Feel like you need to cry? You're not alone, by far. Coping with infertility is exceedingly difficult, with research finding that the emotional pain felt by women experiencing infertility is comparable to the emotional pain felt by women facing cancer, HIV, and chronic pain. To make things even more intense, many fertility drugs bring on mood swings, further exasperating our delicate emotional balance.
Unfortunately, we are often discouraged from acknowledging our sadness. People may insist that we look at all the blessings and goodness we have in our lives, or they may preach that if we would just "be optimistic" enough, we'd get pregnant with the snap of our fingers.
DON'T HOLD BACK THE TEARS
Putting on a false smile isn't going to create a miracle. And feeling sadness over the loss and frustration that infertility brings does not negate the goodness in our lives. You can be thankful for what you have, and still feel sadness over what you don't. These aren't contradictions.
When you need to cry, it's important to let yourself do so. Holding in sadness doesn't make it go away. Instead, it eats up the emotional energy you have to cope with and face your daily life. Tears find their way to sneak out, sometimes at the worst moments. Sometimes, sadness that is held in may present itself as anxiety or panic.
On the other hand, you don't want the sadness eating away at your life. When things are really difficult, it can help to choose a contained period of time to let the tears out. It may seem strange -- scheduling in some time to cry. But it's surprisingly effective and freeing.
Unfortunately, we are often discouraged from acknowledging our sadness. People may insist that we look at all the blessings and goodness we have in our lives, or they may preach that if we would just "be optimistic" enough, we'd get pregnant with the snap of our fingers.
DON'T HOLD BACK THE TEARS
Putting on a false smile isn't going to create a miracle. And feeling sadness over the loss and frustration that infertility brings does not negate the goodness in our lives. You can be thankful for what you have, and still feel sadness over what you don't. These aren't contradictions.
When you need to cry, it's important to let yourself do so. Holding in sadness doesn't make it go away. Instead, it eats up the emotional energy you have to cope with and face your daily life. Tears find their way to sneak out, sometimes at the worst moments. Sometimes, sadness that is held in may present itself as anxiety or panic.
On the other hand, you don't want the sadness eating away at your life. When things are really difficult, it can help to choose a contained period of time to let the tears out. It may seem strange -- scheduling in some time to cry. But it's surprisingly effective and freeing.
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