I know what you're probably thinking: "What the heck is the spoon theory? Is it about food?"
Man, I wish. How cool would that be? But no, the spoon theory is not, in fact, about food. The spoon theory is about living with a chronic illness, and it was created by Christine Miserandino. To read the entire story behind the spoon theory, check it out at The Spoon Theory.
"Chronic illness?" you might ask. "Why are you telling me about living with a chronic illness?"
Well, you lovely people, it's because I myself am living with one.
Millions of people in the US and around the world are living with at least one chronic illness. Many of these illnesses are known as an "invisible illness", because most of the time, you don't realize someone has one. On the outside, a person may look healthy, but on the inside, it can be a different story.
In short, the spoon theory relates to a person's energy, specifically a person with chronic illness. A spoon is like a measure of energy. For a healthy person, you have virtually an unlimited amount of spoons. But when you live with a chronic illness, you only have a certain number of spoons to get through the day.
Let's pretend you live with a chronic illness. You have 12 spoons to get through the day. Your day goes something like this:
Wake up, eat breakfast, and shower - 4 spoons.
School - 3 spoons.
Homework - 2 spoons. Thankfully, your teachers decided not to give you a lot tonight.
Making dinner - 1 spoon.
You now have 2 spoons left. You could go out and do something fun, but you might not have enough spoons to get home safely. You could get some cleaning or some chores done around the house, or just sit and watch some tv, then go to bed.
Now, you can always borrow spoons from the next day, but that leaves fewer spoons for you to do things tomorrow. You need to ask yourself, is it worth it to have less energy tomorrow? Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't.
That is what the spoon theory is. It's about living life with only so much energy to get through the day. And now that you know more about it, and more about life with a chronic illness, I hope you're able to better empathize with and understand the people who live with them. Chances are, you probably know someone who has a chronic illness, whether you're aware of it or not.
From personal experience, I can tell you that living with a chronic illness is not fun or easy. But when you have friends and family by your side, who are supportive and understanding of your situation, it can make your life a hell of a lot better.
