sing Spoon Theory to Explain Chronic Illness – Infographic
The daily physical pain of living with chronic illness can often be compounded by a lack of understanding from others as to how difficult you find it to complete seemingly routine tasks. While able-bodied individuals have total control over how they dress, eat and spend their free time, those with chronic illness need to plan every part of their day meticulously so that they don’t run completely out of energy before evening time.
This can seem unthinkable to people who are perfectly healthy, but it is the grim reality of everyday life for chronic illness patients everywhere. Christine Miserandino, who suffers from lupus, came up with a metaphor called the Spoon Theory to vividly communicate the daily struggles she faces. She used 12 spoons to represent her daily energy levels and these dwindled rapidly every time she ticked off activities like taking a shower or preparing breakfast.
The following infographic from Burning Nights (https://www.burningnightscrps.org/sufferers/crps-rsd-treatments/) explains more about the Spoon Theory and also gives some advice on how it can be used by chronic illness patients to help ease the burden that is placed on them by whatever condition they have.