If you aren't being your real self, you're a fucking poser, am i rite?!
SweetJulia
11-17-2015, 01:16 PM
-Let the club bully you into working six nights a week when you're in nursing school five days a week, so you can show up for clinicals hung over or still drunk.
-Sleep with coworkers who don't quite look the same in lighting. Make sure you tell them this, too.
-Take advice from customers.
-Approach every Indian who comes in.
-Give everyone who needs a ride home one whenever you can. Don't think for a second these extras girls can't afford cars-or a damn taxi-because of a drug habit. When you find their needles in the back seat, make sure to return them, they'll get mad if you dispose of the evidence.
-While on the topic, spend all your money on drugs to feel cool.
gypsy1
11-17-2015, 01:24 PM
-Approach every Indian who comes in.
Lmao!
Be an introvert...while working 4-5 10-12 hr shifts a week with only a few hours of sleep.
Selina M
11-17-2015, 07:14 PM
-Approach every Indian who comes in.
:rotfl:
Also approach every Mexican. Actually, approach everyone who is not a white businessman type.
charlie61
11-17-2015, 09:49 PM
:rotfl:
Also approach every Mexican. Actually, approach everyone who is not a white businessman type.
I make half of my money off of Mexicans because I'm a white girl who can speak Spanish. :D
hollywood6
11-18-2015, 02:29 PM
Spend all of the money you make at work on more things for work. New outfit, new bag, new makeup. Repeat.
Put on your best stripper counselor act and focus on the customers that are having emotional break downs.
wednesday86
11-19-2015, 10:50 AM
Let the managers talk you into working day shifts and slowly begin to control your schedule until you're always on the slowest shifts. Work night shifts the nights before your 9am classes. Stop going out with your friends to bars or clubs because "You could just 'go out' at work and make money while you party." Become obsessed and addicted to money. Start planning expensive vacations and setting goals to buy a new car in cash within 5 weeks (for example.) Put as much pressure on yourself as possible to meet said goals. You don't need breaks, or fun, when there's money to be made.
charlie61
11-19-2015, 10:56 AM
When you're making new friends or dating, bring up your dancing job as quickly as possible. Not because you're a proud, independent woman. Do it because you're insecure and think that people won't like you unless you have dancing to talk about. You're only interesting and worth knowing if you're a stripper!
Aurora_Sunset
11-19-2015, 11:05 AM
Work night shifts the nights before your 9am classes. Stop going out with your friends to bars or clubs because "You could just 'go out' at work and make money while you party."
When you're making new friends or dating, bring up your dancing job as quickly as possible. Not because you're a proud, independent woman. Do it because you're insecure and think that people won't like you unless you have dancing to talk about. You're only interesting and worth knowing if you're a stripper!
Omg, this and this. Allll the time when I first started.
22lligm
11-19-2015, 04:13 PM
I'll start.
If you want to burn out from stripping as quickly as possible, be sure to eliminate any non-stripping-related activities from your life to allow for maximum time spent in front of Netflix, thinking of nothing but your next shift.
Omg this mixed with almost working every night for 2 weeks straight when I'm normally used to just working 3 shifts a week made me burn out really fast. I worked too much and did absolutely nothing except sit in my apartment alone for those 2 weeks that I ended up not working at all the next week. This wasn't a major burn out but it showed me exactly what NOT to do lol.
kaninchen
11-19-2015, 07:49 PM
Convince yourself that your hustle is so strong that you can (and WILL!) sell dances to extras-seeking customers. Spend 15 minutes trying to close sales with them by using evasive, misleading language. Endure the most miserable lap dances ever while they try to lick you, grope you, grind on you, and push you around.
Then convince yourself that your super hustle means you can sell $250 VIPs to everyone, even college students and blue collar dudes on slow nights. Don't even bother trying to get them to buy $20 dances -- those are for loser baby strippers. Fail to sell a single VIP or dance, and leave with $30 after a six hour shift. For maximum burnout, spend $10 of it at Taco Bell on the way home so you can eat up all your stress.
Aurora_Sunset
11-20-2015, 05:55 PM
Hang out with lots of vanilla people doing lots of cool, interesting things and moving up in the world. Make sure to compare that to the fact that you're "just" a dancer. Forget about all the stuff you HAVE accomplished. It sounds lame when compared to the fact that they've done all that AND more. You may as well not even talk unless you're contributing some "court jester" fluff story about a drunk customer to make people laugh. That's clearly all you're good for in social situations.
SweetJulia
11-20-2015, 09:50 PM
Be afraid to leave your first club cuz cleaner clubs with hot as hell girls are too intimidating, even though your home club has been taken over by extras girls who got there just in time for the summer slump. Work seven days a week for a month to make ends meet before heading for greener pastures, where you'll proceed to make the highest average of your dancing career. Oh, and instead of being happy to have found a club where literally everything is different for the better-and you can finally wear boots, making your stage show so much better, you beat yourself up for not having the balls to do it sooner. Then, do the math on how many extra days you worked since the invasion of the extras girls.
wednesday86
11-21-2015, 09:40 AM
Hang out with lots of vanilla people doing lots of cool, interesting things and moving up in the world. Make sure to compare that to the fact that you're "just" a dancer. Forget about all the stuff you HAVE accomplished. It sounds lame when compared to the fact that they've done all that AND more. You may as well not even talk unless you're contributing some "court jester" fluff story about a drunk customer to make people laugh. That's clearly all you're good for in social situations.
omg...this is my life...((cries))
NicoRico
11-21-2015, 11:27 AM
Try to find a club where the clientele is 100% regulars who don't spend unless they have your email and phone number so they can be in constant contact. This will help you get to a point where you can't even use your phone without being filled with dread and loathing. Each club shift will be basically the same as the last, which insures soul-deep boredom. And you'll feel increasing pressure to keep your regulars interested, which will help you feel like you aren't good enough for even perverted, smelly old men.
THIS IS LITERALLY ME RIGHT NOW. I've been at my original club again for a few months and I feel so drained. I'm making decent money off regulars but it's like 90% of all my money is regulars. It's exhausting. Cue intense fucking burnout :/
NicoRico
11-21-2015, 11:30 AM
Read "My last shift" and beat yourself up seeing everyone else's huge money nights. Forget to consider the fact that you work in a $10 dance city (meaning their numbers must be cut in half to actually compare), AND that you work day shift because night shift fucks with your sleep/school schedule.
Work at a club that requires use of the busiest freeway in the state. Be sure to leave for work around 3-5pm when rush hour traffic keeps you in the car for 2 hours, thus adding 3 hours to your work day and making going to work for a 4 hour shift literally an all day affair.
I obsessively read my last shift and I usually feel like shit after. I really need to not read it.
DorienG
11-21-2015, 06:07 PM
In the name of saving up as much money as possible, sign a lease on a shitty, tiny, depressing apartment that fills you with dread every time you come home. Who needs quality of life?! All that matters is being able to retire by the time you're 50 (doesn't matter if you're a dried-up cynical raisin by then - you won't have to work anymore!). Your 20s, 30s, and 40s should be USED, not ENJOYED.
This is sooo true! I'm so glad when I started dancing, my goals were just to live nicely, still have fun and start a savings account. Very simple goals. I achieved that and then beyond. So, I allowed myself, school, travel, non-stripping night club excursions, bountiful trips snowboarding...fun stuff. Lot's of restaurants when I worked/lived in San Francisco!!!! Lots of fun tasting all kinds of exotic food, participating in a contest to find a sucky restaurant in San Fran (but slowly gaining over 20 lbs doing it) but those lbs have been gone for a while!!
But on a more serious note; you never know what the future will bring: economy changes, physical changes, accidents.....you never know. All that money you slaved away saving could be gone in a second. I've been there. I recently had to clear $26K out of my roth IRA (husband had an accident). Now I don't have enough to even start one. But I have some things that are paying small dividends and currently going through a paid certification program for a new job. So there is change, but some balance. And compromise: we can no longer afford our season passes to the biggest ski resort in the western US, I no longer get my yearly trips to the Sundance film fest in Park City, with snowboard perks, but I had them. And I enjoyed the hell out of them!!! But instead I get free gas gift cards, Sephora cards and Starbucks. Not as pricey, but a nice compromise.
( I know this is long), but save a little, make your plans, but please never forget to have some fun and release your stress while you have the $$, the energy and the health to do it.
lynn2009
11-21-2015, 06:16 PM
Remember the one time you made 1k in a shift, dwell and be miserable it never happened again.
DorienG
11-21-2015, 06:16 PM
:rotfl:
Also approach every Mexican. Actually, approach everyone who is not a white businessman type.
^ What if you don't have a choice?? (Los Angeles, here)
Selina M
11-21-2015, 07:13 PM
^ What if you don't have a choice?? (Los Angeles, here)
I'm very sorry, haha.
Not trying to be racist but in Phx they're a groping pain in the ass 90% of the time, and the short conversations usually consist of "How much for sex? Why you no do that? Not even for $xxx?"
DorienG
11-21-2015, 08:52 PM
I'm very sorry, haha.
Not trying to be racist but in Phx they're a groping pain in the ass 90% of the time, and the short conversations usually consist of "How much for sex? Why you no do that? Not even for $xxx?"
And don't I know it!:'(
DorienG
11-21-2015, 09:00 PM
Convince yourself that if you don't sell at least 2 VIP blocks a day you are a piece of shit. If you make less then $500 you are a loser. Also convince your financially irresponsible spouse to quit his job and take over all of his bills as well as your own. Work doubles. Lots of doubles. Start taking on customers that you make you uncomfortable because you can't afford to pay your utility bill or buy diapers for your kid without them. Put on a fake smile and pretend like you'e not mad night after night when your boundaries are pushed. Also never talk about it. Just keep pushing the hatred down. (It really helps if you're married to someone who literally won't let you talk about work with him.) The less emotional support you have, the better.
I'm sorry to read this. My spouse will nod his head and say I'm sorry, but not really listen. I understand.
DreamsInDigital
11-21-2015, 11:10 PM
-Approach every Indian who comes in.
:rotfl:
Also approach every Mexican. Actually, approach everyone who is not a white businessman type.
WAY better idea: Try to work in a club where this is the main customer base. Those old white businessmen types are stuffy and boring anyway! :D
Edit: DorienG, I'm sorry this is actually your situation. Props to you, I've got no idea how you can handle it! (And yes, I am relatively proficient in Spanish.....but it wasn't helpful for me.)
charlie61
11-26-2015, 09:20 PM
Continue going in to work when you're struggling with something in your personal life, and be sure to tell all of your customers about what you're going through. It's always a great idea to invite strangers into emotions that you haven't even begun to process yet.
catlover0106
11-26-2015, 11:40 PM
Haha for me:
*Work 5-7 days a week and justify it by the fact I'm 24 I started late I need to catch up on all the money I could've saved but lost out on because I was too scared to dance from 18-23
*Never attempt to go out and meet people for the fear of the dreaded question "so what do you do?"
*Never take a Friday or Saturday night off because a night out is not worth missing out on the $500+ you would likely make working
*Worry immensely about what the mangers, hospitality, and other dancers think/say about you
*Blow off things like cleaning your place or cooking a decent meal because going straight to work and grabbing food on the way will allow you to go in earlier and potentially make more money
*Take everything customers say about you to heart
*Read reviews of your club constantly to see if anyone posted anything about you
*Oh yeah and the leaving for work during rush hour thing was spot on lol
charlie61
11-28-2015, 12:02 AM
Tell friends, family, and strangers where you work so you'll constantly worry that someone you know will show up unexpectedly during your shift.
anouk.oui
11-29-2015, 03:25 AM
sign up for expensive money draining private fashion uni, study 5 days and work 4 nights and somehow still find time to intern.
depress yourself about your inability to do this one simple thing of making and spending hundreds on your education in the same day, while eating cup noodles by candle light coz you cant afford to pay your bills on time.
promptly drop out and try a cheaper course thats only 2 years instead of the 3 uni years. overwork yourself, party everynight with coworkers and through a severe anxiety condition until you inevitably fail half your subjects.
panic about being stuck in dancing forever and the fact that you started this for fun and extra cash and come to the realisation that somehow 6 years have gone by and you managed to not get ahead with your life. panic about not having any 'real' friends whom you cant connect with over their opinion of your dancing.
consider enrolling in any and every direction of study. tell yourself no matter how much you cannot bring yourself to do another shift, youre probably fine to pull through another uni degree if you have that to motivate you.
come to your senses and complete a one year diploma program cursing every day that goes by about not coming to your senses and do anything less ambitious any sooner
stay in contact with old regulars once you quit, because you dont know how to break up with them and what if theres an emergency and you need to dance again anyway
kirakonstantin
11-29-2015, 04:14 AM
Experience multiple significant deaths (parents, extended family, pets, close friends.) Don't take time off. Stop yourself from grieving because puffy, red eyes are ugly.
Develop complicated grief and depression. Don't take time off because bills. It'll go away eventually, right? And everyone's so fucked up that they won't notice you sobbing in the corner of the locker room.
Choose a club that doesn't have it's shit together. Make sure the managers are either absentee, drunk or are powerless. The doorstaff should be chilling with customers and the DJ's sniffing for pussy rather than doing their jobs.
Make sure that every emotionally wrecked person you know has your number and that they call you whenever they have a problem they want to cry over. Bonus points if it doesn't occur to them to see how you're doing and they call you while drunk.
Work through injuries. All of them. Broken feet aren't a big deal.
Lust after a very hot player you work with. Plan your shifts around his schedule. Definitely don't do anything about your crush and DEFINITELY don't date anyone else.
Do not have a social life. In fact, be a complete hermit. If you get lonely, adopt another special needs pet.
Work your ass off and try not to spend money on anything unnecessary. When you do spend money on something, spend a lot of effort to make sure it's bargain basement cheap.
When the inevitable nervous breakdown hits, keep working. You'll get over it.
I'm beyond burned out.
MetalRoses
11-29-2015, 12:23 PM
1) Use work as a distraction from the fact that you are in the middle of leaving an abusive relationship with a sociopathic narcissist who continually uses the kids and your dancing as leverage in an attempt to blackmail you to stay.
2) Bonus points for going to work with fresh scratch marks around your neck where he tried to choke you. Tell yourself you're too strong to let A little thing like DV get in the way of your $$$.
3) No matter how mentally "done" you are by 1:30, push yourself to stay till close or you are a lazy/mentally weak dancer even if you made your goal.
3) Listen to girls gossip in the locker room and make sure to participate (something I actually avoid like the plague because I'm an introvert and prone to anxiety attacks.)
kirakonstantin
11-29-2015, 01:47 PM
A few things I forgot:
Live on a diet of fast food and copious amounts of Rockstar. It'll ensure that you always have 5 pounds to lose and a reason to hate your body. The massive amounts of caffeine will destroy your sleep cycle. Which leads to...
Sleep is for the weak.
Make grand plans for incredible changes in your life and it must not be subtle. Quit caffeine, cigarettes and junk food all at the same time. Beat yourself up when it doesn't work out and you go right back to your old habits.
Pay close attention to the news and stock your Twitter feed with discussion over every horrible thing that happens in the world. Take it all very personally.
Get to a point of exhaustion and so deplete yourself of give-a-fucks that bathing or basic housekeeping is just not happening, especially when you're a very fastidious person who bathes twice a day and must brush your teeth after eating.
Don't ever treat yourself to anything nice. Put new brakes on your car, because you can rationalize that as a safety issue. Don't buy a new pair of jeans because, even though they're disintigrating, they're still mostly functional and won't get you in trouble for indecent exposure yet. At the same time, buy nice things for other people because you love them and want them to be happy.
Listen to all of the girls who come up to you with a long face and defeated posture who complain that there's no money in the club. Believe them.
Yeah. I really have to do something about this.
Natalya
12-03-2015, 08:39 AM
drink
SweetJulia
12-03-2015, 09:28 AM
drink
And gain weight from drinking.
charlie61
12-03-2015, 11:30 AM
Make sure stripping is your ONLY option. Back-up plans are for pansies.
SweetJulia
12-03-2015, 12:51 PM
And STOP wasting money on tuition! Other girls make more than you because they're not preoccupied with school, not because of the extras they do. Oh, and cry yourself to sleep when someone you consider less attractive outearns you.
charlie61
12-06-2015, 11:53 PM
Only work once or twice a month. You'll feel like you're staving off burnout by minimizing your time in the club, but really, you're just increasing the pressure to make bank every time you work. Which is super fun, amirite?
You've got five hours to earn $800+. Go!
ScarletKitten
12-07-2015, 12:13 AM
LOL! I love this thread!
charlie61
12-07-2015, 12:22 AM
LOL! I love this thread!
I KNOW you'll have a few things to add to this thread. :D
ScarletKitten
12-07-2015, 12:36 AM
I KNOW you'll have a few things to add to this thread. :D
Yep - LOL!
Got PTS? Who cares, your mind and soul is not important. You are only a money-making machine. Just ignore the anxiety and horrible feelings and go to work anyway! Also, don't ever go to therapy because it's too expensive! Just go to work instead and keep getting drunk so that guys will continue to push your boundaries all night. Who needs therapy when you could be making money!
lol1337a
12-07-2015, 12:51 AM
Aim to get to the club just before fees hit the highest bracket. Then procrastinate some more once you're ready. It's not like you'd make it on time, and all that matters is how much you pay, not how much time you have to hustle!
charlie61
12-07-2015, 02:00 AM
If you habitually reward yourself for working, start mentally adding the cost of these treats onto your list of club fees that you have to pay before you actually start making money. That $100 massage you're treating yourself to? Yep, you guessed it, that just became another financial burden!!
wednesday86
12-07-2015, 09:05 AM
Become obsessed with your profit margins...Mentally deduct the week's house fees and tip outs, gas, food etc. from what you made in one shift and start to panic that you won't break even. Develop a serious scarcity mindset, and ignore the reality that your bills are always paid and you're fine.
Put showing up to class and homework on the back burner. Why focus on your education when you could be making $$$?
SweetJulia
12-07-2015, 10:14 AM
^It's funny, I got made fun of at my first club for "wasting" money on nursing school. One girl I gave a ride home to went so far to sabotage me, took clinical paperwork out of the back seat at three am that was due at seven am. So, instead of sleeping for three hours, I had to redo it from scratch.