- 19
- Episodes
- 2026
- First episode
About Spoons For Life
Welcome to Spoons for Life. Whether you’re managing a classroom, a household, a career, or just trying to make it through the day, this is your space for practical energy management. We're stepping outside the classroom to talk about how we make a rigid world fit our daily chronic illness reality—because navigating life takes a lot of spoons, and we're here to help you protect yours.” #podcast #spoontheory #potssyndrome #virtualeducation #homeschooling #education #spoonies #chronicillness #chronicpain #spoonsintheclassroom
- Publisher
- Teresa Spence
- Category
- education
- Language
- en
- Explicit
- No
- First episode
- 26 Mar 2026
- Latest episode
- 8 Aug 2026
Latest episodes
19 episodes in the feed.
8 Aug 2026
Episode 15 Beyond the Burnout Protecting Your Capacity Season After Season
It’s officially our Season 1 Finale! 🎙️✨ In this grounding and transformative final episode of the season, we are taking everything we’ve learned over the last 14 weeks—workflow triage, digital boundaries, social energy, and physical self-compassion—and building a permanent, sustainable blueprint for long-term capacity management. Burnout isn’t a sudden event; it’s a slow, quiet energy leak that happens when we operate in a daily capacity deficit. In this episode, host Teresa breaks down how to move from reacting to exhaustion to pre-empting it entirely. Learn how to spot your unique early-warning signs, hold minimal viable boundaries when life gets chaotic, and ditch the impossible myth of 50/50 work-life balance in favor of seasonal rhythms. Whether you're wrapping up a high-demand work season, navigating personal changes, or simply trying to protect your peace for the long haul, this episode will leave you with actionable tools to honor your human limits permanently. **** — Season 1 Reflections: Celebrating 15 episodes of radical self-compassion and honoring capacity. **** — The Early Warning System: Recognizing micro-irritability, decision fatigue, and somatic signals before full depletion. **** — The Traffic Light Check-In: How to audit your daily energy (Green, Yellow, Red) and execute immediate triage. **** — Boundaries in Seasons of Chaos: Avoiding "boundary creep" and establishing baseline Anchor Habits during high-stress storms. **** — Designing Your Sustainable Life Blueprint: Moving away from 50/50 balance to seasonal living and transparent capacity communication. **** — The Zero-Sum Energy Ledger: How to balance your daily 100-spoon budget without going into physical energy debt. **** — Season Hiatus Challenge & Outro: Your one core practice during our break and where to stay connected for Season 2! Look back over Season 1 and pick ONE boundary, anchor habit, or mindset shift that resonated with you most. Commit to practicing just that one practice while we are on hiatus! 🔔 Subscribe on YouTube: [Link to YouTube Channel] 🎧 Follow on Spotify / Apple Podcasts: Never miss an episode update for Season 2!
1 Aug 2026
Episode 14 Making Peace With a Body That Needs Extra Care
When health challenges feel relentless, it’s so easy to view our own bodies as adversaries or broken machines. In Episode 14 of Spoons For Life, we are shifting our focus inward—turning that gentle compassion onto our relationship with our physical selves. We’re stripping away the performative "toxic positivity" and diving into the realistic world of Body Neutrality: learning how to move past that heavy sense of physical betrayal when your body doesn't behave the way you want it to, and building practical, tender self-compassion on high-symptom days. In this episode, we cover: 🕊️ Unpacking "Physical Betrayal": Why forcing yourself to "love your body" during a flare-up feels invalidating—and what to do instead. 🪜 The Body Neutrality Ladder: Moving from hostility and grief to a peaceful physical truce. 🔋 The 10% Capacity Rule: Why giving 10% on a low-energy day equals a 100% success rate. 🛋️ The 5% Comfort Audit: Simple micro-adjustments to lower physical distress when quick fixes aren't possible. 🚦 Non-Verbal Energy Signaling: Protecting your energy boundaries with loved ones without having to explain or defend your symptoms. If you’re listening from bed, under a heavy blanket, or taking a quiet five minutes for yourself today—take a deep breath, drop your shoulders, and join us. 👉 Don't forget to Like, Subscribe, and hit the Notification Bell to support the channel and never miss an episode! 🎧 Listen on Spotify & wherever you get your podcasts. #SpoonsForLife #ChronicIllness #BodyNeutrality #SelfCompassion #ChronicPain #Spoonie #LowEnergyLife #BurnoutRecovery #MentalHealth
29 Jul 2026
Meet Your Host of Spoons For Life
Meet Teresa, your host for Spoons for Life. A single mom of three, teacher, creator, abuse survivor, and chronic illness warrior.
25 Jul 2026
Episode 13: Loving Through Low Energy (Season 1, Part 1)
Episode 13: Loving Through Low Energy (Season 1, Part 1) Love is usually portrayed as loud, bright, and high-output—spontaneous trips, elaborate date nights, and a constant 50/50 split of physical labor. But what happens when your daily energy budget is unpredictable or chronically depleted? How do you build and sustain deep intimacy when energy is your most finite resource? In this opening episode of our three-part Season 1 finale on Love and Health, Teresa tackles the myth that relationships require high physical output. We’re dismantling relationship guilt, ditching corporate "50/50 ledger" thinking, and introducing practical, zero-pressure ways to stay connected when spoons are low. In this episode, we explore: Dismantling High-Energy Romance: Unlearning the cultural scripts that tie your worth as a partner to your stamina. The "Guilt Tax": How to stop treating physical limitations like moral failures and shift from shame to connection. Redefining the 50/50 Split: Why real equity is about mutual care and emotional presence, not chore scorecards. Low-Spoon Love Languages: Practical connection tools including Low-Spoken Communication, Somatic Anchor Points, and accessible "Low-Energy Date Nights." Low-Friction Communication Systems: Daily check-in shorthand (Green/Yellow/Red) and real-world scripts for setting boundaries with love. Whether you're listening in bed, on the couch, or slowly moving through a quiet day—there is zero pressure here. Grab your tea, adjust your pillows, and let’s get comfortable.
17 Jul 2026
Episode 12: Reclaiming Joy: The Low-Spoon Guide to Sustainable Hobbies
Ever feel like even your "rest" has turned into a chore? When you are living with chronic illness, chronic pain, fatigue, neurodivergence, or deep burnout, your daily energy battery rarely hits 100%. In a culture obsessed with hustle and optimization, we often trap ourselves into thinking that even our downtime has to be productive—or worse, we default to mindless scrolling that leaves us feeling even more depleted. In this episode, we are smashing the trap of "productive rest" and learning how to reclaim genuine, low-stakes joy. We dive deep into building a personalized Low-Spoon Hobby Menu tailored to your actual energy levels, and we share a foolproof strategy to drop the physical friction of starting a hobby down to zero. You don’t have to earn the right to play, and you don’t need a full tank of gas to experience joy. Grab your blanket, and let’s get through our low-spoon days together. The Low-Spoon Hobby Menu: Discover how to categorize activities based on your exact physical capacity, from Level 1 (Body-soothing & immersive soundscapes) to Level 2 (Process-over-product like Diamond Art Painting) and Level 3 (Micro-dosing traditional hobbies like reading exactly one page of a book). The Hobby-in-a-Box Method: How to lower the transition cost of your favorite activities so the setup and cleanup take less than 60 seconds. The Rule of Zero Cleanup: Why sustainable hobbies must be fully abandonable the exact second your physical battery hits empty. Don't let your inner critic convince you that joy requires a perfectly curated, high-energy life. This week, audit your resting space and set up your own low-friction Hobby-in-a-Box. Take a photo of your setup and share it with us in the comments below, on Spotify, or over in our Patreon community. The only rule? Do not clean up for the photo! We want to see your beautiful island of joy sitting right in the middle of your real, low-spoon life—pill bottles, messy nightstands, laundry piles, and all. Connect With the Show: 🎵 Listen on Spotify 📺 Watch on YouTube 💬 Join our Patreon Community for exclusive bonus content and low-spoon resources. If you found comfort or value in today's episode, please consider subscribing, leaving a review, or sharing it with a friend who might need a reminder that their joy matters today. ⏱️ Timestamps💡 Key Takeaways From This Episode📸 Join This Week's Community Challenge!
11 Jul 2026
Episode 11: Relational Guilt and Sustaining Relationships
Episode 11: Sustainable Connection – Maintaining Relationships with Chronic Illness The most painful tax of chronic illness isn't always the physical pain, the joint stiffness, or the brain fog—it’s the invisible, compounding weight of relational guilt. In this episode of Spoons for Life, we are taking that heavy suitcase of guilt and throwing it completely out the window. We radically deconstruct the ableist myth that being a good friend, a supportive partner, or a present parent requires high-energy, real-time presence. True connection does not demand that you bankrupt your health. It can be asynchronous, it can be quiet, and it can be completely low-impact. The Relationship Energy Audit: How to map out your social ecosystem into Low-Mask and High-Mask zones, and how to stop treating every relationship as if it has an equal claim to your limited daily bank account. Asynchronous Survival Tools: Practical, low-friction strategies to keep the pilot light burning with friends and partners—including the physics of voice notes and reclaiming "adult parallel play." The "No-Guilt" Cancel Protocol: How to set up an automatic emoji or phrase shorthand on your good health days so you can cancel plans during a flare without entering a multi-day apology spiral. Navigating Caregiver & Professional Roles: Tactical frameworks for the high-stimulation environments of parenting and the workplace. Learn the art of "Horizontal Parenting" to connect with your kids from the couch, and how to implement an Asynchronous-First boundary with well-meaning colleagues. You do not have to choose between your health and your people. You just need a better strategy. Pop in your earbuds, grab your heating pad, and let's dive in. What is your absolute favorite, lowest-energy way to let someone know you are thinking of them? Head to the comments section on YouTube or Spotify and let us know so we can build a crowdsourced toolkit for flare-up days! What We Cover in This Episode:💬 Connect with the Community:
4 Jul 2026
Episode 10: The Invisible Weight (trigger warning...sensitive topic)
Title: Episode 10 | The Invisible Weight: Chronic Illness, Loneliness, and Your Mental Health Host: Teresa When you live with a chronic illness, your body is fighting a baseline battle every single second of the day—but your mind is right there in the trenches with it. Managing a long-term condition isn’t just a physical job; it is a profound emotional tax. In today’s episode of Spoons For Life, Teresa shines a light on the invisible psychological weight that tags along with a diagnosis. We dive deep into the exhausting reality of physical hypervigilance, the toll of medical and social gaslighting, the non-stop cycle of chronic grief, and the deep, aching isolation of living in a different reality than the healthy world around you. More importantly, we discuss why emotional exhaustion actively drains your physical spoons, and we share four concrete, low-energy, "spoonie-friendly" strategies to help you protect your boundaries, reframe your inner critic, and reclaim your mental peace right from your bed or couch. You are not alone in the dark. Your mental health isn't failing because you aren't "staying positive" enough—it hurts because carrying a heavy physical load is genuinely exhausting. Tune in, take a deep breath, and let's navigate this together, one spoon at a time. If you are navigating a chronic condition and the physical pain, medical gaslighting, or profound isolation has brought you to a dark or overwhelming place, please know you do not have to carry this weight alone. Your presence matters. Free, confident ial help is available 24/7: ⚠️ IMPORTANT CRISIS & MENTAL HEALTH RESOURCES 🇺🇸 United States: Call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, or chat at 988lifeline.org (https://988lifeline.org/). 🇨🇦 Canada: Call or text 988 to reach the Suicide Crisis Helpline. 🇬🇧 United Kingdom: Call 111 to reach the NHS mental health services, or call 111 (Samaritans). 🇦🇺 Australia: Call 13 11 14 for Lifeline Australia. You don't need to explain your whole medical history to get a trained professional to sit with you in the dark. Please reach out if you need support. Connect with the Spoons For Life Family: Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SpoonsforLife_26 Follow on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4ajWfSyF04zK0Nlyt4hVxF?si=b-FyJ1zJT8m3bZ0-EwSY-g Share your thoughts: If this episode brought you comfort, please leave a review or share it with a fellow spoonie who needs to hear this message today. #SpoonsForLife #ChronicIllness #SpoonieLife #MentalHealthMatters #ChronicPain #SpoonieCommunity #VisibleIllness #MentalHealthSupport
28 Jun 2026
Spoons for Life
Same podcast.....New name
27 Jun 2026
Episode 9: The Sensory Off-Ramp
Have you ever shut your laptop, closed your physical classroom door, or wrapped up your homeschool block and realized you aren’t just sleepy-tired? You feel vibrating. Your brain feels like static electricity, your shoulders are up to your ears, and your raw nervous system is screaming for quiet. If you know that exact feeling, you aren't a bad educator, a resentful partner, or an impatient parent. What you are experiencing is a physical, biological sensory hangover.In this episode of Spoons in the Classroom, Teresa dives deep into the hidden reality of Sensory Debt. We break down the invisible environmental triggers that drain virtual teachers, traditional educators, and homeschool parents alike. More importantly, we walk through a mechanical, non-negotiable, 10-minute solution to clear your brain's cache and reclaim your evening peace. Stop giving your family and your creative projects your overstimulated leftovers. It's time to take the off-ramp.The 3-Step Sensory Off-Ramp Blueprint To safely bring a speeding train to a halt, you need an off-ramp. Order matters, environment matters, and your willingness to protect these ten minutes matters most of all. Here is the exact procedural sequence discussed in today's episode:Step 1: The Environmental Reset: Minutes 1 to 2.Kill the incoming data at the source. Close your browser tabs, shut your laptop lid, and turn off your external monitors so you aren't tempted by a glowing screen. If you work from home or a shared space, physically hide your teaching materials—grading pens, planners, and cables—completely out of sight in a basket. If your brain can see the work, it is still doing the work.Step 2: The Low-Stimulus Buffer: Minutes 2 to 8.Go into complete sensory isolation for six minutes. Move to a dim or dark room (a bedroom, a closet, or a parked car). Close your eyes. You are allowed zero incoming inputs—no social media scrolling, no checking texts, and absolutely no podcasts. If you need noise, use noise-canceling headphones playing pure brown noise or absolute silence. Let your eyes rest from the blue light and your ears rest from digital audio compression.3.Step 3: The Sensory Bridge: Minutes 8 to 10.Now that your nervous system has stepped down from fight-or-flight, use a physical anchor to signal your official transition into your personal life. Execute a physical 'Uniform Change' by swapping your work clothes for your evening comfort apparel. Splash freezing cold water on your face to stimulate your vagus nerve, step outside for fresh air, or light a specific candle you only burn when you are off the clock.The Spoon Community Pact: Take a screenshot of this episode, share it to your social stories, or text it to a tired fellow educator with the phrase: "I'm taking my ten minutes today. Are you?" Let’s make protecting our nervous systems a community standard.
20 Jun 2026
Episode 8: The Low Energy No
Teresa reflects on how the most expensive "spoon" is often the one we spend trying to be all things to all people. She introduces the concept of the "Guilt-Spoon"—the extra energy we spend after saying "yes" to a request we didn't have the capacity for, feeling guilty, and then over-preparing to compensate.
13 Jun 2026
Episode 7: The "Ping" Trap
Are you tired of the constant "ping" of notifications dictating your day? In this episode, we’re dismantling the "Available All Day" fallacy. I’m sharing why instant responsiveness is actually the fastest route to burnout, and how to shift toward an "Asynchronous First" workflow. We’ll cover how to protect your deep-work hours, use "Scheduled Send" to set boundaries, and use scripts to normalize communication delays with parents and admin. It’s time to stop performing availability and start prioritizing your focus.
6 Jun 2026
Episode 6: Digital Overtime
Do you end your school day buried under twenty-seven open tabs and a desktop you can't even see? You’re not just tired; you’re suffering from "Digital Overtime." In this episode, we’re moving away from the "junk drawer" mentality of file storage and into a streamlined, intentional workflow mode. I’m breaking down the exact systems I use to protect my energy, stay organized, and actually close my laptop on time. In this episode, we cover: The Desktop Audit: How to use the 3-Folder Rule to clear your screen once and for all. Browser Triage: Master tab groups and the 2-minute closing ritual to stop "tab fatigue." Digital Sustainability: Simple naming conventions and cloud-first strategies to make your files easy to find—anywhere, anytime. The "Plug": Why protecting your digital peace is the ultimate form of professional self-care. Ready to reclaim your evening? Let’s get into it. Join the conversation: Have a "Plug" story? Share your "before and after" screenshots on social media and tag me!
31 May 2026
Episode 5: Mid Season Check In
In this mid-season check-in, Teresa re-introduces listeners to the framework of Spoon Theory to diagnose and combat deep professional burnout. Moving away from standard productivity hacks, the episode focuses on running a personal "Spoon Audit" to identify the invisible, daily energy leaks caused by digital tools—such as compulsive grade book refreshing, constant email notifications, and the exhaustion of video-call fatigue. Listeners will walk away with highly tactical solutions to protect their cognitive bandwidth, including voice-to-text dictation strategies and establishing camera-off boundaries.
25 May 2026
Episode 4: The Emergency Sub Plan for Your Life
Creating the emergency sub plan for your life. We have those days when we wake up and we just know that today is not a good day. Make sure that you have a backup plan ready to go for the days when your spoon count is at zero before you even get out of bed.
18 May 2026
Episode 3: Voice-to-Text survival
Writing isn’t just a mental task; it’s an extraction of physical and cognitive energy. For grad students, teachers, and anyone managing chronic fatigue or burnout, the blinking cursor on a blank screen can feel like a demand you simply can’t afford. In this episode, Teresa breaks down how to bypass the physical toll of the keyboard and the mental trap of perfectionism. Learn how to separate the "creating" from the "editing" by turning your couch into a workspace, using the "Shitty First Draft" protocol, and leveraging the power of the 30-second voice memo. It’s time to stop martyring your physical stamina for a document. Save your hands. Use your voice. This is how we survive the screen.
9 May 2026
Episode 2: The Virtual Uniform
"Your worth as a student isn't measured by your ability to sit in a hard chair for six hours." 🛋️✨ In this episode, we’re debunking the "Hard Chair = Hard Worker" myth. If you’re a student navigating virtual school while managing chronic pain, neurodivergence, or a major case of "low spoons," this one is for you. We’re diving deep into the "Waist-Up" Masterclass, the science of why your brain loves (and sometimes hates) professional clothes, and how to build a low-energy ergonomic "nest" that actually supports your body. What’s inside: The "Window Rule": Better lighting for $0. Enclothed Cognition: Why PJs might actually be your best productivity tool. Camera-Off Advocacy: A word-for-word script to use with your professors. The "Body Scan": A 3-minute guided stretch for the virtual classroom. Grab your blanket, keep your PJs on, and let’s get through these virtual hours together. 🥄🧺 Watch/Listen now on YouTube & Spotify!Don't forget to like, subscribe, and share your "secret" pajama setup in the comments! #The10MinuteTriage #LowSpoons #VirtualLearning #EnergyManagement #SpoonieStudent #StudentLife
4 May 2026
Episode 2 Teaser
Join us on Saturday, May 9th, for episode 2: The Virtual Uniform and Why it's PJs.
2 May 2026
Episode 1: The 10-Minute Triage – Survival Strategies for the Low-Spoon Professional
Are you staring at a 50-item to-do list while your body is screaming for a dark room and a heating pad? In the series premiere of The Low-Spoon Professional, host Teresa gets real about the "Spoonie Scaries"—that paralyzing dread when chronic illness meets a high-pressure career. Drawing from her own journey with POTs, EDS, Chronic Fatigue, and Hemiplegic Migraines, Teresa breaks down the "Spoon Theory" for teachers and parents alike. Learn how to "Force-Quit" your mental overwhelm, embrace the "B-Minus Manifesto," and use a ruthless 10-minute triage to pick the three things that actually keep the lights on. It’s time to stop powering through and start pivoting toward sustainability. In this episode, we cover: The science of "Flare-Paralysis" and why you feel stuck. The "Safety Filter": How to separate emergencies from "should-dos." Low-energy hacks like Voice-to-Text and Digital Co-Teaching. Scripts to handle internal guilt and well-meaning but "able-bodied" advice. Don't forget to Like, Share, and Subscribe on YouTube and Spotify to join our community! Go back to resting. You’ve done enough. "Low Spoon" communication toolkit: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1p-vbApnEswl91i2gHWrxxIW5ZhIQ01L9YE-mOLR_g_s/edit?usp=sharing
26 Mar 2026
Coming Soon
Spoons in the Classroom: A podcast for teachers and parents who are trying to get through their days with less than everyone else. #podcast #spoontheory #potssyndrome #virtualeducation #homeschooling #education #spoonies #chronicillness #chronicpain #spoonsintheclassroom
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