Self-Care For Employees And Customers Of Rhode Island Dolls

This pandemic time has been stressful for the vast majority of people, including employees and customers of RI Dolls in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. We know that our dolls are missing their customers and the customers are missing being in the comforting environment of our gentlemen’s club. We all miss our friends and co-workers. But the fact is that unless you’re an essential worker, one of the best things you can do is stay home as much as possible.

That doesn’t mean it is easy for anyone though.

If you have a family, you might be spending more time with them than you ever have before. It’s great to have more time to be with the ones you love but it can also be difficult for you when you aren’t used to it and you have always been able to leave the house when you need some alone time.

If you live with your family and are starting to get a little stir crazy here’s a few things you can do to practice self-care, while still following social distancing rules.

• Go for a walk, run, bike ride or some other solo outdoor activity. In most states it is still perfectly fine to go outside, as long as you practice safe social distancing. Talk to your spouse about making sure that both of you have time to get out of the house and do something on your own so you can think or listen to music.
• Make house dates with your spouse. Send the children to bed early or if they are old enough, simply explain to them that you and their other parent need to have time alone to connect and be together. Make their dinner early and arrange for a quiet meal between the two of you. Snuggle up on the couch or in bed with a good movie or a game and just enjoy being together.
• Designate a solo time period of each day for everyone to have time alone to do their own thing. Even small children can play on their own or read or even watch a show for short periods of time by themselves. If they are not already in the habit of doing this it might take some practice but if you are consistent, they will learn that it is perfectly acceptable for them to be on their own (with in-house, but separate room, supervision).

Remember that in order to care for the people in your family, you have to care for yourself first!

If you are living by yourself, going solo has its own challenges. You don’t have people in your house to talk to. Intimacy becomes a thing of the past and that means no hugs or hand holding or other things that you may have become accustomed to. You may find yourself having deep conversations with your pets just so that you don’t forget how to use your own voice.

It might seem that self-care becomes easier if you’re living by yourself but that isn’t necessarily true. When you are single and there’s not a pandemic going on, you can leave the house to find entertainment. You likely have hobbies and favorite places that you like to go to (like Rhode Island Dolls!). But none of that is possible at the moment so you have to find other ways to take care of yourself.

Here’s a few ways that you can care for yourself when going solo during Covid-19.

• Pick up an old hobby that you haven’t had time for when you were working. What did you do before your life became immersed in work and having a social life? Building model cars? Scrapbooking? Painting? Writing? You probably still have all the supplies you need in your basement or garage sitting in a box! Pull them out and give it a try again.
• Start a new hobby. Is there something you’ve always wanted to do “if only I had time?” If there are supplies that you need and you don’t have them you can usually order them online from a store like Amazon.
• Start an at home exercise routine. If you go to the gym normally, you’re likely missing that a lot. Even if you weren’t the gym rat before the pandemic, you can still start a simple at home routine that could carry on after Covid-19 restrictions end. Things like yoga, Pilates, and basic workouts require little to no equipment and you can find free starter workouts on YouTube.