Any one whose worked with me will know about my obsession with spoons! Not in the literal sense!
This was an exercise I came across when volunteering with Headway Darlington which I was attending to learn more about brain injury after my father sustained one in 2015.
I had found it really hard to understand the difficulties he was having and why some days it seemed he could function well and others he was completely unable to manage simple tasks.
I had heard the word “Fatigue” banded about in the 5 months my dad was in hospital but to my knowledge that just meant you felt a bit tired, right? ……WRONG!
This was where the spoon task helped me to understand what fatigue was and why those who experience it can fluctuate so radically in ability.
So how do spoons help? Well, it doesn’t need to be spoons it can be pennies, tokens batteries whatever you have available but ultimately you have to spend these on every day tasks.
So the activity went a bit like this:
You have 60 spoons to use over 2 days
Here is a list of tasks you need to do over those 2 days.
Here is what each task costs you (in spoons)
Seems simple right?
Day 1
|
Task |
Cost in spoons |
|
Make breakfast |
3 |
|
Shower |
4 |
|
Brush teeth |
1 |
|
Pick clothes and get dressed |
4 |
|
Make call to family |
2 |
|
Walk to bus stop |
4 |
|
Get on bus to town |
3 |
|
Shop for new shoes |
5 |
|
Visit café for lunch |
5 |
|
Get bus home |
3 |
|
Prepare tea |
4 |
|
Wash dishes |
3 |
|
Get ready for bed |
2 |
|
Total spoons spent |
43 |
|
Task |
Cost in spoons |
|
Make breakfast |
3 |
|
Shower |
4 |
|
Brush teeth |
1 |
|
Pick clothes and get dressed |
4 |
|
Make call to family |
2 |
|
Walk to bus stop |
4 |
|
Get on bus to hospital appointment |
3 |
|
Attend hospital appointment |
5 |
|
Get bus to supermarket |
3 |
|
Complete shopping |
5 |
|
Get taxi home |
2 |
|
Carry shopping into house |
3 |
|
Put shopping away |
3 |
|
Visit family for tea |
5 |
|
Get ready for bed |
2 |
|
Total spoons spent |
49 |
Does not add up right? I only have 60 spoons but to complete these 2 days I needed 92!
So, we had to re do it and take out tasks to try make get to that golden number of 60 spoons.
In the end I managed to reduce day 1 to 30 – but it meant id skipped breakfast, did not shower, and didn’t speak to family.
Day 2 – I managed to reduce to 29 spoons, but I meant again I skipped breakfast, did not shower, missed my hospital appointment, cancelled tea with family and slept in my clothes.
This simple but visual task completely opened my eyes to the impact fatigue can have and why it can fluctuate so rapidly from day to day – sometimes hour to hour for brain injury survivors.
Its something that I’ve reshared with clients in helping them to understand why they cannot do the level of activity they used to and always seems to have a lasting impact in helping them to understand and manage fatigue better.
So the moral of the story – Use your spoons wisely!
Best Wishes
Amy