Your body experiences many physical changes when receiving fertility treatments, which can also have a significant psychological impact. In this article, we will be taking a look at the importance of mental health during your fertility journey.
When someone decides to have in vitro fertilization (IVF) or another type of fertility therapy, they frequently prepare themselves so well for the material and monetary components of the procedure that the psychological and emotional parts can be overlooked.
It can be simple to ignore the necessity of paying attention to your mental health, but keep reading to learn why it’s crucial for your fertility journey and how to take care of yourself while going through it.
Importance Of Mental Health During Your Fertility Journey
It is frequently referred to as the “IVF roller coaster” because of the numerous highs and lows that might occasionally occur simultaneously.
You might experience stress, depression, and anxiety even if you’ve previously faced with trying, turbulent circumstances.
Furthermore, you can be required to make difficult choices that have an influence on your partner’s physical, emotional, and even moral well-being.
No matter what, maintaining good mental health is one of the most crucial things you can do as you prepare to become a parent.
It may be the first time you and your relationship have to deal with challenges at the same time, so it’s critical to create a support system that includes both you and your spouse so that you may receive the care you both require.
Following infertility treatment, it has been found that couples are better off if they have appropriate coping mechanisms and communication habits in place.
Infertility & Anxiety
Perhaps the most typical mental health issue that develops after IVF or infertility treatments is anxiety. Anxiety is characterized by an overwhelming sense of dread, but it can also take the form of constant worry, shaking or tense muscles, and restlessness.
Anxiety is a typical component of fertility treatment because waiting accounts for a sizable portion of the process.
The 10–14 day interval between embryo transfer and learning the results of a pregnancy test is frequently cited by patients as the most anxious.
Once a patient learns she is pregnant thanks to a positive pregnancy test, this anticipatory anxiety frequently goes away.
However, some individuals claim that their anxiousness persisted throughout or even after their pregnancy.
This is believed to be a result of patients remaining in a state of mind where they “don’t want to get their expectations up” after experiencing setbacks during therapy.
Finally, patients undergoing reproductive treatments like IVF may also feel anxious about their health. Many fertility treatments include new procedures and a new team of medical specialists despite being non-invasive.
Some people may feel exposed and vulnerable when they first enter this unfamiliar atmosphere. This is why it’s crucial to pick a fertility team that you feel at ease and supported with.
Infertility & Depression
Depression is another prevalent mental health disorder seen in people receiving reproductive treatment. Depression is characterized as a severe and chronic lack of mood.
Depression can also cause loss of interest, irritability, sleep problems, loss of appetite, and slower thinking or movement in addition to this melancholy.
IVF, as we already discussed, is a roller coaster of emotions.
Patients may go through numerous unsuccessful IVF cycles or have a miscarriage, which can lead to a depressed episode.
This could be a result of your imagined family dying, which would cause you to grieve and sorrow.
The probability of depressive episodes increases the longer treatment goes on as well. In fact, these lows and depression periods are among the most frequent reasons patients give for giving up on IVF, often even more so than the cost or the impact on their health.
Self-Care During Fertility Treatment
Self-care can be a generalized concept that mostly refers to face masks and bubble baths. To better understand self-care, we find it useful to divide it into the categories of self-care and self-soothing.
In times of sorrow, self-soothing activities offer consolation and diversion. Here, taking bubble baths and similar activities can be combined with other pastimes like watching your favorite TV show or spending time in nature.
Activities that help us calm down on our own are essential to keeping our wellbeing. They are, nevertheless, overrepresented in what we often consider to be self-care.
Contrarily, self-care activities are ones that take care of your present and future selves’ health and wellbeing. This includes things like eating healthily, exercising, and managing your money responsibly. Sometimes, taking care of oneself is tedious and the last thing you want to do when you’re under pressure.
But in the end, these pursuits will ground you and support your own development.
Activities for both self-care and self-soothing can surely cross over. Additionally, they might vary greatly from one person to the next.
It might be quite beneficial to spend some time figuring out what activities you need to perform and like doing fit under the self-soothing and self-care categories.
Then, when you experience difficult moments, you’ll already be aware of the kind of actions you should do to safeguard and enhance your mental health.
We are here to partner with you on your journey to parenthood.
Omega Golden Fertility is a specialized, premium, and assisted conception center in Nigeria. At Omega, the best of science, technology, and the highest ethical practices are combined to deliver real value to our numerous clients. We consider ourselves as the last frontier in the assisted reproduction industry. With state of art facilities, highly trained specialists, and a culture of excellence, omega is poised to bring her clients a lasting smile. Wouldn’t you rather talk to us? Help is just a click away.
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