Infertility Can Be Stressful
The stress of infertility is inescapable. No matter what you do,you cannot entirely avoid it. Although you may be aware of your stress, you probably don’t know yet how to cope with it.
When thousands of men and women were asked to rate how stressful they found the experience of infertility, women rated the stress levels much higher than men.
The study was rated in units (100 unites being the most stressful). After extensive studies it was found that women who were not currently in treatment rated the stress of infertility as 60 units. Women doing relatively low-tech inseminations rated infertility as 68 units, and those doing the most high-tech treatments rated it as 67 units. This concluded that in fact women find the experience of infertility stressful.
The stress of infertility is both long and short term. Like other long term, or chronic, stressful situations, such as poverty or cancer, there may be little you can do to change your situation. You may feel as though you are running on a treadmill and keep failing in your attempts to jump off.
Then there are short-term, or acute stresses that last from a few minutes to a few days. For example, waiting for the results of a test, receiving a bill you can’t afford to pay, getting invited to a baby shower. All are examples of short term, or acute stress.
Do men and women react differently to infertility stress than to other sources of stress? It was found that women do but men do not. Stress resulting from infertility or from other major life problems taxed women’s martial relationships, but the infertility stress was a significantly greater contributor than stress from other life problems. Not so for men. They were not immune to the effects of stress. They too experienced martial strain because of stress.The difference, however, is that fertility stress is no more disruptive than other forms of stress for men.
What about infertility was contributing to this stress? Researchers found that treatment costs were an important contributor. Having to undergo numerous tests and treatments was another important source of stress. And a concern that the couple would have to use a donor rather than their own eggs or sperm was another important source of stress.
In times of stress, so called fight or flight hormones kick in. It happened when your cave dwelling ancestors confronted a lightning storm. And it happens when you confront your pregnant sister-in-law. Eventually, the fight or flight response can exhaust you mentally and physically. It can even make you sick or more prone to physical pain. The adrenaline flowing through your body makes you tense up during an endometrial biopsy, for example.Unlike your prehistoric ancestors, however, you can acquire the knowledge to analyze, evaluate, and even challenge erroneous assumptions about your infertility. You can learn to employ a variety of adaptive techniques that can reshape your responses, low-er pain and keep your self-esteem intact.
Infertility stress affects your body by hormonal, neuromuscular and cognitive activation, which results in impairment of health and functioning. Workout techniques can reverse these effects.
Changing your thoughts to take positive action can also help tocombat infertility stress.
Beware of what you are thinking
Change your erroneous beliefs
Learn various methods and techniques to assist you, and
Carry out these skills in daily life.
