Sick in Writing
Some people in society, mainly of younger generations it seems to me, give the word “sick” a positive connotation, as in reference to something they consider to be awesome or cool. However, individuals who have chronic health conditions know that there are not many positives to being sick. For people who are not living with a sickness, it can be difficult to comprehend the powerful meaning “sick” holds for those who are sick.
In an attempt to explain what the constant struggle of being chronically sick is like, Christine Miserandino came up with what she calls the “Spoon Theory.” Christine, a Lupus patient who founded the website ButYouDontLookSick.com, relates how she helped her friend understand the meaning of “sick” to a person like herself who has a sickness. To hear the complete Spoon Theory read by Christine herself, click on the video on the top right of this page. To give a brief summary of the Spoon Theory, Christine came up with the analogy that being sick is similar to having a limited amount of spoons when her friend asked her what it is like to have Lupus. Christine gathered as many spoons as she could find and handed them to her friend, saying that those spoons represented energy. As her friend talked through her daily activities, Christine took away a spoon with each activity. Everything from getting dressed to making breakfast to driving to work requires energy, and her friend had to give up a spoon. When she ran out of spoons, she theoretically had run out of energy for that day. This was Christine’s way of showing how difficult it is for people who are “sick” to function on a daily basis (Miserandino 1-3). Healthy individuals wake up every day and have endless opportunities awaiting them, mostly unaffected by sickness. On the other hand, as the Spoon Theory illustrates, sick people often have to carefully plan out and decide what they are going to be able to accomplish each day. Being sick isn’t as simple as taking some medications and visiting the doctors occasionally; it involves a complete life upheaval and transformation. Some people, like Christine’s friend, don’t realize the extent to which sicknesses can control lives on a daily basis. It can be difficult sometimes for healthy people to understand the meaning of the word “sick” when it refers to someone who has a sickness. In this context, being sick is not a desirable or awesome thing as the word may be used to suggest in other situations. The only awesome aspect of being sick is how impressively many people, who are not in their usual states of health, are able to juggle their sicknesses with living their everyday lives.
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