The Spoon Theory

MAY IS LUPUS AWARENESS MONTH

LUPUS is a mysterious disease, and in a ways, at least to me - a fascinating one. it amazes me that one can be sick, truly sick with multiple issues, even organ failure, but still look relatively 'ok'. which is one of the reasons why LUPUS is so often missed, or caught years after initial symptoms appear.

again, it's a mysterious disease, an unknown is what we're dealing with - you never know how you're going to feel from day to day, sometimes, hour to hour. it's already hard to function when you're sick, especially when dealing with an unknown, a wild card like LUPUS, but so many of us LUPUS Warriors do. we work, attend school, and we try hard to have social lives, but often, we have just enough energy to make it through the basics - work and school - with little to no energy left for friends, extra curricular activities, and many times even family.

that's why we LUPUS Warriors must be selective when managing our time and commitments. each activity, no matter how big or small, takes alot out of us - getting dressed, taking a shower, sweeping, vaccuming, combing my daughters hair, going on a school field trip with her or one of her track meets, talking to clients,  spending a few hours at the office, meeting a friend for tea, scrapbooking or crafting. you'd be surprised at the amount of seemingly innocuous, meaningless decisions and preparations that must be made just to get through the day. so yes, "selective" is the key word.

there's an interesting way of explaining the whole process many of us LUPUS Warriors must go through day to day to get through the day. it's called the SPOON THEORY created by Christine Miserandino around 2003. it speaks of how at the beginning of each day you start out with a certain number of spoons, and each activity, no matter how small or large, 'costs' a certain number of spoons. cleaning the house may cost 4 spoons whereas laundry may cost 2, and maybe you started out the day with 10. some days you may be able to 'bank' or save some spoons by just not doing anything. but that would probably be able to happen if you're weren't having a 'flare', which is when you are truly feeling horrible, achy, swollen joints (hands, fingers, knees, etc.), or maybe having seizures (like me).

it's a very insightful look into how us LUPUS Warriors have to make decisions and choices about our day, so if you do know someone that has LUPUS, please check out the SPOON THEORY today, it will offer a better understanding.

be well my friends,
angela :)