Beware of how the story you’re telling yourself may affect your anxiety and fertility
Anxiety and fertility problems go hand in hand. This is not to say that if you’re anxious you’ll have fertility problems so please rest assured on that one. What I’m referring to is that anxiety and fertility can become locked together because you feel anxious that you’re not conceiving which in turn causes you to feel more anxious. The vicious circle continues and it feels hopeless when you don’t know how to break out of it.
I can’t just turn off the anxious feelings!
If it was easy to turn the feelings off then no one would ever struggle with anxiety. It can feel like it’s out of control and when it comes to conception, feel like it’s driving you further away from your desired outcome; to have a baby.
So what can I do?
Start with the story that you’re telling yourself. Remember that everything that you say to yourself is a command or suggestion. This unfortunately can result in the mind focusing on the very thing that you don’t want and move you further away from the thing that you do want.
Self-talk is important to us all and even more so when there is something so important that you’re trying to achieve. Anxiety and fertility don’t need to keep you stuck. There is a way out of it and you can take back control of your feelings.
The stories that you tell yourself are not who you are.
This is relevant whether you’re trying to conceive or not. We’re often our greatest critic and it’s so easy to go down the line of continuous negative or insulting comments that you tell yourself such as ‘I’m not good enough’, ‘I can’t have a baby’ or even ‘It’s all my fault’. Attaching your self-worth and shame to something can leave you feeling less empowered, more anxious and far removed from where you want to be.
Notice your self-talk. Turn your statements around and make them sound more positive. So, for the above statements, change to ‘I AM good enough’, ‘there’s every reason to think that I can have a baby’ and ‘I am doing everything I can to help me conceive’.
If you’re struggling with anxiety and it’s not related to fertility, the same rules apply. Think about your self-talk and the stories that you’re telling yourself and turn them around. You really are worth the effort.