Spoon Theory

The spoons theory comes from the world of chronic illness and is used to talk about the idea of limited energy and using that energy wisely.

So a spoon represents a unit of your energy. If you have 10 spoons, you have 10 units of energy with which to accomplish your tasks for the day.

People with chronic illnesses often have fewer spoons than their healthy counterparts, and the number of spoons used in a particular activity might be much higher for someone with chronic illness comparted to others.

Many clients with chronic PTSD and/or attachment trauma also have comorbid chronic illnesses to content with, and this further impacts their spoons and the energy they have available to put towards things they want to accomplish in a day.

It’s important to understand our limits, what we have the capacity for and why at times that capacity is more limited.

The spoons theory is a nice, easily understood way to communicate issues around capacity and may foster a bit more self-compassion, which is always to the good in my book!