This week consisted of my professor running across the room yelling about Frances Burney in a hoop skirt running from the King, and my professor shouting out "I'm out of spoons" when getting frustrated with people who don't exactly understand what it means to be an English major. Truthfully these events did not shock me, which in itself might be a little shocking. However, I found myself looking at my professor oddly, along with many others, at her mention of spoons. She, in turn, looked at us in an equally curious fashion and questioned, "You guys never heard of Spoon Theory?"
What the hell is Spoon Theory?
I couldn't help but chuckle to myself, not just because of the antics of my professor at 8 a.m., but because the sound of a spoon theory just seemed utterly ridiculous. And so we asked the fateful question, what is Spoon Theory. Turns out it actually makes some serious sense. Spoon Theory is an idea that is used to try and describe how some activities can be mentally or physically exhausting for people with mental disorders. Often times those without a disorder find it difficult to understand why those with a disorder find it so difficult to do things that seem normal. Let me give an example:
Imagine that you have an allotted number of spoons for the day (the spoons act like energy, both mental and physical), and for someone without a disorder it takes them one spoon to get out of bed, another to brush their teeth and shower, and another to eat breakfast before running out the door to class. But with someone who has, say, depression it could take them three spoons just to get out of bed in the morning. Already they are running out of spoons faster than someone who doesn't have to use three spoons to get out of bed.
The example that set off my professor before I finished my first cup of coffee was this: Imagine your having a conversation with someone who doesn't read very much and they as you what you have done today, as most polite people do, and you respond with "I read today". Followed immediately by their stereotypical response "Is that all?", usually accompanied by a small laugh.
Excuse me
Now, this is what frustrated me about this conversation, people do not understand how exhausting reading can be. And so here we apply Spoon Theory, reading is not a one spoon activity for most people. Especially an English major who is reading 18th Century British Literature, which by the way takes quite a few spoons. To this random person reading might consist of emails and waiting room magazine, which admittedly usually doesn't take too much effort, however that stereotypical, and frankly rude, response is one that had my professor explain to our class that just because it might take others fewer spoons to read something, or they think it is insignificant, doesn't change the fact that after reading my literature of choice...
IM STILL OUT OF SPOONS
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