A couple weeks ago, one of the participants in the Mind-Body Fertility Group opened up to the group sharing that she is very tired of being told to relax and take a bath. She went on to tell the group how many baths she has taken over the last year and a half. It was funny the way she said it and all of us laughed. After we all chuckled, she became more serious, explaining the roller coaster of emotions during the two week wait and revealing a real inability to allow herself to feel excited about possibilities, especially after all her failed cycles.
We all could relate to this story.
What her story conveyed was what many individuals in this situation all suffer, that is, the experience of waiting from minute to minute until testing day, feeling like a monkey jumping back and forth between excitement to despair.
What goes through the head of most individuals in this particular situation.
Any or all of the following.
Will this month will be the charm?Something feels different. Could it be? Dare I think? Does my mood actually have an impact?
On the other hand, It’s probably not. Why would it happen this month!? I really shouldn’t get so excited as I am just going to be disappointed in the end.
Does any of this seem familiar to you?
The fact is that all these emotions are part of a very normal process which is taking place, emotions that bring an acute awareness of thoughts and feelings that can help ease the impact. Just notice the polar opposite feelings and the way they make you feel. These feelings are an integral part of the process of coping with the ups and downs of trying to conceive. It is vital to get in touch with a more neutral territory that feels balanced, safe and authentic. It is possible. This can be achieved through using Mind-Body interventions.
Mind-Body interventions help harness resilience, relaxation and reduce stress. Some examples of Mind-Body interventions include, mindfulness, cognitive restructuring and autogenic relaxation. A fertility treatment protocol should always include some element of connecting to the mind and body every day. There is a sense of control when we take that “feeling of out of control” and instead channel that feeling in a positive healthy way, back towards ourselves.
Mind-Body interventions can act as an anchor, grounding us, so we can open ourselves to the journey and not be completely focused on the final destination.
Infertility can feel like the most draining and isolating experience imaginable. A Mind-Body intervention can reinvigorate, renew and restore while helping to actively regulate emotions, creating a better mindset.
Join our upcoming Mind-Body Fertility Group. Learn how to use mindfulness-based stress reduction techniques that shift the experience of your fertility journey. Each week, we spend time learning and cultivating a different Mind-Body intervention such as mindfulness meditation, cognitive restructuring, the relaxation response, fertility yoga and hypnosis.
The Mind-Body Fertility Group will empower you with concrete techniques and coping mechanisms to reimagine your own capacity to conceive. 👌
https://healinginfertility.ca/a-6-week-mind-body-fertility-support-group/
Amira is a Social Worker in Toronto, Ontario. She works with individuals and couples who are struggling with infertility. Amira facilitates the Mind-Body Fertility Group at Mt. Sinai Hospital.
She is also a mother of three miracles.
For more information,
visit www.healinginfertility.ca
and find her on Twitter and Instagram.
