Seconding this. It makes me fucking furious when someone without a legitimate disability uses it. And I count mental health junk and legitimate, of course, but it seems to me like a ton of people who use it on a regular basis don't even have that going on.
I count major depression for which I was hospitalized last year after what was nearly a suicide attempt and for which I am now medicated as legitimate. FYI.
However...I have seen/heard of people using "spoons" who I don't think really have a disorder, but my degree is in amateur psychology and not real psychology, so I try not to judge. *sigh*
I pretty much agree with the above comments. I wouldn't get angry hearing someone complain that they don't have the energy for something, since energy is such a precious commodity even for the perfectly healthy college student, but feeling drained is different from never having had the energy to spare in the first place. There are definitely many cases when using the spoon analogy would be inappropriate.
That said, I would get tired of hearing someone complain of lack of energy if it was clearly within their ability to make some changes that might take some stress off their shoulders. Venting to your friends when you're trying your hardest is one thing, but whining constantly and making no effort to fix anything is another matter entirely.
I first heard about the spoons concept in the context of having a finite amount of energy to deal with people. I know that there are people who don't seem to expend energy to socialize (I'm not saying that everyone can't get too tired to deal with people, but there are definitely people who don't seem to find social interaction to be a tiring experience). After I spend time with people, I need to either go rest or do something to recharge.
I'm not trying to appropriate anything. I certainly wouldn't use it as an excuse (and I'm not around to see what's currently going on or comment on it). But I think that it's a useful analogy in my own head.
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However...I have seen/heard of people using "spoons" who I don't think really have a disorder, but my degree is in amateur psychology and not real psychology, so I try not to judge. *sigh*
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That said, I would get tired of hearing someone complain of lack of energy if it was clearly within their ability to make some changes that might take some stress off their shoulders. Venting to your friends when you're trying your hardest is one thing, but whining constantly and making no effort to fix anything is another matter entirely.
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I'm not trying to appropriate anything. I certainly wouldn't use it as an excuse (and I'm not around to see what's currently going on or comment on it). But I think that it's a useful analogy in my own head.
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