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Providing support, guidance, compassion, and encouragement for men, women, and couples.
Solutions for people who struggle with infertility or gynecological and reproductive issues.
Helen Adrienne, LCSW, BCD
420 E 64th Street,
New York, NY 10065
Phone: 212.758.0125
Fax: 212.888.2558
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Announcements
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Welcome to our Articles Section
Helen’s Published Articles for the Infertility Patient
There is nothing about the mental health aspect of gynecologic and reproductive care, whether it is infertility or anything else that is without an emotional kick. In my many years of practice since 1979, the most common response that I have observed as a therapist is relief - the relief of having landed in a place where one can express the discomfort, the panic, the worry, the confusion, the upset, the fear, the sadness, and finally feel understood.
Some people have trouble giving themselves permission to "go public" with their innermost thoughts and feelings. They do not understand that it is possible to ventilate, clarify, gain insight and feel better. Perhaps they have taken someone into their confidence and been betrayed. Perhaps there is some stigma in their family about speaking to someone instead of solving a problem on their own. Perhaps they have had a less than ideal experience in therapy. No matter what, the need to feel understood does not evaporate but for these people the therapy venue is off-limits.
These are the people who benefit most from what's called bibliotherapy. Certainly, anyone who is dealing with the emotional component of infertility would benefit by reading the articles that follow. But these articles that I have had published on the emotional aspects of infertility or gynecological and reproductive issues can be a special boon to those who feel hard-pressed to reach out for a live confident.
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Infertility is an emotional hurricane. And hurricanes wreak havoc. While it is not irrational to think and behave as if the only choice is to ride out the storm, it is not the only choice. The eye of any storm is where .....to read more click on the article title |
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Wanting a child with someone you love is the point. Getting a child with someone you love by way of the sterility of a clinic with your feet in stirrups and surrounded by strangers is about as diametrically opposed to the intent as you can get. to read more click on the title |
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To be born is to enter an evolutionary process of growth and change. We all grow in physical size and emotional capacity. We are all called upon to navigate the stages of life. |
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While tears are not the only way to neutralize our emotions, all tears help us to cleanse our systems so that our emotional responses to difficulties do not lodge in our muscles, organ systems and the aspect of our brain that we call the mind. to read more click on the article title |
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You always knew that some day you would have a family. Life went mostly as you planned it. Depending upon what aspect of the American culture you hearken from, you would have had certain expectations as to when the time would be right. The confluence of variables such as education, career path and meeting the right mate became settled and you were good to go. So you thought. Nature had another idea, and now your plan has exploded in your face. to read more click on article title |
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Infertility is an emotional disaster of earthquake proportions. It takes tremendous amounts of time, effort, and money, and drains emotional resources needed to deal with the psychic devastation caused by the realization that conception will be at best difficult and at worst impossible. to read more click on article title |
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The planet would be totally devoid of life, plant and animal, if there were not an imperative to reproduce. Some forms of life reproduce by simply splitting in half. Others rely on the wind. And some forms of reproduction are infinitely more complicated. No matter how, all forms of life reproduce on auto-pilot. Nature has her way. to read more click article title |
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Certainly the shock of the unexpected edict of infertility lands like a bomb and ushers you into a world where worry about achieving parenthood causes an upward spiral of stress with each passing month. to read more click on article title |
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If you are reading this article, you do not need to be told how devastating the diagnosis of infertility is. I’ve met a few people who had feared that they would have a difficult time conceiving. But for the most part, even if you are approaching 40, the possibility of waning or non-existent fertility is often the furthest thing from your mind. to read more click on article title |
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Infertility can be an emotional disaster. It drains people of the resources needed to handle the reality that conception is going to be a challenge – if it happens at all. This devastating reality leaves many people with feelings of anger and resentment, as well as profound feelings of grief. to read more click on article title |
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In the best of families, tensions abound at holiday time. The backdrop for get-togethers may have to do with who expects what, who can’t stand whom, whose house is center stage, whose traditions “win”, who’s impossible to buy presents for and who’s jealous of what.....to read more click on the title |
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I don’t want to buy any presents. I don’t want to go to your family. I don’t want to go to my family. I don’t want to shove myself full of fattening food when I feel like a kielbasa from these hormones. I don’t want to see my nieces and nephews. I don’t feel like setting up any tree or menorah. I don’t want to go to any parties! to read more click on article title |
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Coping can be thought of as learning to get out of your own way. We all get tossed around in life and we all form defenses which make it possible to live in our early environment. to read more click on article title |
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Infertility is stressful; the holidays are stressful. Taken together, one plus one equals way more than two. to read more click on article title |
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Certainly, infertility can be said to evoke feelings of meltdown. The diagnosis, the disruption to work, marriage and friendships, the isolation, the surgeries, the medications, the decisions, the battles with insurance companies and battles with your own emotions ... to read more click on article title |
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And as the cynical expression goes, you’re born, you grow up, you pay taxes, you reproduce, and you die. That is, everyone and everything reproduces but you. There is only one word to describe the infertility experience: agony. to read more click on article title |
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