I cried on the way home. It wasn't because I was sad, but because I felt relieved.
I wonder what happens after it's over.
It's natural to be curious before going to a male-staffed massage parlor, and it's probably also natural for your emotions to be stirred after you've been.
There were those who cried. There were those who laughed. There were also those who said they felt nothing at all.
Today, I will write about what happens "after."
The 10 minutes to the station
When I see a client off, I usually walk with them to the station ticket gate.
Sometimes we part ways in front of the hotel door, and sometimes just outside the hotel entrance, but I prefer to walk them to the gate if I can.
I want to see how the client heads home.
I'm not trying to sound poetic; I mean it literally, because I believe that those 10 minutes are when their "true expression" comes out the most.
Many people are nervous during the session. Especially on their first visit.
But those 10 minutes after it's over, after they've gotten dressed, put on their shoes, and breathed in the outside air.
What comes out here is closest to their "true feelings" about the experience.
It's not in their words, but in the way they walk.
Someone who was walking half a step behind me when they arrived is walking right beside me on the way back.
That alone tells me almost everything I need to know.
The story of the person who cried
One client suddenly started crying just before we reached the ticket gate.
She was in her late 30s, and it was her first time.
There was no particular moment during the session where she cried, and our conversation afterward was normal; she even smiled and said, "That was fun."
But when we reached the ticket gate, she suddenly stopped and covered her eyes.
I'm sorry, somehow.
After saying just that, they were unable to move for a while.
I stood next to them, saying nothing.
Perhaps I should have said something clever, but I felt that staying silent was the right thing to do at that moment. At least, that's how it seemed to me.
The person cried for about a minute, wiped their eyes with a handkerchief, and said, "I'm really sorry," again.
"It's not that I'm sad," they added afterward.
"It's just, I felt relieved. I think I might have been holding on too tight for a long time."
I still often think back on those words.
People who didn't cry
While people who cry are more memorable, in reality, there are more people who don't cry.
Out of the clients I served over two and a half years, I think about 10 percent cried on their way home.
As for the remaining 90 percent, it was generally like this.
People who say, "I feel dazed."
This is the most common. They try to express their thoughts, but can't quite put them together, so they end up saying, "I feel dazed."
I think it's closer to the feeling of something that had been tense for a long time finally loosening, rather than having experienced some great emotional impact.
It might be similar to the "totonotta" (feeling refreshed/balanced) state after a sauna. Or maybe not. That's a poor analogy, isn't it?
Then, there are the people who talk excessively.
Some people who were quiet during the treatment suddenly start talking like a machine gun on their way home. It doesn't matter what the content is—talk about a favorite drama, a cafe they recently visited, anything.
I consider that proof that their tension has been released, and for me, it's a happy sign.
There are quite a few times when the casual conversation on the way home is more enjoyable than during the treatment.
Conversely, there are some people who go home almost in silence.
There was a time when I was initially anxious about this, wondering if it might have been a failure.
But sometimes, I receive a LINE message from those people at a later date.
I'm sorry I couldn't talk at all on the way home. After I got home, I realized I was feeling very calm.
When I receive messages like this, I think, ah, that silent time was a necessary 'landing' for that person.
About the LINE messages that arrive later
More people send me LINE messages the next day or the day after than on the day of the experience.
Messages that start with 'Thank you for yesterday.'
The most common one is a report saying, 'I slept soundly.'
From my experience, about 30 to 40 percent of people write this.
People who usually have light sleep or wake up many times in the middle of the night say they slept unusually deeply only on the day they went home.
It's not just happy reports that I receive.
To be honest, there are also messages that say, 'I felt a little lonely after I got home' or 'I felt a kind of emptiness.'
I plan to write about this in the next article, but I feel that the true nature of that 'emptiness' after it's over is not just a bad thing.
The content of that emptiness is probably because 'you have come to know warmth.'
If you hadn't known it, you wouldn't have felt lonely. But because you did, the original temperature feels a little cold.
That is also proof that your senses are working properly.
I don't want you to deny what you felt on the way home
Crying. Feeling dazed. Talking excessively. Feeling nothing. Feeling lonely after returning home.
All of these are correct, and none of them are strange.
What I think through this work is that there is no such thing as a "correct reaction."
Some people blame themselves, saying, "I shouldn't be crying over something like this," but you didn't cry because you are weak. When someone who has been holding on tight finally relaxes, tears come out. I think that's all it is.
For those who felt nothing, that is also fine. This isn't a place where you are forced to feel moved.
There are also people who suddenly remember it a month later.
I have even received a message from someone who felt nothing on their way home, but while on the train after work, the events of those two hours suddenly came to mind, and they felt a little more at ease.
The timing of emotional waves differs from person to person. Some people feel it on the day, while others feel it a week later.
When that wave comes, if you can think, "Ah, I really was feeling something," then I think that is enough.
If you are currently unsure how to handle that emotion you felt on your way home.
There is an article I wrote for those who are hesitant about booking a second session, and I will eventually release an article where I put into words what I was feeling during those 120 minutes.
You don't have to read everything. Only what interests you, when you feel like it.
What happened on your way home is not a mistake.
Thank you for reading this far.
If you feel even a little bit that
"I could spend time calmly with this person"
or "I could consult with them without being rushed, even for the first time,"
please take a look at my profile first.
If you have any questions before booking or are anxious about using the service for the first time, please feel free to
contact me via LINE.
I will not force you to proceed. You can go at your own pace.
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