I used a term in a post last week that garnered some questions. Spoon theory is a model I am incredibly familiar with, but I forget that not everyone is. So, I thought I’d give the theory & it’s origins.

The term was originally coined by Christine Miserandino in response to a friend’s question about what having lupus feels like. Miserandino explained that the conversation took place dinner & she used what she had to hand in her metaphor. Hence, spoons became her unit of measurement. She asked her friend to consider that each daily activity (including the very basic, washing, dressing, eating) required a certain number of spoons (energy)to complete. Whilst a healthy person will usually have unlimited spoons, a person dealing with chronic illness or disability will have varying quantities of ‘spoons’ each day. As a result a chronically ill person must carefully calculate a day’s activities in advance in order to avoid running out of spoons before the end of the day. When a person has used all their spoons they are no longer capable of much more than resting. So, in effect, life with a chronic illness becomes a constant balancing act of tasks the must be done against spoons available to do them.

There you have it, an introduction to spoon theory. I am aware it’s not a particularly cheery topic, as a sweetner I offer you some cute pictures of my darling boy, Bronan.