Explaining: What Is A Spoonie? What Is ‘The Spoon Theory’?

Many years back, I noticed that those with medical issues were being referred to as ‘spoonies’ or someone who was unwell saying they’ve “run out of spoons for the day”. I never understood what this meant until a few years back, so I thought maybe many of you could be clueless like me. So here’s the mystery behind the word ‘spoonie’…

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What is a Spoonie?

The term ‘Spoonie’ first came through in a 2003 essay ‘The Spoon Theory’ by Christine Miserandino. She used the concept of spoons to represent energy… so here’s the story she explained in her essay:

Christine’s friend asked her what her lupus felt like.

I’m assuming Christine and her friend were sitting in a restaurant because Christine took 12 spoons from nearby tables and handed them to her friend and asked her friend to explain the events of a regular day in which each spoon represented the energy used in that activity.

Translating to – each spoon representing a patient’s energy reserves. A spoon = units of energy.

Now for each activity, the friend had to hand over a spoon.

For example, getting out of bed, showering, getting dressed, making breakfast etc – these used up four spoons. Her friend realised that even before getting out the house, just to complete her basic activities, she had used up almost half her spoons.

Christine’s friend asked if she could get more spoons, but Christine said no and explained that a person with an illness has limited amounts of energy which can’t be replenished.

The friend realising this now believed she had to ration her spoons and use them only where necessary if she was to make it through the day.

Relevant Read:

• Spoonie Thoughts: Does Chronic Illness Change You?

So now, she may not be able to make dinner because she will need energy to eat therefore she may need to order from outside. She won’t be able to clean up the kitchen either and may find herself needing to head to bed early – all because she was running out of spoons, she was running out of her energy reserves.

By the end of this Christine’s friend was in tears realising her friend’s struggles and how tough it was for to get through each day.

She understood how planned Christine needed to be.

So what is a Spoonie?

A Spoonie is a person who is battling an illness, it can be acute, chronic or life-threatening – everyone is a spoonie with limited amounts of spoons to use each day.

Do You Always Start the Day with 12 Spoons?

No, you don’t.

You may have had terrible sleep that you wake up with most of your energy spent in tossing and turning through the night and dealing with pain that you may wake up with just four spoons (four is an example, you could wake up with more or less).

Now you have only four spoons to spend wisely.

Read Here For:

• Endometriosis and Adenomyosis Natural Pain Relief – My Journey
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• My Experience: Using Kinesiology Taping for Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (with video)

And not every activity equals the spending of one spoon.

You may feel showering took more out of you today – for example, the days I have to wash my hair, I’ve definitely spent more than one spoon. Then some mornings, preparing breakfast exhausts me more than usual, so I’ll use up two spoons there.

But How Does The Spoon Theory Help?

The Spoon Theory helps others understand where you are with your energy levels, especially with those you live with, work with – basically those you’re closest to.

It can help them know where you stand when you don’t wish to step out because “I’ve used most of my spoons for the day already”, or they’ll understand that you wish to rest more than usual before an event because you may want to “conserve your spoons”.

It’s a really nice and simple way to explain things and I feel it makes it a lot easier for everyone to be on the same page.

Also, for myself, counting my spoons helps to keep me in check when I’m suddenly over-doing it. I stop, count and realise that I need to hold back and take extra care of myself otherwise I may not have enough spoons to get through the next day or so because I’ll end up spending most of my spoons in trying to get the body to recover.

What do You do When You Run Out of Spoons?

You can’t do much – this is where your medical condition completely takes over, where you’re forced to rest.

But if you still choose to push your body, then sadly, you’re made to pay later facing the possibility of being stuck in bed longer.

Not something I would ever recommend, but sometimes it’s unavoidable too.

What do you think of The Spoon Theory? Do you use it to keep yourself (and others) in check?

Do share in the comments section below…

O’ before I sign off for the day, you may know by now that I love Instagram, so if you do too, then do follow me there, but if you prefer other social media, then I’m there too – Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook & YouTube.

Thank you 🙂

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Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional. I am a patient and have created this platform to share my experiences. This is all purely informative and in no way am I providing medical advice. Please consult a medical professional.