The Spoon Theory & Chronic Pain

I shared the spoon theory in my last post here.

I’m sure you noticed that the girl in the story has the medical condition Lupus. While obviously not the same medical condition a lot of what she says – No, most – No, all of what she said still applies to anyone with a chronic medical condition.

With fibromyalgia and my other chronic pain conditions I also deal with the daily grind of the limits put on me by my medical conditions. Like Christine, the author, I have a limited amount of energy that I can use each day. Some days I start with more energy, more spoons. Some days I start with less energy, less spoons.

I hope this gives you a new understanding about what it is like to live with chronic pain and chronic illnesses like ours.

My next post is about The Matchbox Theory which I think is actually a little more apt.

The Spoon Theory

by Christine Miserandino.

My best friend and I were in the diner, talking. As usual, it was very late and we were eating French fries with gravy. Like normal girls our age, we spent a lot of time in the diner while in college, and most of the time we spent talking about boys, music or trivial things, that seemed very important at the time. We never got serious about anything in particular and spent most of our time laughing.

As I went to take some of my medicine with a snack as I usually did, she watched me with an awkward kind of stare, instead of continuing the conversation. She then asked me out of the blue what it felt like to have Lupus and be sick. I was shocked not only because she asked the random question, but also because I assumed she knew all there was to know about Lupus. She came to doctors with me, she saw me walk with a cane, and throw up in the bathroom. She had seen me cry in pain, what else was there to know?

I started to ramble on about pills, and aches and pains, but she kept pursuing, and didn’t seem satisfied with my answers. I was a little surprised as being my roommate in college and friend for years; I thought she already knew the medical definition of Lupus. Then she looked at me with a face every sick person knows well, the face of pure curiosity about something no one healthy can truly understand. She asked what it felt like, not physically, but what it felt like to be me, to be sick.

As I tried to gain my composure, I glanced around the table for help or guidance, or at least stall for time to think. I was trying to find the right words. How do I answer a question I never was able to answer for myself? How do I explain every detail of every day being effected, 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.

At that moment, the spoon theory was born. Read More.

Here is a link to the pdf.

More about the spoon theory in my next post

The Spoon Theory

The Spoon Theory is a document written by Christine Miserandino. It is based on a conversation with a friend of hers who was trying to understand her chronic invisible illness. In Christine’s case, she has Lupus.

So, Christine tried to explain how her health limits her, but was having problems. She was at a diner eating some french fries, so she came up with equating a spoon to a unit of energy. For example 1 spoon for brushing your teeth, 2 spoons for taking out the trash, 3 spoons for a shower, 4 spoons to make dinner, etc.. We, with chronic health issues have a limited number of “spoons” or energy and when it’s gone it’s gone.

Check out this document because it is a very relatable way of explaining to most about chronic illness.. I’m not just talking Lupus, but other invisible medical conditions including Fibromyalgia, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, Cystic Fibrosis, ME/CFS,

BYDLS-TheSpoonTheoryDownload

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