​INSTEAD OF STARTING YOUR DAY WITH A LIMITED NUMBER OF SPOONS, YOU HAVE THE ABILITY TO SELF-CHARGE THROUGHOUT THE DAY TO BOOST ENERGY AND IMPROVE MOOD.

Christine Miserandino's spoon theory has become popular with people with chronic pain. It assumes people with chronic pain have only so much emotional and physical energy each day to do the things they want to do.

You start each day with a finite number of spoons. Each spoon represents a unit of energy. As you use up your energy, you take away a spoon. When your spoons are all used up, you're done for the day.

While it's a helpful concept to help explain to friends and family who don’t experience chronic pain what it’s like to live with pain, the spoon theory is commonly being used by chronic pain patients to plan their days so they don't over-extend themselves.

The problem with the theory: there isn't a way to add more spoons (energy) or to make each spoon last longer than expected.

Therefore, it can be self-limiting - focusing on what we can’t do instead of the things we can and leading us to avoid activities that could make us feel worse but may very well help us in terms of giving us more energy and improving mood. For instance, we may choose to save spoons by not joining our friends for lunch or going on a much-needed walk.

Recent research "demonstrated that on mornings when patients catastrophized more than usual about their pain in the day ahead, they spent more time in sedentary behavior and engaged in fewer minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity that day. Cross-day lagged analyses further showed that the effect of morning pain catastrophizing on subsequent sedentary behavior extended to the next day. More time spent in sedentary behavior, in turn, contributed to greater pain catastrophizing the next morning" (Zhaoyang et al 2020). 

Who wants to wake each day thinking you're limited to what you can do? I tend to see things more positive. 

We have more control over our pain, energy, and mood than we think. 

Another idea: Think of your day like a battery system in a car.

If you don't use a car or if you leave on a car's lights or radio without the engine running, the car battery will eventually run out of energy. But if you drive the car, the alternator will recharge the battery as you drive.
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Just like a car's battery system, we can add more energy to our days by doing things like:

• Changing how we think about pain to not be so afraid of it and minimize the suffering
• Doing self-help activities like deep breathing, tai chi, mindfulness, yoga, and muscle relaxation
• Playing games and doing hobbies
• Laughing - Watch a funny movie or TV show and give yourself permission to be silly
• Getting outside for a walk and enjoying nature
• Listening to music - Music has an analgesic effect to help us feel better
• Modifying activities, like using good body posture, to make make things easier, not harder
• Spending time with people who don't drain our energy with pain talk, negativity, and complaints
• Being grateful - Focusing on what you have, not what you’ve lost

Check out 50 ways to live well, despite chronic pain then visit the Resources tab for more helpful tools.

Note: This is just another tool to add to your chronic pain toolbox. If the spoon theory or another approach works for you, please continue using it. 

(From my free e-book)

You know it will happen. You’ll have difficult days.

Prepare for that time now by putting together a kit to help you get through the rough times.

Inside this kit could be a letter to yourself reminding you to stay positive, a list of your positive qualities and accomplishments, some favorite candy, music, photos and whatever else provides short-term comfort.​
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