You may have seen people saying things on social media like: “I ran out of spoons.” or “Sending you extra spoons.”
And maybe you thought that this sounds strange and like some insider joke. Actually, it isn’t a joke. In fact, it’s something rather serious that’s being communicated in a joking way.
You see, spoon theory describes the realities of life for chronically ill people or people with low energy.
The whole idea goes back to Christine Miserandino who is suffering from Lupus. She coined the term “Spoon Theory” when she tried to explain to a friend how that illness affects her life.
All attempts failed, until she grabbed all spoons from their table and some from other tables (they were out for lunch), handed them to her friend and declared that the number of spoons represented the energy she has available for the entire day. And then she explained how simple, every-day tasks cost a spoon each – because they take energy, thought and planning for someone who is ill.
Her friend soon ran out of spoons, even though her hypothetical day wasn’t over yet.
And that experience brought home the fact that many people in our society need to be careful of how they spend their energy, because the supply is limited. It means they have to make choices – and sometimes that means not seeing friends or not looking their best or missing deadlines or simply not being online.
So now you know what it means when someone talks about spoons and running out of them. And please don’t judge them.
Read the original article here: The Spoon Theory
