Using The Spoon Theory For Mental Health And Wellness
On any given day, different individuals may have different energy levels depending on various factors. One element that can significantly impact energy levels is if a person has a disability, a chronic illness, chronic pain, and/or a long-term mental health condition. All of these have the potential to affect the way an individual is able to engage with the tasks of their day.
Spoon theory for mental health and wellness
The spoon theory is a model that can help people living with illnesses or disabilities to compassionately and realistically manage their responsibilities and self-care and organize their daily lives in a way that best suits their needs and abilities. Read on to learn more about spoon theory and how it may help you balance your own well-being.
What is spoon theory?
Spoon theory offers a way to view energy as a finite level of resources that one has for a given day. The theory posits that each person wakes up in the morning with a certain number of “spoons,” or energy stores, that they can use in completing certain tasks. Some days, a person might have fewer spoons than other days due to symptoms of a chronic physical and/or mental health condition or related challenges.
For example, a person with chronic pain may have more intense pain when they wake up one morning than they did the day before. The mental and physical effort of managing this pain throughout the day may cost significant energy, or spoons. That could leave them with not enough left to engage in daily hygiene, eating, and work. With the help of the spoons theory framework, the person might decide to shower but not wash their hair, ask for accommodations to make their work less physically taxing, and/or use pre-made foods or meals so they can eat without it costing them too much effort.
Does the spoon theory for mental health and wellness apply to lupus?
Spoon theory was initially created to explain the impact of physical illnesses like lupus, immune system disorders, fibromyalgia, and multiple sclerosis. Since then, however, it’s been used by people who face any of a variety of conditions or situations that may affect their energy levels, from physical disabilities to mental health conditions to forms of neurodivergence like autism.
When it comes to mental health, many different illnesses and challenges can affect a person’s energy levels—which means people in many different situations may benefit from spoon theory. In particular, conditions like depression, bipolar disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) often manifest as symptoms like fatigue or a loss of energy and motivation, which can lead to the person having less energy to complete daily tasks.
The history of spoon theory and its connection to lupus
Spoon theory was created in 2003 by a blogger named Christine Miserando. Christine lives with lupus and wanted to explain to those without a chronic illness what it’s like to live with the condition on a daily basis. She used spoons at a diner to represent how much energy she had in a given day to complete tasks. She explained that each spoon was a unit of energy, and a spoon was taken away each time a task was completed. Some activities could take more spoons, such as work or school. On some days, one task might take all of the spoons at once.
In her blog post on this topic, Christine writes, “It is only 7 pm. You have the rest of the night but maybe end up with one spoon, so you can do something fun, clean your apartment, or do chores, but you can’t do it all.” She explains how, at the end of the day, it’s often difficult for individuals with chronic illness to wind down, and symptoms can sometimes affect existing spoons to make them unusable on that day.
What kinds of activities take a lot of spoons for chronic pain?
The activities that take up spoons can differ depending on the person and the day. Some people might be more energized by tasks like showering, whereas others might find it extremely difficult.
Everyday tasks that can be challenging with chronic illness
That said, common activities that may take up a lot of spoons for someone with a chronic illness, disability, or mental health condition include the following:
- Waking up in the morning
- Going to work
- Focusing on work
- Taking a shower
- Brushing one’s teeth
- Cleaning one’s living space
- Taking pets for a walk
- Preparing and eating meals
- Completing forms and documents
- Making appointments
- Paying bills
- Spending time with friends, family members, or partners
- Practicing self-care in other ways
- Engaging in a hobby
- Learning a new skill
- Exercising
- Remembering to take medications or use medical devices
- Doing schoolwork
- Working on personal projects
Managing limited daily energy
An individual may find that they often choose one or a few of the above items to use their daily energy on but do not have the stores to do them all.
How the spoon theory can be helpful for managing chronic illness
The spoon theory can offer the opportunity to see tasks and energy levels in a new light. Below are two key ways to use this theory to your advantage if you live with a chronic illness, a disability, and/or a mental health condition.
Blocking and pacing time
Understanding how many spoons you may need to complete certain tasks can give you insight into times of the day or week when you most frequently spend energy and other moments when you might have more. That way, you may be able to make adjustments to your routine to better suit your needs.
For example, perhaps you spend a lot of spoons on work during the week and struggle to make dinners for yourself after. Meal prepping on Sundays, buying pre-cut fruits and vegetables or pre-prepared items, or planning a weekly schedule where a partner or roommate helps make meals on weeknights are all examples of ways you might make this self-care task easier for yourself using knowledge from spoon theory.
Setting boundaries and improving communication
Knowing what you have energy for in a given period may allow you to communicate your needs to others and let people know what kinds of accommodations you may need. For example, it could help you and your friends make plans to spend time together that suit your energy levels that day or allow you to divide household chores with a roommate in a way that matches your abilities in a given week.
Increasing self-compassion
According to research on the topic, self-compassion is “being supportive toward oneself when experiencing suffering or pain,” and practicing it may help improve both mental and physical well-being. Using spoon theory may help a person increase their levels of self-compassion. Understanding energy levels as finite and varied from one day to the next may be validating and help an individual act with empathy instead of holding themselves to rigid or unrealistic standards.
Asking for accommodations
Accommodations can look like schedule changes, tools, support, or behaviors that may make a certain task more manageable. Accommodations are often legally protected in professional and academic settings, and individuals can ask for informal accommodations with loved ones, too.
Accommodations may allow individuals to use fewer spoons to accomplish a task. For example, if one is given more time to complete a test at school or can sit at work instead of standing, they may have more energy to focus on the task at hand and engage in self-care when they finish.
Benefits of requesting accommodations for your well-being
Asking for accommodations can be scary, but it can help an individual preserve their energy and well-being. When requesting accommodations, it can help to be honest about your needs, fill out official documentation if necessary, and explain how extra energy may help you perform a given task more effectively and maintain your own health. Advocating for yourself in this way can be a form of boundary-setting and may also improve self-esteem and mental health, allowing you to work toward a more balanced lifestyle.
Seeking mental health support
Managing the emotions and mental health effects that may come with a lack of energy can be difficult. Therapy can be a helpful resource, as a trained therapist can guide you in expressing and processing your feelings and finding healthy ways to cope with challenges. If you’re living with a mental health condition, they can also help you in addressing your symptoms.
Online therapy for chronic pain and disabilities
Traveling to and from in-person therapy appointments can seem overwhelming, especially for someone who has a condition or disability that can affect their energy levels. In such situations, online therapy can be a more convenient alternative, since you can attend sessions virtually from home or anywhere else you have an internet connection. Virtual sessions may require fewer spoons than in-office visits, potentially reducing an obstacle to mental health care for individuals with chronic illnesses or disabilities. Research suggests that online and in-person therapy can offer similar benefits in many cases, so you may be able to choose whichever format best suits your needs.
Takeaway
What is the Spoon Theory of mental health?
The Spoon Theory was originally proposed in a blog post written by Christine Miserandino, an individual with a chronic health condition called lupus. She used a dozen spoons to visually explain to a friend how she has limited energy reserves—with each spoon representing one finite unit of energy—to complete different tasks in daily life, like showering, taking medications, or running errands. Miserandino explained to her friend that, some days, certain activities may take more spoons than others, often leaving her with no energy left to complete additional tasks.
Today, many people with disabilities, chronic conditions, and/or forms of neurodivergence use this framework as a helpful tool for self-awareness, helping loved ones understand their experience, and connecting with the wider disability community.
What is the Spoon Theory in psychology today?
The Spoon Theory is a framework to conceptualize the limited energy levels that many people with invisible disabilities and chronic conditions—like autoimmune diseases, mental health conditions, and forms of neurodivergence, to name a few—experience in day-to-day life. Per the original framework, spoons represented finite units of energy available to a person in a given day for completing tasks.
On certain days or after certain experiences, like sensory overload or a pain flare-up, a person may have less spoons than others might to continue with their day. Thinking of energy levels in this way may help a person learn to practice pacing themselves and find ways to schedule tasks or ask for help when needed to use their limited energy reserves more efficiently in the average day.
Can healthy people use spoon theory?
Spoon Theory was originally created as a practical and emotional support tool for individuals in the chronic illness, neurodivergent, and disability community—particularly those who don’t show outward symptoms that others can perceive. As people without a chronic mental or physical health condition have theoretically unlimited spoons, or energy resources, to use in a day, this theory isn’t typically intended or helpful for their needs.
What is the Spoon Theory of self-help?
The Spoon Theory is a framework designed to help people with a chronic illness, disability, or form of neurodivergence conceptualize their daily energy levels and explain them to others. Each metaphorical spoon represents one unit of energy. The same task that a person without a chronic condition may be able to complete easily could cost a person with such a condition three spoons or four spoons, for example. If they only had five to begin with, this leaves them with limited spoons—or very little energy—with which to complete the rest of their daily tasks. It can be thought of as a self-help theory because it may help such individuals learn how to use self-pacing to better prioritize tasks and plan ahead.
What is an example of spoon theory?
Spoon Theory can be used by a person with a chronic condition—and, therefore, a finite amount of energy—manage both their daily tasks and their physical and emotional well-being along the way.
An example of Spoon Theory is a person with a disability recognizing that a task on their to-do list for the day will require too many spoons, or units of energy—more than they currently have available. They may then be able to use this framework to help a loved one understand why they’re asking for help with a certain task or why they may need to put some things off until a later date. You can find more examples by searching posts with social media hashtags that involve the term “spoonie,” used to refer to those who identify with this theory, like #spoonie and #spoonielife.
What are the Spoon Theory therapy insights?
Engaging in talk therapy with a provider who understands Spoon Theory may result in various insights. It could help a person with a disability or chronic condition make sense of their own energy levels and what other factors may cause them to have more spoons yesterday than they have today, for example. This insight may also allow them to better estimate how much energy a certain task requires, plan ahead to ensure they have enough spoons for larger projects, and default to breaking energy-draining activities into smaller tasks.
What are the benefits of the Spoon Theory?
Spoon Theory can be helpful for many reasons. It can help an individual with a chronic condition explain their personal experience to others and conceptualize their own energy levels to better plan their days. Many also find the concept to be an important connection point with community members of similar experiences, who may be found through chat groups, in-person spoonie circles, or by choosing to follow social media hashtags related to the topic.
How to do the Spoon Theory?
To use Spoon Theory, you simply have to conceptualize or visualize your energy levels in a way that makes sense to you. It can take time, but it may help to begin paying attention to how it feels when your energy levels start dwindling and then planning the rest of your day accordingly rather than over-extending yourself. If you're looking for support, meeting with a therapist or using a social media site to join spoonie circles may be helpful.
How does the Spoon Theory apply to understanding various disabilities?
Spoon Theory is a way to understand how the energy levels of a person with a disability or chronic condition may become depleted as a result of engaging in certain tasks. For example, someone with a disability that causes chronic pain or fatigue may find that the physical demands of cooking breakfast each morning cost them so many spoons, or energy units, that they then lack the energy to complete other daily tasks. Understanding their energy levels in this way may empower them to ask for help making meals or have breakfast foods on hand that require minimal preparation.
Why is it called spoon theory?
It’s called Spoon Theory because its creator, Christine Miserandino, originally described this framework for understanding energy levels using spoons in a diner as representations of finite energy units. While there are many different ways to think about and plan for one’s fluctuating energy levels when living with a chronic illness or disability, using the visualization of spoons has become a common one.
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