The spoon theory // CRPS Talk #1

I don't look sick. If it weren't for the wheelchair, I'd look like a normal person. But, there is much more to me than meets the eye. My nervous system is out of kilter, constantly riddling my body with pain and depleting my energy stores. I can only do so much in a day before crashing completely. When you don't appear sick it can be hard to explain your fatigue to others. Some days I don't have the energy to go out with you but I'm not 'just tired' or 'being lazy'. It's much more complex than that. 'The Spoon Theory' is the best way to explain fatigue to healthy people.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is the first part in a series called CRPS Talk, a series where I explore and educate about the many complexities of CRPS and chronic illness.

The Spoon Theory was devised Christine Miserandino, a person who suffers from Lupus. She was out with her friend one day, just chatting. As the conversation progressed her friend became more curious about her sickness and asked "what does it feel like, not physically, to be sick?" How do you explain all the complexities and challenges you face everyday as a sick person, to someone who has lived a perfectly healthy life? Christine then grabbed all the spoons on the table and lay them in front of her friend, thus, the birth of The Spoon Theory.

Each spoon represents an activity you do during the day; from something seemingly simple like having a shower to something a bit more tiring like going to work. Most people start the day with an infinite number of spoons, giving you unlimited possibilities of activities for the day. Someone like me wakes up with a limited number of spoons. Consider everything you have to do in a day; getting dressed, showering, cooking, socialising and other leisurely activities, could you do all of those things with only 12 spoons? The answer to that question is probably no. I live my life much differently to how I used to. I was a healthy, active person, much like everyone else I knew but now my movements are calculated, I can't waste my spoons on things I don't need to be doing.

These days, I plan the things I need to do and things I want to do. I get the things I need to do out of the way first and if I have any spoons left, I'll do the things I want to do. Some days I barely scrape up enough energy to finish the things I have to do and other days I might get a couple of things I want to do done. Socialising and going to work are the things I find hardest to do and it really takes it out of me.

For me, personally, one of the most frustrating things about chronic illness is it's unpredictability. It's so disheartening when you have to cancel on people or can't do something you wanted to because you simply don't have the energy. With only a limited number of spoons, you can't 'just do' things.

This may make you feel like we're hard done by and the truth is life can really suck sometimes but I still strive to do the same things as any normal person. Considering every detail of daily living is difficult but it can teach you to slow down and prioritise what you really need to do. I hope this helped you better understand what life is like as a sick person, maybe now you can better emapathise with them. To see the full article that Christine wrote click on this link. She explained it perfectly and used much better words than me. It's a really great read.

Let me know what you learnt today. If you're chronically ill, how your life has changed? I'd love to hear from you.

See ya round

-Miller