The Spoon Theory
The latest trending pacing strategy is called The Spoon Theory. People who practice it call themselves Spoonies or Spooners. It's similar to the 50/50 Principle [50 Percent Solution] and the Energy Envelope theory in that you start each day with a certain amount of energy/stamina. It goes a step further and quantifies your level of high energy and low pain/other symptoms as actual physical spoons. Christine Miserandino came up with the Spoon Theory one day while eating lunch with a friend. Her friend wanted to understand what it is like to be a person with a chronic illness [Lupus]. The theory works like this, each day you start out with a certain number of spoons. Each activity thought, or conversation costs you a spoon. At the end of the day you do an assessment, are you ending the day with fewer spoons, more spoons or the exact amount with which you started?
If you are ending with fewer spoons, then you overdid things and may send yourself into a flare-up. If you end the day with fewer spoons, you will probably experience a crash over the next few days. If you end the day with the same amount you started with, you probably will be fine. If you end the day with more spoons, you probably practiced some self-care techniques like meditation, yoga, massage, or pacing.
The goal is to end the day with the same number of spoons or to gain some extra ones. Similar to the 50 Percent Solution and the Energy Envelope, if you can retain spoons or obtain more via self-care, you will be able to build a reserve of high energy/stamina and low pain/other symptoms that you can use to take back control of your health.
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