The Faulty Battery And The Spoons

It can be difficult to describe to people how much the energy levels of a person with ME are limited, especially as the extent to which they are limited varies from day to day. Some days I can go for a long walk round a park or garden; other days I'd struggle to cross the street - and how can I tell a friend with whom I chatted for a couple of hours yesterday that I don't have the energy to speak at all today?

One friend with ME says it's like having a faulty battery: "it takes a lot to charge up, it runs down quickly, and sometimes it goes completely flat and you can't get a spark out of it". Another analogy is called The Spoon Theory. This was written by Christine Miserandino, who has Lupus, to explain her - very similar - problems with energy, but it's a perfect description of how it feels to go through the day with ME, constantly making choices about how to use that precious energy. You can read it here.