the fallout .

One thing I don't think the Spoon metaphor has helped able-bodied people understand is that you can overdraw.

Generally, for most conditions, running out of spoons doesn't mean you collapse, doesn't produce an effect they can actually see. What it means is that you run on life support, quite possibly unsafely, until you get to a safe place and can stop. But you'll owe those spoons back, with interest. You'll have hurt yourself to do it.

Sometimes I hang out with a friend and they'll be like, wow, I'm really glad you had a good day. And I have to decide whether to make them feel bad by explaining that in fact they did not catch me on a good day, and tomorrow will probably be bad. I just made choices.

"Hey, y'know that anime trope where a spellcaster runs out of mana, but like his friends and family are counting on him to win or keep the shield up or whatever, so he starts to draw from his own life force? And then the battle is won and everyone's all "YAAAAAYYYY" but he just fucking... collapses and has to rest for a few days because he literally vampired himself to win? It's kinda like that."

I call it 'using dirty spoons'

Also, sometimes, the price you pay is permanent. It's possible to overdraw so much that you simply will not recover to the level you were before.

Why? The reasons will vary depending on what the chronic illness is. One relatively straightforward example: People with chronic infections (e.g., lyme disease) are prone to flares or recurrences after extreme physical stress because the infection is opportunistic — it takes advantage of reduced immune capacity caused by exhaustion.

reply by muciusscaevola:

The Unified Theory of Cutlery:

Your daily dose of cat memes

HEARTBREAKING: Poor girl has to get out of the soft warm bed even though she is so so so so comfy

cats will see you and go hmm have you had anybody rub their face all over you yet today

and not even wait for an answer

and not even wait for an answer.

Look I’m a simple woman with simple tastes. I like my villains intelligent, unhinged and obsessed with the hero to the point of homoeroticism

It was as if someone had handed me the moon, and what does one do with the moon?

What does one do with a life when one had expected to be dead?

one of my grandparents’ kittens taking a nap inside a toy truck