Pathways to Pregnancy. Mary Wong

consult your doctor about the impacts on your mental and physical health. Whether you decide to wean yourself off medication (the only safe way to go off antidepressants), or you are trying to manage the stress and anxiety every woman feels when dealing with fertility challenges, there are things you can do to avoid panic, anxiety, and depression.

       It can’t be stressed enough

      Based on my own experiences and those of the women and men I work with, dealing with the emotional and physical challenges of infertility on top of the ongoing stress of daily life can be difficult. For couples undergoing treatment at a fertility clinic, the drugs, daily appointments, and financial commitment add exponentially to the physical, emotional, and psychological burden.

      One study showed that the stress women experience when trying to conceive is comparable to that of someone facing a life-threatening condition such as cancer.² Such stress triggers our bodies’ fight-or-flight response. This instinctive reaction, which evolved millions of years ago to help us protect ourselves from perceived threats, diverts energy and blood flow to the heart, brain, and limbs so we can run away.