As outlined in Post #37 (here) there are 4 main phases of the ND Burnout Cycle – Blowout; Recovery; Refurbished; and, Brownout.
Whilst I’ve covered Spoon Theory in Post #26 (here). In that post I talked about how Spoon Theory is able to represent the dynamic impact of being ND where how much effort it takes to do tasks, and how much energy we have to do tasks, can change from day to day. And just like you can have more or less spoons some days; some days tasks can take more or less spoons as well. This changing of the amount of spoons and number of spoons needed to undertake a task can also be helpful to further understand the ND Burnout Cycle.
In the Blowout phase – we have the lowest amount of spoons, and tasks take more spoons. To end up in this phase you’ve been using more spoons than you have for a while. Inevitably when this is sustained you end up with less spoons coupled with the tasks you try to do taking more spoons than you otherwise would, so it becomes hard to do anything.
In Recovery – we have started to regain some spoons and tasks can start to take less spoons than during the peak of a Blowout.
As you move towards, and into the beginning of the Recovery phase you can start to regain spoons so you have more spoons each day than in the Blowout phase, and there can be times when a task takes less spoons than at the peak of your Blowout. So as you move through recovery you gain spoons and the tasks you do – like getting up and getting dressed – start to take less spoons as well.
In the Refurbished phase we have our maximum amount of spoons, and tasks tend to take the least amount of spoons – but the dynamic impact of our neurodivergence still means there can be variations day to day. You may be tired, or have had a lot of being around people or decision making the day before, which will mean you have less spoons than normal and/or tasks will take more spoons. But on the whole in this phase you feel like you have the energy – both mental and physical – to undertake the tasks you want to that day, not just the ones you have to.
The Brownout phase comes when we start to use more spoons than we have each day on a sustained basis. We may do this because of internalised ableism, or being a caregiver or putting other’s needs ahead of our own, or being unwell. No matter the cause when we consistently push ourselves to use more spoons than we have that deficit starts to add up, and we can start each day with less spoons, and what we do that day can start to take more spoons which then leads to a Blowout.
So how can we use this to understand where we are at in the ND Burnout Cycle and how to move towards spending most of our time in the Refurbished phase? I’ll cover more on this in my next ND Burnout post.
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Please note all information and strategies shared as part of the blog are for information and educational purposes only and do not constitute advice for any particular individual or circumstances.