In the United States, every one in two people lives with a chronic illness– something lasting. And it’s estimated that in the next 15 years, up to 171 million Americans will be affected by a chronic condition. The majority of such, are not seen.
We look healthy. We seem healthy. And it is assumed that we are.
I have more than a handful of chronic invisible illnesses, and I do it too, I figure that the people around me generally have it good, that’s not a bad thing.
One thing that many of the chronic illnesses that I have encountered have in common is fatigue. And we that endure this usually just say “I’m tired.” But this doesn’t equate to the same thing to someone who doesn’t experience fatigue. The word “tired” is usually associated with sleepiness. In this case, that isn’t it. It’s more of a worn out, out of energy feeling.
Christine Miserandino explains well, in her article “The Spoon Theory,” what it’s like living with that constant fatigue created by chronic illness.
The difficult thing is finding and creating more “spoons” (or amounts of energy) in daily life. Even without constant fatigue, we all want to be able to do more with our day. Fatigue limits more than your time, it limits how much you can do with your time altogether.
Sometimes medications can help– most of my medications simply treat symptoms, because sometimes we don’t exactly have the answers as to what causes what, much less how to treat or correct the main cause.
Often it comes down to just finding ways to make it through each day. What creates more spoons, what gets rid of existing spoons, and so on.
So here I am. I’ve decided to begin a journey to creating more spoons. I’ll be trying things from simply diet changes, to alternative medicines and treatments.
Hopefully some of my experience will help you in your journey in seeking the same thing!
Bring Your Own Spoons 