What's with the spoons?

 

The idea behind spoon theory is that, people without a disability or chronic health condition wake with enough "spoons" to mange the tasks for the day. They expect to be able to attend to self care, home, work or school, and and social plans and not worry that they'll run out of energy, well before days end.  “The Spoon Theory”,  is used by many people dealing with chronic illness to explain what it means to go about life with limited energy, using “spoons” as a unit of energy.

Spoon theory originates with the personal story of Christine Miserandino.  In an attempt to help a friend better understand what living with lupus, a chronic autoimmune disease was like Mirserandino came up with spoon up with the concept.

“How do I explain every detail of every day being affected, and give the emotions a sick person goes through with clarity. I could have given up, cracked a joke like I usually do, and changed the subject, but I remember thinking if I don’t try to explain this, how could I ever expect her to understand. If I can’t explain this to my best friend, how could I explain my world to anyone else? I had to at least try.”

 Sitting in a cafe with her friend Miserandino explained how she gathered spoons and used them to represent finite units of energy. Energy, for many of us with chronic illness, is limited and depends on many factors including stress levels, how we’re sleeping, and pain. She walked her friend through the friend’s normal day, taking spoons, or energy, away from the friend as the discussion went on. By the end of the day, her friend wasn’t able to do as much as she wanted. When she realized Miserandino went through this every single day, her friend started crying. She understood, then, how precious time was for people like Miserandino, and how few “spoons” she had the luxury of spending. 

While it might not seem to have a logical connection on the surface, many in the disability community have grabbed on to the concept.  There are many spoonie communities online that share an understanding of what is is like to live outside the "norm" and it has become a term of solidarity to many.