Presenting... The Spoon Theory
Apr. 21st, 2009 11:16 am![[personal profile]](http://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kerravonsenLooking at the Dreamwidth jargon page, I found out why a number of people on Dreamwidth were referring to "spoons". The Spoon Theory (originally from www.butyoudontlooksick.com) explains, with spoons as a metaphor, what it's like living with a chronic illness. Go, read, and be enlightened.
I am very fortunate with my own chronic illness; the treatment is good enough that most days I have more than enough spoons, enough to get through daily tasks and have fun on top of that. It's good. But I still have fewer spoons than I had when I was young and healthy. I've learned the hard way that doing too much can lead to crashing and burning, to things like colds, and a cold incapacitates me more and longer than with other people (since my chronic illness is related to my breathing). I dread getting a cold - in terms of the Spoon Theory, getting a cold not only takes away half my spoons, but it also halves the rate at which I get replacement spoons. And it isn't just colds; some days I simply, randomly, wake up without enough spoons to get through a "normal" day. But less often than I used to. Because I've changed my lifestyle, cut down on my working hours so I can ration my spoons a bit more easily.
But I am much better off than other people I know with chronic illnesses, whether that be the one with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, or the one with Fibromyalgia, or the one with... etc.
Testing out the Dreamwidth cross-posting facility.
I am very fortunate with my own chronic illness; the treatment is good enough that most days I have more than enough spoons, enough to get through daily tasks and have fun on top of that. It's good. But I still have fewer spoons than I had when I was young and healthy. I've learned the hard way that doing too much can lead to crashing and burning, to things like colds, and a cold incapacitates me more and longer than with other people (since my chronic illness is related to my breathing). I dread getting a cold - in terms of the Spoon Theory, getting a cold not only takes away half my spoons, but it also halves the rate at which I get replacement spoons. And it isn't just colds; some days I simply, randomly, wake up without enough spoons to get through a "normal" day. But less often than I used to. Because I've changed my lifestyle, cut down on my working hours so I can ration my spoons a bit more easily.
But I am much better off than other people I know with chronic illnesses, whether that be the one with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, or the one with Fibromyalgia, or the one with... etc.
Testing out the Dreamwidth cross-posting facility.
