What Is a Spoonie?

You may be wondering why I named my blog Sunshine and Spoons.  I gave a brief explanation here, but decided it was time to go into a little more detail on the "spoons" part of it.

You see, I am a spoonie.


And now, you're probably really confused...

A spoonie is someone who has a chronic illness such as lupus, fibromyalgia, Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (what I have), etc.

Still confused?

Yeah, I thought so :)

The term "spoonie" comes from The Spoon Theory which was written by lupus sufferer Christine Miserandino from But You Don't Look Sick. She explained how she was eating out with a friend and was trying to answer her friend's questions about what it's like to have a chronic illness when she was suddenly inspired to grab a handful of spoons from her table and the surrounding tables as an illustration.  

She handed her friend the handful of spoons and explained that each one represented a unit of energy for the day.  Most people have an unlimited supply of spoons each day, but many who fight chronic illness have to ration theirs.  As her friend reviewed her usual daily activities,  Christine took away a spoon for each one.  By dinnertime of her theoretical day, her friend only had one spoon left in her hand, and Christine explained that she now needed to decide if she would use that spoon to cook herself dinner, clean up her house a little, or do something fun because she didn't have enough spoons to do it all.  

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What is a spoonie? http://bit.ly/2hlVD2S

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Like most spoonies, I never know how many spoons I'm going to get each day.  Some days, I have a whole handful and other days, I just get a few and have to plan my day very carefully.  Overdoing it often means borrowing spoons from the next few days which leaves me lying on the couch in pain, so fatigued that breathing feels like too much work.

Being a spoonie is hard, but you can learn to embrace your spoons and get the most out of them that you can.  Acknowledging your limitations and being purposeful with self-care is important as well.

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What is a spoonie? http://bit.ly/2hlVD2S

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Are you a spoonie or do you know one?  I'd love to hear from you!

You might also enjoy:

The Best and Worst News of My Life

It Takes a Village: When You Need Help

When You Just Want to Know Why