A great way to help others understand tiredness...

...The Spoon Theory 

Anyone affected by a hidden condition or disability may well have come across the "you didn't look ill" mentality.  It can be a challenge to lead friends and family to a point where they really understand. I found The Spoon Theory to be a wonderful, easy tool to help do this. If this is a new concept to you, then I urge you to read on...

The idea was developed by Christine Miserandino, a teenage girl trying to explain to a friend how her symptoms of Lupus affect her everyday life. It's very simple....each spoon represents energy and as energy is limited, so are the number of spoons available in any one day.Every activity requires a spoon...getting up, getting dressed, eating breakfast, taking the kids to school, driving to work...you get the picture. The more demanding the activity, the more spoons required. It's a great analogy that can help others easily understand why we have to choose our activities with care, and can only participate in a limited number of these activities in any one given day. A few spoons can be taken from the next days supply, but will obviously affect the number available for tomorrows activities.We don't have the luxury of wasting spoons. 

It's worth taking the time to read her own words here. I hope she knows that she has helped an enormous amount of people articulate something that is really quite difficult to describe. A close friend gave me one of the best birthday presents last year...a very cute tin, filled with spoons. The symbolism of it caused a tear or two. So I'm a spoonie. I have limited spoons and if I spend a few on you then I've made you a priority :)