Think You Could Be a Professional Cuddler? Read this first.

What's the first thing that you need to know about being a professional cuddler?

What you’re getting into. And I honestly think so few people actually realize what it is they're getting into.

This isn’t just a “Meet new friends, hug a lot and get paid” gig. These are people’s lives we’re dealing with.

These are people that can range anywhere from being stressed out and looking for a new way to unwind to someone that is the sole survivor in a family car accident and has been living with the PTSD from that situation for years.

This could be someone that has crippling depression and anxiety and can barely fathom the idea that he’s agreeing to meet with a stranger.

This is the young college student that is dealing with a lot of friends that don’t like her and she’s too afraid to stand up for herself because every time she tries to stand up for herself, she gets shut down.

This is the guy that’s been traveling on business that hasn’t been able to stay settled in an area long enough to start a relationship and his life has been reduced to business handshakes and work conversations.

This is the videogamer that has internet friends, but he struggles with social skills in real life.

This is the autistic person that has been getting treatment, but they finally noticed that everyone has been physically distant with them because people don’t know how they’ll respond to a touch on the shoulder or a hug.

This is the person that has everyone’s back in the dire crisis situations, but they have no where to release their own negative emotions from dealing with the situations and being a support pillar for everyone else.

This is the retired person whose spouse has passed away or left them and doesn’t know how to ask to be physically close with someone.

This is the touch-starved in a world that is physically-adverse without a specific meaning, and there’s more of them than you realize. They're of more varying ages than you realize.

So the first thing to understand is that if you’re seeing a client with this service, something is going on that is causing them to come out and reach out to you whether they tell you what it is or not.

Some will be open about it. Some won’t. It’s up to them to decide if they want to talk about it, and it may or may not have anything to do with you.

So what is it that you’re getting into when you decide this? Not nearly as much responsibility as a counselor or therapist.  But you're going to see these people, and you need to be willing to step up to the challenge of being there for them.

Think you can do that? The next step is to find out if you could make a great one.