The Spoon Theory

I had a really rubbish evening yesterday, I had the worst headache I've ever had that I just couldn't shift, which meant I was even more tired than usual and couldn't enjoy the family barbecue properly. I ate my burger and went to bed - luckily it was a good burger!

I did manage a picture with my brothers, though I look quite ill!

Anyway, I'm having a much better day today, have spent the day in bed but have been doing some knitting which I haven't done in a while (as I was saying before, I have new ways of having fun). AND on the plus side, my headache is gone!

I said the other day I would write about the spoon theory, which sums up my life really really well. So here goes....

Basically every day, we are given a certain amount of spoons. We use them to do every day things such as shower, work, socialise etc. but once they are have run out, all we can do is rest. A healthy person has an unlimited amount of spoons, so they can be spontaneous with their plans and do not have to worry so much about running out of energy. This is what I meant by needing to plan everything and have a routine. Some days I can do more than other days and usually this is because I have overdone it and 'borrowed' spoons from the next day.

This might not make much sense so I have written an example of my typical working day, imagining I have 12 spoons.

6:00 - get up and get ready for work (-1 spoon)
7:00-7:30 - drive to work (-1 spoon)
7:30-4:30 - work (-7 spoons)
4:30-5:15 - drive home (-1 spoons)
5:15-7:00pm - REST
7:00pm - make dinner/clear up/make lunch/shower (-2 spoons)
8:00pm onwards... RUN OUT OF SPOONS.

By 7:30/8:00pm on a usual day, I am out of spoons/energy and therefore do nothing apart from rest and sleep. Unfortunately we do not get spoons back just by resting.

Using this theory, it helps me to understand why I am only just recovering from my night out which was 9 days ago. I used probably nearly a weeks worth of spoons in one night. I don't regret it in the slightest as I had such a good night and it was fun acting my age again for once! Therefore, I've probably had 2/3 spoons to use each day, which have run out by lunchtime.

I don't mind having to plan my life this way, I like having routines and I'm getting used to knowing my limitations and how long things will take me to recover from. I hope this helps people understand that if I say no to plans, it's not because I don't want to come, it's simply because I don't have the recovery time.

I'm still keeping positive and enjoying my time off work! xxxx