Spoonies Unite! Guest Episode with Renee Arenburg from @no.spoons.society

TW: This episode speaks about mental health, including anxiety and depression. Please take care while listening.

 

In this week’s episode, Amanda and Veronica are joined by Renee Arenburg from @no.spoons.society. A fellow endometriosis sufferer, Renee started her social media page to find and create community and education online. The three talk about her endo story, and how aging and receiving a diagnosis was a silver lining, leading to the creation of her page. Renee shares about her struggles with anxiety and depression, possible ADHD, chronic burnout, and gaslighting herself for years, and how her diagnosis of endometriosis helped her seek out therapy and learn that leaning into the little joys is a key to life. Veronica and Amanda ask Renee wtf a spoon is, and she explains some of the history of the term. The three then discuss the various girlboss words given to chronic illness, and why they don’t find little joys in them. Renee shares about why she started her social media page, and how despite the positives to the online community, there is a dark side to social media too. They talk about misinformation online, the cancel culture that's rampant in the online endo world, and how toxic positivity trumps all for the most annoying part of it all. Renee shares some of the educational resources she has on her page, and how she strives to create a space with balance of the rainbows and dark clouds of having a chronic illness. Veronica and Amanda play a classic Would You Rather game with Renee, social media edition. 

 

Renee Arenburg created her social media page, No Spoons Society, after 20 years of feeling like hot garbage. No Spoons Society was started with community in mind. She wanted to connect with others who understood her journey, as well as offering support and resources to those experiencing the same, or just starting on their own long journey. Turning to community has been her saving grace in all of this, and has connected her with so many lovely people. We vent, we learn together, we lift each other up, we grow together.

You can follow Renee on social media @no.spoons.society 

If you or someone you know is in immediate crisis or has suicide-related concerns, know there is support. You can call 1-833-456-4566 toll free. If you are in Quebec, you can call 1-866-277-3553, 24/7. You can also visit www.talksuicide.ca