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Headspace studio. Hello, welcome back to Radio Headspace.
It's Eve here and it's Thursday.
Thank you for being here.
So recently we launched a new collection in the Headspace app that is focused on support for your fertility journey.
This is a very personal one for me because I too am on a fertility journey and I'm not going to lie, it's been really, really hard.
I know this topic might not be relevant to everyone, but in looking back on my journey to date and in speaking with friends who've also struggled, a lot more people than you think experienced challenges on the road to having a family.
The problem is it's not talked about, it's not acknowledged and that can leave those of us going through it feeling deeply isolated and alone.
I recently read that the National Institute of Health found that 25 to 60 percent of people experiencing fertility challenges report that their levels of anxiety and depression are significantly higher than those who've not had any challenges.
I can well believe it.
If that isn't enough already, there is a heap of social stigma and shame and guilt associated with fertility challenges, especially for women and this can really take a toll on your mental health and wellbeing.
It can also be an outrageously expensive process, especially if you're having to pay for treatments and medications.
I remember someone saying to me after we'd received some bad news, oh it's okay, you can just try again.
In my mind I was like, thanks that's so helpful, do you have a spare 20 grand?
I'm sharing this with you today because I want you to know that if you're going through your own challenges or have perhaps had challenges in the past, please know you're not alone.
My motivation for sharing some of my story stems from the struggles I'm going through.
If I'm feeling the way I'm feeling, I know others will be feeling it too.
Working on this collection has been one of the most challenging yet rewarding experience because it hits so close to home for me.
I wanted to have some open and honest conversations to acknowledge what some people go through on their road to having a family.
As I've talked to friends and others on this journey, I started to see some core universal themes that kept coming up for folks and for me.
Sitting with the uncertainty of it all, there can be so many what ifs on this journey and so much of the process is outside your control and for some this can take years.
How do you stay resilient and calm?
Because you're often told don't get stressed, which is about as helpful as a chocolate teapot.
This journey is equal parts physical as it is emotional.
The toll it can take on your mental health is huge.
So I created meditations and mindfulness exercises to help cultivate that resilience, that balance and ease in the mind and body, a place to acknowledge all the feelings to process and to heal.
Coping with feelings of isolation and holding space for grief and loss also came up for a lot of people.
In my experience it's all consuming.
I sort of joked with a friend the other day that it's a full -time job but I actually do have a full -time job.
It can become the only thing you think about and talk about and it can also put a big strain on your relationships.
I know I felt that.
There are also the days where you just want to hide away from the world, to process the setbacks, to heal from the losses, to not be asked.
So how's it going? A dear friend was telling me that when she had a miscarriage she was told oh don't worry this happens to everyone you can just try again.
So flippant, so casual.
She was distraught and needed time to heal from the loss.
She needed time to retrust her body, to manage the feelings of shame and guilt that flooded her.
Similarly there are so many other hidden losses that aren't really acknowledged.
Another month without a positive pregnancy test, a failed embryo transfer.
They're all losses.
They all need to be acknowledged and processed.
This is why I'm speaking out.
You look around and you see pregnant people, people with families and you think it can't hurt.
Turns out it really can be that hard.
I still have hope. Some days it's harder than others, especially when I see others getting good news.
But I have to remind myself my journey is my journey.
I hope you find the collection helpful.
It's called support for your fertility journey and you can search for it in the app and it's available for free.
Thank you for listening.
Please take care and I'll see you back here tomorrow.
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