{"id":1880,"date":"2015-03-24T16:16:21","date_gmt":"2015-03-24T16:16:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.santamonicafertility.hk\/?p=1880"},"modified":"2017-04-06T15:00:03","modified_gmt":"2017-04-06T15:00:03","slug":"infertility-stress-management-tips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.santamonicafertility.hk\/blog\/infertility-stress-management-tips\/","title":{"rendered":"Infertility Stress Management Tips"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignleft\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/YA7kcUhgnw8?rel=0\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>One of the most frustrating parts of coping with infertility is dealing with the\u00a0assumption of friends and family members that you are \u201cjust too stressed out about the baby thing,\u201d or that your high\u00a0stress\u00a0lifestyle is somehow contributing to infertility. \u201cMove out of the city,\u201d they say. \u201cQuit your job. Relax. Stay at home all day.\u201d These rather ludicrous suggestions stem out of the archaic belief that stress somehow causes infertility. There is currently no medical research to suggest that stress alone can cause a couple to have low fertility or impaired fertility (which is defined as a couple that has not become pregnant after having unprotected sex for 12 months or more). Couples who employ simple infertility stress management tips may experience lowered stress and higher coping than other couples.<\/p>\n<p>While the connection between stress and infertility is unproven from a medical perspective, the fact that stress and infertility are linked in common culture does show that friends and family notice you\u2019re stressed about not having a baby yet. Many couples going through the struggles of infertility are very stressed. Infertility creates a sudden interruption in your well-laid life plans. You planned to have a baby, and baby is not coming. This is going to make most people stressed. If society has an overemphasis on the role of stress in causing infertility, society also under appreciates the\u00a0amount of stress\u00a0caused by infertility.<\/p>\n<h2>Infertility and Stress: Quick Tips<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Doctors around the world agree that while\u00a0stress\u00a0is not a leading factor in infertility,\u00a0being infertile (or worrying about your childless state)\u00a0can make you very\u00a0stressed.<\/li>\n<li>Women experiencing infertility problems have the same level of depression and anxiety as do women who are undergoing treatment for cancer and heart disease.<\/li>\n<li>Women exhibit the highest symptoms of infertility stress statistically but men can also experience the same level of stress and interruption in daily activities and functioning.<\/li>\n<li>Families, friends, and healthcare providers can decrease or alleviate some of a couple\u2019s symptoms of infertility stress by providing the support needed at this time.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Not having a baby and being unable to begin or expand your family\u00a0when you choose to\u00a0can make couples very\u00a0stressed. They may fight more, argue over trivial things, or pull away from each other in their grief and disappointment. They may feel judged by family or friends. They may decide to split up. The\u00a0stress\u00a0that\u00a0couples\u00a0experience while dealing with infertility is real, and\u00a0couples\u00a0undergoing fertility treatments may benefit from\u00a0additional support of\u00a0stress\u00a0management techniques, counseling, mind and body wellness training, and therapy groups to help them through this challenging and uncertain time in their lives.<\/p>\n<p>While you are TTC (trying to conceive), many\u00a0couples\u00a0experience\u00a0a specific type of\u00a0stress\u00a0called infertility stress. Statistically women exhibit the highest symptoms of\u00a0stress\u00a0during infertility but men also exhibit many of these same symptoms, and may have them to the same level.<\/p>\n<p>FACT: According to\u00a0research studies, women who are coping with\u00a0infertility issues have equal levels of depression and anxiety as do women who are undergoing treatment for cancer, HIV-positive, and heart disease.<\/p>\n<p>If you are trying to get pregnant and have been trying for over one year, you may begin to experience a disruption in almost all aspects of your life. Infertility can affect your work, your relationship with your partner, your enjoyment in common hobbies and activities, your propensity to develop depression or anxiety, your friendships, your relationships with extended family, your religious feelings,\u00a0and many other aspects of your life. Simply going to a party or a park where families or\u00a0couples\u00a0who are expecting a baby are present can be\u00a0stressful\u00a0if you and your partner are experiencing infertility. Uncertainty or feelings of hopelessness about your fertility can have a big impact on your happiness during many stages of your life.<\/p>\n<h2>Infertility\u00a0Stress\u00a0Management\u00a0Tips from Santa Monica Fertility Clinic<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Reach out to select friends and family for support<\/li>\n<li>Individual and\u00a0couples\u00a0therapy<\/li>\n<li>Online infertility\u00a0support groups<\/li>\n<li>Mind and body wellness groups (specifically those teaching social support, cognitive restructuring, and self nurturing)<\/li>\n<li>Education about infertility (online research at reputable sites, visits to an in fertility doctor,\u00a0classes etc.)<\/li>\n<li>Improving communication within your relationship with your partner<\/li>\n<li>Journaling or blogging<\/li>\n<li>Taking time to grieve (set aside a few minutes a day so infertility\u00a0stress\u00a0does not invade every waking minute of your life)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Some experts suggest that couples who successfully face a challenge like infertility together and work through it successfully may have a stronger relationship in the long-term. Achieving any goal together with your partner nourishes your relationship, whether it\u2019s saving up for a down payment on a house, successfully conceiving a baby, or deciding to adopt. Working through infertility issues together, with love and support, can help shore up your relationship with your partner for the years ahead. It can help you build a\u00a0more stress\u00a0proof relationship, which will be needed just as much during your future child&#8217;s\u00a0terrible two&#8217;s as it is during the years you are trying to conceive.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>One of the most frustrating parts of coping with infertility is dealing with the\u00a0assumption of friends and family members that you are \u201cjust too stressed out about the baby thing,\u201d&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1883,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2657,2661],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.santamonicafertility.hk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1880"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.santamonicafertility.hk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.santamonicafertility.hk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.santamonicafertility.hk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.santamonicafertility.hk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1880"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.santamonicafertility.hk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1880\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5119,"href":"https:\/\/www.santamonicafertility.hk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1880\/revisions\/5119"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.santamonicafertility.hk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1883"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.santamonicafertility.hk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1880"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.santamonicafertility.hk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1880"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.santamonicafertility.hk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1880"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.santamonicafertility.hk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=1880"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}