WeCamgirls supports Pineapple

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WeCamgirls is promoting Pineapple support on their website to help get the word out as well as to recruit new volunteer listeners. The models on the site understand and can relate to the hardships some have to overcome in the adult industry to get the feeling of acceptance, but also the mental problems that will manifest when these hardships are not overcome.

“Yes”, Tristan said, “we are very glad we can help and promote pineapple support. It’s a great initiative and we want models to know that there is an accessible and friendly place to go to. Models need to know that through Pineapple support they can get free access to counseling and emotional support that is available 24/7 via online chat.”

“Working in the adult industry is tough. People are biased about sexworkers and cammodels have to deal with trolls on a daily basis. It’s easy to say, “Hey just ignore them and spend your energy on people that like you”, but this is just not how the world works. We are only humans and it matters to you, whether you like it or not, what people say.”

The WeCamgirls community has over 20,000 models and was created to give cammodels “a home”. All the serious and not so serious topics are discussed on the forum and experiences are shared in the review section.

Brandon’s Story

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When I was 12 years old, my mother committed suicide. She was the 3rd family member in my life to do so. At that time the feeling of loneliness and fear were overwhelming. What I wouldn’t have given to have someone there, someone to listen and provide hope. This is one of the many reason I decided to become a listener with Pineapple Support. You may not know this now, but a small fraction of your time, simply listening could change a person’s life, it could bring the promise of a tomorrow that otherwise may never have come for them.

Giving back to my adult community and industry is just a small gift I can give to help others find mental health support and outlets in a sometimes all to lonely business.

I would ask anyone with a caring heart to please consider giving this amazing opportunity a chance. You can’t imagine the feeling of love and connection until you’ve walked with someone truly struggling, when you stop talking and start listening you see and hear things in a different light. Helping others has HELPED me more than I could have known. I’ve worked on so many personal issues and have grown so much through my work with Pineapple Support. You can make all the difference in OUR world too.

Pineapple support training is straightforward and direct. You will receive hands on training through our app it allows you to learn and practice the techniques you learn along the way as you collect your badges and advance in steps to become a Pineapple Listener. Sometimes the greatest gifts in life are not the ones we receive but the ones we give. Give hope a chance, be the light in someone’s world, let love shine above all else.

Be a listener in a world full of noise.

3 STEPS FOR LETTING GO OF NEGATIVE THOUGHTS

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Feeling depressed or anxious is never pleasant but this unpleasantness is what makes negative emotions useful. Our brains are hardwired to attend to that which may harm us. Similar to how hunger motivates us to seek food, negative emotions motivate us to seek safety and comfort (and to take better care of ourselves).

Bad days and bad moods are a normal and healthy part of the human experience. But prolonged negative thinking can result in negative thinking habits, which alter our neural structure over time. However, we can lessen the impact that negative thoughts, emotions, and experiences have on our brains.

Psychologist Steve Hayes suggests that we allow ourselves to feel bad in order to feel better. This may seem counterintuitive, especially to Western cultures where we try to control and rid ourselves of our anxiety, depression, and frustration. But Tibetan Buddhists believe that this attempted control is the problem and not the solution.

An increasingly popular new treatment called Acceptance Commitment Therapy is based on this assumption. ACT proposes that when we stop fighting our emotional pain and focus on the things that are important to us, we actually suffer less.

Accepting negative emotions can free up mental energy to focus on other more important things in our lives.
ACT’s founder, Steve Hayes, suggests that when we judge a thought or feeling, we give it more power. For example, the more time and energy that we spend trying to control our anxious thoughts, the more anxious we become.

Beating ourselves up about feeling down just adds more negative feelings to the collection we’re already coping with. So we become depressed about being depressed. We may not be able to shift our unwanted mood but we can change how we feel about the mood itself.

The less attention we give to our negative thoughts and feelings, the less impact they have on our neural structure.
We have thousands of thoughts and feelings a day. We can’t possibly attend to all of them. When negative thoughts arise, don’t ignore them, judge them, or try to stop them. Acknowledge them and let them pass. Here is how.

1. Let your negative thoughts and feelings flow. Neurologist Rick Hall suggests that we think of our thoughts as flowing through our mind like a river. If we attach to a thought, then we can ‘let it go and let it flow.’ Here is an example.

Attaching negative thoughts and feelings:

Thought: I feel like such a failure.

Reaction: I am doing it again. I am beating myself up. Every time I try to be positive, I fail. See, I am a failure. Stop it. Stop it. But I can’t even do this right. Ugh.

Accepting negative thoughts and feelings and letting go:

Thought: I feel like such a failure.

Reaction. Hmmm. There is that thought again. What should I have for dinner?

2. Meditate ten minutes a day to get better at it. Apps such as Headspace offer short (some are only 1-2 minutes) exercises that you can do anywhere. The Acceptance exercise teaches how to accept our own thoughts and feelings as well as other people’s difficulties. There are also short exercises on patience, pain management, and happiness.

3. Practice self-compassion. I say ‘practice’ because self-compassion is a skill. We will inevitably get stuck on negative thoughts and feelings and it easy to get disheartened. With Kristen Neff’s collection of self-compassion meditations, you can learn to compassionately let thoughts and feelings flow. The less palatable it sounds to you, the more you may need it.

Accepting our negative thoughts and feelings does not mean that we should not take steps to better our lives. “Letting our thoughts flow” is useful when we have done what we can to remedy our negative mood but it still persists. We don’t have to be carried away by our thoughts and emotions. And letting go frees up the mental space so we can focus more on the positive experiences in our lives.

Warm regards,

Jena

HOW TO CATCH DEPRESSION BEFORE IT CATCHES YOU

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When we think of depression, we may imagine being permanently pyjama-clad, lying in bed or on the sofa in a dark room, unable to move. Clinical depression (or major depressive disorder) can look this way and the Internet and media often paint this picture.

If we research depression symptoms online, it usually brings up Clinical depression information, leaving some of us thinking that, it feels bad but it’s not as bad as all that.

But some depressive symptoms are less recognizable. Most of us are busy. We might feel down but we can’t afford to stop. Even when a situation (like a breakup) triggers deep sadness in us, we have to keep going. So the symptoms are subtler, more gradual, and easier to disregard. They sneak up on us and if unaddressed they can become debilitating.

Recognise any of these?

– A sense of heaviness you can’t shake
– Impatience, irritability, quickly losing your temper over little things
– Growing intolerance of others, our surroundings, or ourselves
– Heightened awareness of negative things
– An emboldened inner critic, bullying ourselves or self-loathing
– Incessant worrying (going over the same thing again and again) or catastrophizing (using words like always and never)
– Wanting to hide from the world and avoiding things that make us feel better (friends, exercise, nature)

Our brain activity is habit forming; the more we think and feel certain ways, the more likely we will think and feel that way in the future. A persistent low mood can spiral into depression and the lower we spiral, the harder it is to pick ourselves back up.

We all have low moods but when feelings of depression seem unshakeable, it is time to start paying attention to them. One of the best ways to deal with depression is to catch it early.

Here is how:

– Become mindful of how you talk to yourself. Would you lose friends if you talked to them the way you talk to yourself? Your inner critic may have pushed you to do better but it can push you down that depression spiral too.
Get blood tests from your doctor. Low mood can be a side-effect of any number of physical ailments: nutritional deficiencies, bacterial imbalances in your gut, hypothyroidism or hyperthyroidism, fibromyalgia, hormonal imbalance, food allergies, infections, and medications.

– Create exercise accountability. Exercise is one of the best ways to improve our mood. We may have the best intentions to exercise regularly, but low mood can sap our motivation. When depressed, we are far more likely to put it off.

So instead of beating yourself up for not exercising, put measures into place that hold you accountable. For example, book a boutique exercise class, schedule workouts with a friend, or join a beginner’s club team (your Fris team depends on you). If you have no problem skipping those type activities, then hire a trainer for 30 minutes twice a week. (Hire a really cute one for added motivation!) Tell her/him to follow up with you if you miss a session.

– Forgive yourself for feeling this way and for setbacks that may have triggered these feelings. Low mood often increases our critical self-talk. We feel down so we beat ourselves up, which makes us feel even lower. Interrupt the self-critical spiral with self-compassion. If this sounds too difficult, read or listen to The Self-Compassion Skills Workbook by Tim Desmond.

– Listen to what thoughts are driving your emotions. There is no such thing as a ‘negative’ emotion. Even depression serves to protect us. Our low mood is a red flag. Sometimes it is telling us to slow down, to reconnect with loved ones, or to disconnect from unhealthy situations. Or to get help.

– The app Thought Record app from Moodnotes helps you uncover the situations and thinking patterns that may trigger your low mood. And to find alternative, more helpful perspectives.

Everyone feels low, drained, or worn-out occasionally. Many of the symptoms of major depressive disorder – irritability, lethargy, and hopelessness – can be normal reactions to stressful life events.

‘Sometimes, depression is a perfectly reasonable response to trouble in your life.’ Karla McLaren

However, if your low mood is cyclical or doesn’t respond to the healing changes you make, talk to your doctor or a professional therapist.

If you think you might be clinically depressed, you can take this test.  Depression Self Assessment

References

American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Fifth edition.
Tim Desmond. (2017). The Self-Compassion Skills Workbook. A 14-Day Plan to Transform Your Relationship with Yourself
Rick Hanson. (2013). Hardwiring Happiness. The New Brain Science of Contentment, Calm and Confidence.
Karla McLaren. (2010). The Language of Emotions: What Your Feelings Are Trying to Tell You.
Robert Plutchik. (1980). Theories of Emotion (Volume 1).
Dan Siegel. (2010). Mindsight: The New Science of Personal Transformation.
Bessel van der Kolk. (2014). The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma.

Warm regards,

Jena

Pineapple Support is Looking for Volunteers To Join Their Team of Listeners

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Becoming a Volunteer Listener for Pineapple Support

Volunteer listeners have full control over when and how long they are available to listen. They provide a safe, anonymous, caring, non-judgemental and completely stigma free space for adult industry performers to reach out.

 

What it means to become a listener.

Pineapple Support provides free emotional support 24/7 to people within the adult entertainment industry. We want to support others so they never have to feel alone. Having someone there to listen can make all the difference in someone’s life. Active listening is a great way to support someone. It’s not solving problems, it’s helping someone feel heard, valued, and understood.

Pineapple Support have joined up with 7 Cups of Tea, one of the biggest and best emotional support platforms. When you join Pineapple Support, you not only get to feel good about doing something awesome.

– You become part of the community that genuinely cares and helps others. As a listener, you have access to peers, other listeners, and mentors.

– You develop excellent active listening skills, which will strengthen your relationships, improve your confidence, and equip you to deal with conflicts.

– You get free hands-on training that is designed to help you learn by doing. As 7 Cups says, training is directly relevant and immediately applicable to your life.

Here is how it works: we provide free online training & support – all you need is an internet connection to get started.

  • Free active listening course
  • Online volunteering from home (or via app!)
  • Control your own availability to listen
  • Get certifications to boost your resume
  • Get support & coaching from friendly mentors
  • Feel amazing that you are making a difference in other peoples lives!

 

Click here and join our team of listeners today.

Self-Care as simple as A-B-C

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Every job takes energy but being an adult entertainer or a support in the industry requires giving a lot of ourselves, sometimes to the point of burnout. During self-care month, we are highlighting ways to spot and change the habits that drain us and ways to re-energize when we feel depleted. Here is a start:

 

Self-care works best when we take an A-B-C approach; Awareness, Balance, and Connection.

 

  • Find your own ‘optimal range’ of productivity. Take stock of your commitments. Write down both the positive and the negative effects (money, strain, stress, fatigue). And then rate the necessity of them. Be honest, are you doing it because you need to or because someone else expects it of you?

 

  • Make a list of self-care strategies. If you find this difficult, ask friends, family, colleagues, which self-care strategies they find most effective.

 

  • Schedule time in your diary each week for guilt-free self-care. This doesn’t have to be big or time consuming. It can be curling up with a favorite movie or having a cappuccino date with a friend.

 

  • Have transition time from work to home. For example, do five ‘sun salutations’ or change into comfy clothes when you get home. Create a habit that signals to your brain that it is time to wind down.

 

  • Set a time each day when you completely disconnect from technology (phone, computer, television, everything). Even an hour break from technology can recharge you before you face the online world again.

 

  • Spend face-to-face time with people who give you support. A hug is worth a thousand encouraging words, especially when you feel drained. But talk is important too! Talk out your stress. Process your thoughts and reactions with someone else (colleague, therapist, friend, family member). Make a plan of how you can strengthen your positive support system and distance yourself from those who fuel your stress.

 

  • Spend time with a pet. Pets accept whatever affection you are able to give them without asking for more and can give endless amount of unconditional support in return. Bonus – our blood pressure and heart rate decreases when interacting with animals.

 

  • Make laughter, joy, and play a priority at home. Creating fun may be a focus at work but it’s equally important at home. Name three things you feel grateful for today. Think of something that brings you a sense of joy (Make a top ten list and keep it handy when you are down). Who do you love that you can reach out to today (Call them!). What made you laugh today? (Share it!)

 

Self-care not only helps us personally, it helps us to be our best work selves as well. Remember, in order to give our best at work, we must have something left to give. If you feel overwhelmed or like you need more support than you have access to at home, contact Pineapple Support.

 

Dr. Jena Field

Pineapple Support Sponsors Free Suicide Prevention Training Day

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LOS ANGELES — Pineapple Support is set to sponsor a free suicide prevention training day in Tarzana on Sunday, March 24.

The event is specifically aimed at helping agents, performers and producers better cope with crisis situations.

“We all need to know the warning signs for suicide, and how to prevent it,” said Leya Tanit, founder and president of Pineapple Support. “While mental resources are important, not everyone seeks help on their own. The training day will give people the skills they need to help make that crucial difference and to possibly save a life.”

Pineapple Support’s Suicide Prevention Day will begin at 11 a.m.

Speakers will include:

  • Amanda Clemens , discussing suicide prevention and crisis intervention.
  • Hernando Chaves, discussing self-care and self-esteem.
  • Leya Tanit, giving an overview of Pineapple Support and the services it provides.

“Education and knowledge is the key to preventing self-harm,” said Tanit. “I invite anyone who routinely deals with performers, from directors to make-up artists to bookers, to come for this free training. Together, we can build a net to help those who may be slipping.”

“Mental health is an issue that has touched each persons life. Additional training with suicide awareness, crisis intervention, managing mental health, self-care, and promoting self-worth can benefit anyone pursuing balance and managing life stressors.” said Hernando Chaves “Attending trainings that increase awareness with mental health concerns and teaches best practices to intervening in emergencies can be valuable tools to have when a difficult situation arises. ”

The event is open to all persons working in the adult industry. For more information, contact Pineapple Support here and follow their Twitter handle.

Pornhub Promotion & MojoHost Infrastructure Make 12/17 A Banner Day For Pineapple Support

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December 17, 2018 – Today was a landmark day in the history of PineappleSupport.com thanks to a huge promotional step by PornHub.com and a monumental effort by the wonderful staff at MojoHost. The charity site saw a 21,000% increase in traffic over the previous day, thanks to Pornhub adding a clickable banner icon to its front-page logo in honor of the International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers.

As you might expect, the sudden influx of that much traffic caused a temporary outage of the PineappleSupport.com website itself. A problem that made the site inoperable and unreachable by some who might need access to the therapeutic services offered by the organization free of charge to anyone in the adult entertainment community who may be in need.

“It’s rare for a site to have a twenty-seven thousand percent traffic increase without any notice, we weren’t aware of the promotion ahead of time, but we do understand the particular importance of PineappleSupport being up because of the life-saving services they provide,” said Brad Mitchell, CEO of MojoHost.com. “Getting the site back up as quickly as we did is a credit to everyone working here 24/7 on our technical staff, and we are honored to be the trusted host of Pineapple and everyone they work with throughout the year.”

As CEO of PineappleSupport.com, Ms. Leya Tanit was thankful for the attention that Pornhub provided and the infrastructure that MojoHost has in place. “As a charity, we are much more about helping people than about marketing or webhosting maintenance, so working with people who are at the top of those fields is truly gratifying. The visibility Pornhub provided today may actually save lives, simply by helping so many people to find PineappleSupport when they need us. Similarly, the reliability of MojoHost and their ability to solve any technical challenges so quickly empowers our own brand by showing people they can rely on our site whenever they need it.”

The full blog post published on Pornhub can be found here: https://www.pornhub.com/blog/7071, and on the heels of a recent announcement to sponsor holiday dinners in several locations for adult workers, Pornhub is demonstrating their desire to make sure that the adult business is one that is also a healthy, safe and positive environment for all the people who make it such a joyous source of entertainment around the globe.

“We are thrilled with the overwhelmingly positive response we have received to the announcement of our partnership with Pineapple Support,” said Natalia Maurlan of ModelHub. “With so many positive comments from sex workers as a result, we hope that others will consider supporting our community in impactful ways as well.”

To get active as a sponsor, volunteer or to receive the help you may need please visit http://www.Pineapplesupport.com today!

Pineapple Support and Clips4Sale debut 2019 Fundraising Calendar

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To help raise additional funds for performer mental health services, Pineapple Support has debuted a new calendar in conjunction with Clips4Sale and photographer Scott Church.

Sales from the calendar will help raise needed funds so that Pineapple Support can continue to provide mental health care for people in the adult industry.

Pineapple Support is providing 24/7 emotional support for performers during the holidays, as well as connecting performers in need with no- and low-cost sessions with therapists.

The 2019 calendar features a set of photos by Church on the island of Ibiza.

Church’s work has appeared in Playboy Magazine, VH1, Maxim, Penthouse and Skin Too, among others. The calendar photographs were taken exclusively for Pineapple Support.

“It is only through the support of organizations and individuals such as Clips4Sale and Scott Church that Pineapple Support can provide the industry with the mental health care and emotional support needed,” said Leya Tanit, president and founder of Pineapple Support. “Sales of these calendars will raise funds to pay for therapy sessions for performers in need.”

Neil, founder of Clips4Sale, said that for 15 years Clips4Sale has “proudly represented producers and models that wish to share their content online with a massive audience. Now providing more than 1,000 categories to choose from and over 7 million video clips, Clips4Sale has continued to be the No 1 clip download site for fans and performers alike.”

“Clips4Sale is proud to be a primary sponsor of the Pineapple Support Charity,” he said. “After many years of seeing first hand how some people in the industry have struggled to be well, I am very pleased to see a real organization taking their cause seriously, and proud to be able to work with such a great charity to offer help to individuals who need it.”

To buy a Pineapple Support Calendar, visit PineappleSupport.com/shop.

ModelHub and PornHub Sponsor Pineapple Support

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At the Modelhub and the Pornhub Model Program, the safety and wellbeing of their models, and of all sex workers, are our number one priorities.

That’s why, in honor of the International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers, they proudly announced their new partnership with Pineapple Support, an online mental health service developed specifically for adult industry models and performers.

As we know, ours can be a trying industry, with its own unique set of struggles. While stigma associated with the adult industry is slowly starting to change, we know that being a part of this community can make certain relationships, conversations and situations very complicated. It can even take a toll on your emotional health. That’s why we’re making sure you have the resources you need to stay happy, healthy, and profitable.

Pineapple Support and Pornhub share a common goal – making sure that all sex workers and porn performers have access to the care they need.

Everybody deserves mental health services, but they can be inaccessible for a number of reasons – some models may not be able to find a provider that is sex-worker-friendly. Some others may simply not have good providers available in their area. Many others are unable to access mental health services due to prohibitive cost.

We’re looking to change that.

Pineapple Support provides 24/7 emotional support, meaning you’ll be able to chat anonymously, for free, with one of Pineapple’s Trained Listeners – they are specially trained to offer empathetic support, and listen to you without prejudice or stigma.

Chatting with a Trained Listener is completely free, and access to a licensed therapist through Pineapple Support is subsidized or also free.

Take care of yourself, so that you can keep taking care of business:

Sign Up To Pineapple Support Today.

 

If you’re able, please also consider donating in honor of International Day To End Violence Against Sex Workers, to help make sure everyone can have access to mental health services.