A more concise version of this title would simply be mental health and spoon theory. It’s a long time since I started planning this blog post, but it’s been really fascinating to go back over my notes and actually write words. However, I do need to add a content warning for discussion of mental health and depression, and mentions of suicide. Take care of yourselves folx.
I’ll admit, I sometimes forget people don’t know what spoon theory is – in the same way I forget that someone might ask me to explain asexuality or what I mean by PIV sex. Personally, I’m amused that I know at least two of these things from Harry Potter fanfiction – along with the fact that a condom can be used while giving a blow job… which says a lot about the sex education I received. As a fangirl-turned-sex-nerd, spoon theory is one I don’t end up mentioning too often, but it’s one I’ve been thinking about a lot in the past few months.
Spoon theory is a metaphor that helps explain the struggle of chronic illness. It compares the reduced amount of energy someone who with a disability or chronic illness might have for everyday tasks and activities with spoons. Each spoon represents unit of energy, different activities require different numbers of spoons, and spoons can only be replaced though rest. The term spoons was first used by Christine Miserandino, whose essay ‘The Spoon Theory’ describes how she used the spoons from surrounding tables in a café as a visual aid to help a friend understand what having lupus felt like.
I love the idea of spoon theory. I’ve found the more I think about it, the more I relate to it. A few months ago, I couldn’t work out how to make people understand how much my depression was constantly affecting my life. I was completely exhausted. In fact, I was completely exhausted all the time. A five-hour shift at work could leave me almost too tired to speak. Cooking dinner was enough to leave me wanting a nap. I wished I’d been able to use spoon theory to describe how I felt then. Classmates, colleagues, and even doctors seemed to find it hard to understand that I simply had no energy for human interactions.
I like having the labels and the language to talk about how I feel. Trying on asexual, gay, lesbian, and bisexual were all words I played with and explored before working out that queer was the word that fits me best. Struggling with my mental health, I really wanting my doctor, my therapist, or my psychiatrist to tell me that I had depression: I needed the label so I had ‘permission’ to be ill. Words help me make sense of myself. In the last week or so, I’ve been thinking about spoon theory in a different way: to give me words to help me understand how I am, physically and mentally.
I’m definitely happier than I was a year ago, but even now I get frustrated with myself because I do still struggle with my mental health. Maybe not every day. Maybe not quite so visibly. Maybe I can’t tell you exactly when I cried because it was less than two days ago. (I still can, but it wasn’t.) Positive routines, new habits, and lots of sleep are helping me get out of bed and doing small things to change the world every day. I’m better at knowing what I need and doing that thing. I usually know when self-care needs to be chocolate and a nap, versus a shower and cooking dinner, versus getting some fresh air and doing the scary thing that is making me sick with anxiety.
The fact I am coping much better, however, means that even I sometimes forget that just because I’m functioning it doesn’t mean I’m ok. I’ll have a brilliant day, getting up early, going for a run, taking notes and participating in class, writing a blog post, and grabbing coffee with a friend… and then I crash and fail to understand why. I get confused and sad, because it’s been a good day and I should feel good, not exhausted and drained. This is I begin to apply the language of spoon theory. My depression means I often have a finite amount of energy, even when I don’t realise that.
Tiredness, lack of energy and decreased productivity are all common symptoms of depression. As exciting as my life is right now, overwhelming exhaustion will still hit me, and putting this in the context of ‘my spoons have run out’ makes me feel better about myself. I’m not lazy or broken; I have a mental illness. When I wake up in the morning, it’s ok for me to feel empty and unenthused about the day. I need to practice self-care and prioritise my to-do list, conserving my spoons for the most important tasks.
But this is where I reach a point of internal conflict: is spoon theory mine to use?
It’s a metaphor most commonly used for disability and chronic pain and illness. I have clinical depression rather than chronic depression – I think. The idea of one day no longer taking anti-depressants is a terrifying one, but one that might happen within the next five years or so. The SSRIs I take help me stay alive. I’d even say that they are the reason I am still alive today, as I have no qualms with telling people who make me defend the fact I’m on medication for my mental illness.
I definitely think spoon theory can give language to how depression affect me. If I use up my spoons on coursework, I might not have any left to write for my blog. If it’s late and I haven’t eaten dinner, thinking about my remaining spoons helps me work out if I should maybe cook but not wash the dishes that night, because making and eating the food is the important thing. If I spend time with family, I might come away feeling like crap and will need to take lots of time to rest and read and recharge. I’ve also noticed how certain interactions – like encountering sexist language or homophobic comments – can turn a relatively low-spoon activity, like watching a presentation in class or buying coffee, into one that takes a lot of spoons.
The fact it definitely works for me and helps me feel better about what I need to do to take care of myself doesn’t mean that I don’t often wonder if I should feel guilty for using spoon theory to talk about how I feel. Apparently, Christine Miserandino herself said it can be used to describe mental illness as well as well as chronic illness and disability, but I can’t find evidence of this in the sources cited. I’m very aware that people’s use or misuse of language and words used by people with mental illness can annoy and upset me. I don’t want to use language that belongs to another community and end up hurt or offend people because I’m using ‘their’ words or misusing them.
Does talking about something, especially if I acknowledge ‘this applies to me, but more so to folx with chronic illnesses and disabilities’ help remove the stigma around talking about chronic illness and mental health? Or is like so many people sticking a spoon into a tall sundae glass to taste the cool sweetness that the person who bought the ice-cream because they needed it has nothing left, meaning it didn’t have its much needed effect of helping them feel cooler?
I don’t have an answer, but I hope that terrible metaphor has in some way explained my question: can I have a taste of this ice-cream? Can I use the words created for another community to describe my own mental health?
Wow, I think I just wrote a blog post about my mental health without swearing. Now, I’m going to go and find some fucking ice-cream.
Image sourced through Pixabay.
Quinn Rhodes (he/him) is a queer, trans, disabled sex writer with vaginismus. He’s a slut and a sex nerd who writes about his adventures in trying to fuck without fucking up. Quinn can usually be found wearing stomp-on-the-patriarchy boots while falling in love every time he fucks.
And now I know about Spoon Theory. Every day’s a school day. Thanks, Q, this was enlightening.
As a person who from the outside is a spoonie through and through, for physical health conditions, I absolutely encourage it to be used by people who struggle with mental health issues. It almost especially fits for mental health in a way that it sometimes fails a little for physical conditions (for instance, I don’t have reliable spoons/energy levels, so can rest for a week and still not be guaranteed to be able to leave the house for a few hours on the 8th day). It resonates with people because it’s a good analogy, and it isn’t reclaiming words that aren’t yours to reclaim. You describe the situation perfectly, so have your ice-cream. 🙂
I liked what you said about when people say negative things it can make a small task take loads more spoons, I usually find emotional things the most exhausting.
I have cfs and bpd, but don’t ever feel any annoyance at anyone, even if their perfectly healthy, using the spoon analogy. Mostly because I’m grateful that they are. If people weren’t using it, I would never have discovered it. It’s a very useful tool for a lot of people and the more it’s discussed, the more people who can utilise it. That’s my opinion anyway 🙂
Aurora x
I think it’s perfectly okay to use spoon theory for mental illness as well as for physical stuff – after all, mental illness *is* part of the general “disability” umbrella. Even if it’s temporary. And even if you don’t have an official diagnosis (you do, but someone else reading this might not).
I don’t see how your use of the concept would take away anything from someone with a physical disability/chronic illness? Especially not since many of those also come with a side order or depression and/or anxiety (yes, hello, it me). Also, brains are still part of our bodies, and mental health issues tend to also affect the rest of these bodies (hence the lack of energy you can feel in your body after a mentally-taxing day). So the dividing line between physical and mental health is a very fuzzy blur anyway.
That said, I understand the struggle of figuring out what parts of “disability culture” to also claim as yours and which parts to leave to others (it’s a huge umbrella, after all, much like the queer one). I’ve been there, multiple times. I expect I’ll struggle again in the future.
I found it very helpful to hear from other disabled/chronically ill people that the disability community was there for me whenever I was ready to join. It made it okay for me to hang out at the edge of this community to listen and sometimes join the conversation, without having to fully “commit” to an identity as disabled before I was ready (and I’m still more comfortable with “chronically ill” these days, even though “disabled” isn’t wrong).
So just in case no one else told you (or you need to hear it one more time): You’re allowed to try things (labels, concepts) from the disability community out to see if they work for you. You’re allowed to change your mind about this, multiple times. You’re allowed to join us under the big “people who deal with chronic health stuff” umbrella and stay here as long as you feel the label applies to you. And you can also just hang out around the edge if that’s the spot you’re most comfortable in.
(And thanks for this post – I recognized a lot of your thoughts and experiences from myself.)
I had not heard of spoon theory before so thank you for wroting about it. I think that if it helps you to view things this way and therefore to manage your feelings around what you can and can’t do then it seems to be a good idea to use it. Surely no one could be angry about that. ?
“I needed the label so I had ‘permission’ to be ill” – oh, this. So much this. This was how I felt for a long time before I got the collection of diagnostic labels I now wear.
I agree with the other commentators, you should be ‘allowed’ to use spoon theory to explain the challenges your illness causes and how you adapt to them – that’s what it’s *for*. (I say ‘energy beans’ rather than spoons but the principle is the same).
It sounds to me like you have great insight into your demons and how to cope with them. Sending admiring and supportive hugs xx
As a spoonie, I have to say I admire the way you are able to spread your spoons over such a broad area of tasks and ‘responsibilities,’ you’ve chosen to take on. It’s admirable that you are able to produce such great work as well as study and just generally live. Some people don’t know how hard it can be for some of us. For myself I have few spoons currently, medication can definitely help so I’m looking getting back onto meds, maybe they also help you? Definitely there should never be a need to justify the use of a life saving tool but some people haven’t yet learned how important antidepressants and other medication is for those who need it, often it’s more a necessity than an option or really even choice its something we need to do to survive. But I really just wanted you to know I admire you and the work you do to help educate and help others understand, oh and the bits that are just for fun, equally as important. So, thank-you.