Looks like the "learning" part of your cross-stich journey is going well, this looks super neat! Love the crochet too ♥
As I don't have physical problems, "low-spoon" for me is "low mental effort", which doesn't seem to be what you're looking for, but just in case it helps brainstorming: for me personally it takes less energy (and interestingly, less focus too) to follow a pattern than to improvise something, but I don't doubt for one second that it's the opposite for some persons. Maybe finding a craft, or a specific way of crafting, that allows you to be more mentally at ease would help being less physically tense and thus help limit the pain?
(My own low-spoon craft is crochet, with a pattern, bonus if it's a no-sew pattern because the sewing part is always more difficult for me. It doesn't force me into a specific position, unlike my other favorite, friendship bracelet, that needs to be anchored somewhere.)
no subject
As I don't have physical problems, "low-spoon" for me is "low mental effort", which doesn't seem to be what you're looking for, but just in case it helps brainstorming: for me personally it takes less energy (and interestingly, less focus too) to follow a pattern than to improvise something, but I don't doubt for one second that it's the opposite for some persons. Maybe finding a craft, or a specific way of crafting, that allows you to be more mentally at ease would help being less physically tense and thus help limit the pain?
(My own low-spoon craft is crochet, with a pattern, bonus if it's a no-sew pattern because the sewing part is always more difficult for me. It doesn't force me into a specific position, unlike my other favorite, friendship bracelet, that needs to be anchored somewhere.)