Over 3.5 million women in the UK are currently dealing with infertility & childlessness. Not only are there a range of possible causes which affect someone’s ability to get pregnant and carry a child to term, but there are also a number of ways that this may impact on someone’s emotional and physical health.
Emotional Impact
Whilst anyone dealing with infertility and the journey to motherhood may feel that their experience is unique to them, the emotions listed below below are commonly reported amongst women dealing with infertility;
Fear - this may include fear around what the future will bring, fear about any potential fertility treatment failing and fear of the IVF process itself.
Loss - this may be loss of an imagined family, loss of a ‘natural’ birth process, loss of control and potentially dealing with additional losses caused by miscarriages.
Jealousy - although jealousy usually signals what you value and what is threatened, in real-life this may manifest as difficulty being around friends or family who are pregnant or have children on their own.
Shame - infertility can lead to deep feelings of failure and guilt, with many women blaming themselves for not being able to do ‘what should come naturally’.
Isolation - society often bombards us with images of femininity closely linked with motherhood. People dealing with infertility can feel marginalised and isolated from the world.
How Counselling Can Help
Counselling can help you to give yourself permission to feel any and all of the emotions listed above. All feelings are valid and can be explored without judgement from an experienced counsellor.
Counselling can help you to understand your vulnerabilities and analyse certain situations which may be more likely to trigger some of the uncomfortable feelings you may be experiencing.
Counselling can help you to explore feelings of shame or failure and enable you to focus on aspects of your life in which you feel proud and validated.
Counselling can equip you with tools to help you to cope with feelings of anxiety or depression and cultivate more self-compassion.
Counselling can facilitate a space to help you to grieve any losses and foster qualities of resilience and meaning in your life.
Feel free to get in touch to find out if counselling can support you - whatever stage of the fertility journey you may be on.
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