Of course by now I'm sure you're going: "....Spoons? Why the heck are we talking about spoons? And there's a theory about them?" Yes, actually, there is! But not about literal spoons. I quite love this metaphor as it's a brilliant way to help others understand how chronic illness affects those who have it.
So, what are these metaphorical, glorious spoons?
You know how in the morning you wake up and you feel amazing? And how you feel like this is going to be a great day and you could literally climb Mt. Everest? You slept very well, and feel absolutely refreshed! Nothing is going to stand in your way today! Then some days, you wake up knowing you didn't sleep very well the night before, and you're just feeling a bit down on your energy... And you feel as though that day is going to not be as great as the others because of this?
Well, when talking about the Spoon Theory, we like to refer to that energy as your allotted Spoons of the day. In layman's terms: Energy = Spoons.
Well, when talking about the Spoon Theory, we like to refer to that energy as your allotted Spoons of the day. In layman's terms: Energy = Spoons.
This term was coined by Christine Miserandino, an author on a site called "But You Don't Look Sick".
It's a very good term and a very good metaphor for what this is (or would you call it an analogy? Jeeze, my English skills are off tonight).
Spoons literally means energy, as stated above, and she happened upon this way of explaining chronic illness to a friend of hers while out to lunch. I won't get into depth too much about her personal story, I will include her link at the bottom of this post as I said before, but its important to note why this came up.
Many people don't understand what being chronically ill means. As shown in the title of that website, an excuse many people use is that we don't look sick. It's true, because a lot of times what's going on is happening internally, out of reach of others' eyes. However, the one who is experiencing the illness itself is well aware. This is called Invisible Illness, because it's something that you cannot see with your eyes.
There will be days, of course, that you really do look as sick as you feel but for myself personally, it's only because I let others see by choice (or because I really just didn't have the energy that day to take care of myself properly).
It's very hard for some people to understand this, and my father is actually a prime example. He's in the belief (even though he claims he's not) that if you can't see it, it's not really there. His words and his actions make this quite easy to see that he feels this way.
The idea of using Spoons to represent energy was formed to explain this situation to others of this mind set, or just to those in general who might not understand.
Now to get back on track!
It's a very good term and a very good metaphor for what this is (or would you call it an analogy? Jeeze, my English skills are off tonight).
Spoons literally means energy, as stated above, and she happened upon this way of explaining chronic illness to a friend of hers while out to lunch. I won't get into depth too much about her personal story, I will include her link at the bottom of this post as I said before, but its important to note why this came up.
Many people don't understand what being chronically ill means. As shown in the title of that website, an excuse many people use is that we don't look sick. It's true, because a lot of times what's going on is happening internally, out of reach of others' eyes. However, the one who is experiencing the illness itself is well aware. This is called Invisible Illness, because it's something that you cannot see with your eyes.
There will be days, of course, that you really do look as sick as you feel but for myself personally, it's only because I let others see by choice (or because I really just didn't have the energy that day to take care of myself properly).
It's very hard for some people to understand this, and my father is actually a prime example. He's in the belief (even though he claims he's not) that if you can't see it, it's not really there. His words and his actions make this quite easy to see that he feels this way.
The idea of using Spoons to represent energy was formed to explain this situation to others of this mind set, or just to those in general who might not understand.
Now to get back on track!
So, Christine was at lunch with her friend, and her friend asked her what it was like to be sick in the way that she was. She tried the usual ways of explaining it, and she just didn't seem to get it. Having gone through this myself, I can understand her frustration and her need to resort to simpler measures.
In a moment of brilliance, she started to gather up Spoons and used this as a tangible way of explaining to her friend what it's like to deal with this kind of illness. She gave her friend a certain amount of spoons, and then told her to go through her daily routine. However, each thing she did cost a spoon (energy).
This was to symbolize how those with chronic illness only have a certain amount of energy to use in a day, due to the symptoms we deal with. For myself with POTS, I get very tired and very worn out easily and have to pick and choose my battles for each day as do many others with chronic illness. Some get immense pain, some fatigue... It's merely to symbolize how long in a day you can go before you can't go anymore.
So by the end of her morning, her friend had already lost all of her spoons, which really helped to show how difficult this kind of condition is for those suffering from it.
So by the end of her morning, her friend had already lost all of her spoons, which really helped to show how difficult this kind of condition is for those suffering from it.
Here's an Example
To help explain this a bit more, I'll take you through my day today.
I woke up this morning, with less spoons (energy) than normal. I had a bad night last night, and I couldn't sleep very well. I ended up with about 6 hours of sleep, which is hard for me when I get so tired easily.
I knew that I had to baby sit today and that I'd need most of my spoons for that, but I was very tired and was worried I wouldn't have enough regardless of what I did today.
I would say for today, I had about 15 spoons compared to my usual 25.
I would say for today, I had about 15 spoons compared to my usual 25.
I got myself out of bed, which cost me one spoon, and then went to brush my teeth which cost me another spoon. After this, I took myself down the stairs (which for me, costs another spoon) to get breakfast. Thankfully, breakfast wasn't very hard, so it didn't really tire me out at all so I won't say it cost me a spoon. I just popped it into the microwave then headed back up the stairs, which in turn did make me lose another spoon.
So, with just one morning, I'd already spent 5 of my 15 spoons for the day and only had 10 spoons left for the rest of the day.
So, with just one morning, I'd already spent 5 of my 15 spoons for the day and only had 10 spoons left for the rest of the day.
Eating, however, seemed to replace one of my spoons, granting me 11 instead of 10.
Making sense?
EVERYTHING YOU DO costs you a spoon (energy). And those with chronic illness usually have less spoons (energy) than those who are very healthy.
Hopefully this made sense, and will help you understand it! I aimed this more towards those who don't understand chronic illness rather than those who do. However, if you suffer from a chronic illness and have never heard of this theory, it's a good thing to read because it's so true!
Hopefully this made sense, and will help you understand it! I aimed this more towards those who don't understand chronic illness rather than those who do. However, if you suffer from a chronic illness and have never heard of this theory, it's a good thing to read because it's so true!
That's it for tonight, and tomorrow we'll pick up on the actual day to day happenings of being a Spoonie (this is what a lot of us have started referring to those chronically ill as and I LOVE it).
So good night unto you all, let's make amends if we be friends, and Robin shall restore amends!
(hahaha, gotta love Shakespeare).
Well wishes!
Well wishes!
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