According to UCLA Health, around 15 percent of all couples have trouble conceiving. Infertility is one of the main reasons behind this. It’s a difficult condition, and it can take a heavy emotional toll on those who suffer from it. For many people, the idea of starting a family is one that comes as naturally as breathing. For others, however, infertility can be devastating.
You might find yourself wondering how best to go about doing this if you’re dealing with infertility. Fortunately, there are many ways in which you can find help and comfort during your journey toward parenthood.
#1 Try Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Physician’s Weekly recently reported that cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can help you deal with food-related anxiety. However, CBT has much more to offer than just giving you relief from food anxiety. If used properly, CBT can help you deal with infertility-related anxiety and depression too.
CBT is a type of therapy that helps you change the way you think about and react to situations. It can help you learn to manage your emotions, improve your relationships, and deal with stress in healthy ways.
If you’ve been struggling with infertility for a long time or are dealing with depression as a result of it, CBT could be helpful for learning new coping skills that can help you deal better with infertility.
#2 Seek Support from Others
Infertility can be a very lonely experience, especially if you feel like you’re the only one who is going through it. The best thing you can do is find someone who understands what you are going through and has been there before.
Talk to other mothers or women in your situation; they will be able to empathize with your feelings and may have useful advice for dealing with infertility. If there isn’t anyone around for you to talk to about this subject, check out online forums where people discuss infertility issues. You’ll be surprised (and, of course, saddened) to learn how many people have had similar experiences.
BBC Science Focus recently reported that loneliness can take a heavy toll on our mental health and even lead us to believe that our existence is futile. Thus, someone dealing with infertility is probably having to go through the same feeling. Therefore, it’s vital that you never let yourself feel lonely in such a situation and always surround yourself with positive people who are close to you.
#3 Ask for Help from Friends and Family
Having a support system is one of the best things you can do to deal with infertility. Friends, family members, and even colleagues can greatly impact how you feel about your situation. They understand when you’re feeling down or bad about yourself because they’ve been there, too, even if not for the same reason.
Sometimes just talking about it with someone who cares can help get your mind off things for a while. You don’t even have to talk about your infertility if that’s not something that feels comfortable for you. Just knowing that someone else is willing to listen will help give them strength as well.
If possible, reach out to those close friends who have gone through this themselves because they’ll know exactly what it feels like and may even be able to offer advice on how they overcame their own struggles.
#4 Consider Acupuncture
Often, when a woman is suffering from infertility, she will experience stress and anxiety. Infertility is a stressful and anxiety-provoking condition. It is not only a condition that affects the person with infertility but also the partner or spouse of that person.
Many women experience depression as well when they are unable to conceive. Depression is a serious medical condition that can be treated with therapy and medication.
Acupuncture for infertility can help reduce these feelings by stimulating blood flow and the production of endorphins, hormones that act as natural painkillers and elicit feelings of well-being. Acupuncture treatment can also help improve hormone imbalances that may be contributing to infertility. In doing so, it might be able to treat infertility problems.
#5 Talk to Your Doctor
Talking to your doctor about your options will help you understand the best way to deal with infertility. You should also ask about available treatments and medications, as well as any support groups in your area.
It’s important to remember that not all doctors specialize in fertility issues and may not be able to give much advice or direction when dealing with infertility. If this is the case, consider seeing a specialist such as a reproductive endocrinologist.
#6 Make Time for Self-Care
You may be feeling a sense of helplessness and hopelessness, but take time to care for yourself.
Self-care is not selfish. It can actually help you feel better and more able to cope with infertility. It can include simple things like taking a bath or going for walks in nature, reading books outside your usual reading genre, listening to music you love, and getting the right amount of sleep.
If you are suffering from infertility, it can be a very isolating experience. However, as long as you stick to the suggestions discussed above, it’s possible to cope with infertility and even treat it to a great extent.
