When you want and crave something, you work towards it. You do everything in your power to try to reach the goals and plan that you have set for yourself.
You keep telling yourself that your time will come. It’s part of your plan. But some things in life don’t come so easily. In fact, a lot of things are completely out of your control. All you can do is stay strong and remain hopeful.
Struggling with infertility can be extremely hard to manage all around. Let’s learn more about the impact of infertility on mental health.
Financial Stress
Getting pregnant is easier said than done for a lot of couples. You may have thought it would come naturally and easily for you and your partner, but that’s not always true. Trying to become a parent can be a financial burden as well. If you’re trying to get pregnant on your own, you still have to prepare, plan, and buy pregnancy tests to see if your time has come. If you’re getting additional support through a doctor, you may be paying out of pocket or the difference between your insurance for medical testing, egg retrievals, in vitro fertilization (IVF), and more.
Grief
Another challenging part about struggling with infertility is the joy of getting pregnant, followed by the loss of the pregnancy. There are unexpected obstacles and unforeseen circumstances that anyone trying to get pregnant may go through. Someone who is trying to get pregnant may be dealing with added mental health concerns like anxiety, depression, or grief after experiencing an early loss of a pregnancy through a miscarriage or stillbirth.
Relationship Struggles
If you and your partner are trying to conceive and it just isn’t happening for you, infertility has a way of affecting your and your partner’s relationship. Even though you and your partner are both there for one another, the stress and anxiety can creep into your relationship and start causing problems.
Not only are each of you probably wondering what’s wrong or when getting pregnant will happen for you, but you’re both having to attend more doctor’s appointments, spending more money on tests, and feeling the pressures of wanting to get pregnant on top of everything else that’s going on in your lives. All of this added stress can build and lead to mental health issues like anxiety, depression, and problems within your own relationship.
Withdrawing from Loved Ones
It can be hard to appear happy or content with your own life and the lives of others when you’re dealing with the burden of infertility. Hearing about another couple’s success story, pregnancy announcement, or birth may be difficult. Although you may be extremely happy for them, feeling jealousy, resentment, and pain is common.
These types of announcements could cause you to self-isolate or withdraw as a way to try to protect yourself. People struggling with infertility may also try to self-isolate due to feeling like no one understands what they’re going through.
Next Steps
There is a huge impact of infertility on mental health. Becoming a parent is challenging in itself. When infertility issues are thrown into the mix, it can become even more of a challenge. It’s important to know that even though you may feel alone during this time, infertility is a lot more common than you may think. Working with a licensed and trained mental health professional can help ease some of that stress and anxiety you’re struggling with. We’re here for you when you’re ready. Reach out to us today to learn more about how you can cope with infertility.
Click here for more information on Perinatal Mental Health.