SILVER SPOONIE brooch 1 and 2 by artist Jen Raven

The Spoon Theory was written in 2003 by Christine Miserandino. This lovely creative analogy posits that people who live alongside chronic illness / chronic pain wake up in the morning with a set number of 'spoons' which represent the physical or mental energies required by our various tasks throughout the day. Simple tasks require fewer spoons. Complex tasks cost us more spoons. On days when pain or fatigue is especially high, even simple tasks can take a higher number of our spoons. This blog post became widely popular because it enabled people living with chronic illness or pain to better explain our life experiences to healthy people.

"No spoons, only fork" is a joke that grew out of The Spoon Theory. I've seen artist's representations of this joke using forks, sporks, chopsticks, or knives in memes, stickers, t-shirts, and more. (My husband bought me a "No Spoons, Only Knife" sticker which now adorns the back of my phone.) When we run low on spoons, but the day is far from over, we can become understandably crabby. Humor and analogy can go a long way toward making things easier, and every little bit helps. 

I am so grateful to Christine Miserandino for sharing her analogy with the world.

'The Spoon Theory' by Christine Miserandino is a quick and enlightening read; please make time for it!