If your job requires that you touch someone else.. were you nervous about touching them?

I've been a Massage Therapist for a couple months shy of 28 years.
I wasn't rally nervous about touching them.It was more like, will they LIKE the way I'm touching them. Will they appreciate the technique being used to help reduce pain or improve movement, etc. The women who want erotic massage appreciate it: that I know for a fact.

Most people who get massages at least once in a while if not regularly, show a fairly high level of good hygiene. In "clinical practice" (kind of like your graduation thesis in massage) I had one guy. Seemed to be a middle- eastern type of guy who was VERY hairy. Well, none of the females in my clinical group would work on him, so I got him by default. He wasn't smelly or anything like that, just very hairy. Instead of using oil, I just used powder on him as a lubricant. Really- believe me: it works!

In my first of two "big, core classes", a mid-aged female student quit the second night of the class. She said, "I didn't realize I'd have to touch people so much!" Well, du-uh!!!!!!! Better off that she bailed early rather than meltdown some night when she had to touch a thigh or rear!

Touching others has been an issue for me for as long as I can remember. For various reasons but the most prominent one was the fear of invading someone's private zone and what reaction would they have. Of course some diseases come to my mind from time to time but for me it's maybe more the fear of inadvertently putting into the touch something that might be misinterpreted. Like it being perceived inappropriate, too intimate or something.

I can't stand the way most people smell, there is no way I could do a job that required being in close contact for long periods. 🤢 Elevators are hell for me...

Anxiety was always an issue for me about touching people. Since this pandemic has gotten worse