- Joined
- Jan 8, 2018
- Messages
- 766
- Reaction score
- 28
During my TTC journey I've been tracking my temperature, taking ovulation tests, peeing on several sticks a month, dreading the 2ww, analyzing and writing down every symptom I have, journaling on forums, joining new TTC platforms, reading about what vitamins to take, buying tons of vitamins, doing lots of research every day, going to doctors appointments, trying herbs, getting labs and ultrasounds done and the list goes on. It's never ending and it's extremely tiring.
If you google TTC and stress, tons of topics pop up and the #1 thing is that stress isn't good for the mind, let alone your body. It got me thinking: am I preventing myself from getting my BFP?
When we are going through stress, our body prioritizes managing that stress. It shunts blood from our internal organs to the extremities. The FIRST place blood gets taken away from is our reproductive organs because it's the last thing our body needs to do when it's trying to save itself. In turn, we produce cortisol: our stress response. It's our built in alarm system. The more you are stressed, the more cortisol you produce. The more cortisol you have running through your veins, the less progesterone you have. Basically, cortisol impairs progesterone activity, setting the stage for estrogen dominance. If you don't have enough progesterone, your body will send signals to shed your lining and start your period. It doesn't even give your body a chance to fertilize an egg that will grow and implant in what is supposed to be a nutritious, thick lining. Also low progesterone slows the passage of the fertilized egg to the uterus. Meaning, it doesn't get there in time to implant. You have absolutely no chances at all.
So how the heck do you stop stressing? How the heck do you stop wanting something so bad?
At what point do you just throw in the towel and let it happen on it's own? The only way I see doing that is by winning the lottery, buying my own island and paying someone to pamper me everyday. Since that isn't realistic, here are some things I read about the will help bring down your stress naturally:
1. Be mindfulness. Stay in the moment. Be present in the moment of the things you are doing. Don't multitask. Try yoga, meditation, exercise, etc. When you start something, finish it before you move to the next thing.
2. Build good relationships and get rid of the one's that suck. Interact with people you love and stay away from the one's that make you upset. If it's coworkers and you can't avoid them, be respectful when they are around, but try to avoid them and keep your head in your work. Don't give them the pleasure they crave.
3. Create time for yourself. Take care of YOU. Make it non-negotiable, it has to be done every week. It's time that can't get moved. Whether it's going on a date with your husband, taking a relaxing bath, pampering yourself or going on a hike/adventure. Do something that makes you happy. I think Sunday's are great for this and should be done every week.
4. Don't try too hard. This one is an exercise that you have to train yourself to learn. It's slow learning, but we all are capable of changing this habit and creating a less stressful way of doing things. Stop googling every symptom you experience. Don't take that test at 6 DPO! Don't even take it at 14 DPO! Don't worry about it. Take the test when your next period doesn't come. Stop doing continuous research on what this means or what that means or what can help me with this. I think it's okay to learn your body and study trends. I think it's okay to take your ovulation test, track your temperature and DTD when it's time. But then let it go after that. That 2WW is the hardest and that's when you need to be practicing steps 1-3. Forget about TTC during that time. Put your energy towards you mind and your health and most importantly your relationship with your husband. If not, you are just releasing that cortisol hormone and damaging your chances of conceiving and even worse, possibly damaging your relationship with yourself and you SO.
I hope this helped somebody because it's something I'm going to start doing. It's not going to be easy, but anything worth it isn't easy. I won't be on here much anymore because it's just making me obsessed and stressed. I love you all and I really do love seeing those BFP's or just helping someone with a question they have. But I gotta put myself first. I will be back, hopefully, to share with everyone that it worked. I wish all of you so much baby dust and I hope you at least learned a little bit by this thread. Everyone has to do what works for them at the end of the day.
xoxo
If you google TTC and stress, tons of topics pop up and the #1 thing is that stress isn't good for the mind, let alone your body. It got me thinking: am I preventing myself from getting my BFP?
When we are going through stress, our body prioritizes managing that stress. It shunts blood from our internal organs to the extremities. The FIRST place blood gets taken away from is our reproductive organs because it's the last thing our body needs to do when it's trying to save itself. In turn, we produce cortisol: our stress response. It's our built in alarm system. The more you are stressed, the more cortisol you produce. The more cortisol you have running through your veins, the less progesterone you have. Basically, cortisol impairs progesterone activity, setting the stage for estrogen dominance. If you don't have enough progesterone, your body will send signals to shed your lining and start your period. It doesn't even give your body a chance to fertilize an egg that will grow and implant in what is supposed to be a nutritious, thick lining. Also low progesterone slows the passage of the fertilized egg to the uterus. Meaning, it doesn't get there in time to implant. You have absolutely no chances at all.
So how the heck do you stop stressing? How the heck do you stop wanting something so bad?
At what point do you just throw in the towel and let it happen on it's own? The only way I see doing that is by winning the lottery, buying my own island and paying someone to pamper me everyday. Since that isn't realistic, here are some things I read about the will help bring down your stress naturally:1. Be mindfulness. Stay in the moment. Be present in the moment of the things you are doing. Don't multitask. Try yoga, meditation, exercise, etc. When you start something, finish it before you move to the next thing.
2. Build good relationships and get rid of the one's that suck. Interact with people you love and stay away from the one's that make you upset. If it's coworkers and you can't avoid them, be respectful when they are around, but try to avoid them and keep your head in your work. Don't give them the pleasure they crave.
3. Create time for yourself. Take care of YOU. Make it non-negotiable, it has to be done every week. It's time that can't get moved. Whether it's going on a date with your husband, taking a relaxing bath, pampering yourself or going on a hike/adventure. Do something that makes you happy. I think Sunday's are great for this and should be done every week.
4. Don't try too hard. This one is an exercise that you have to train yourself to learn. It's slow learning, but we all are capable of changing this habit and creating a less stressful way of doing things. Stop googling every symptom you experience. Don't take that test at 6 DPO! Don't even take it at 14 DPO! Don't worry about it. Take the test when your next period doesn't come. Stop doing continuous research on what this means or what that means or what can help me with this. I think it's okay to learn your body and study trends. I think it's okay to take your ovulation test, track your temperature and DTD when it's time. But then let it go after that. That 2WW is the hardest and that's when you need to be practicing steps 1-3. Forget about TTC during that time. Put your energy towards you mind and your health and most importantly your relationship with your husband. If not, you are just releasing that cortisol hormone and damaging your chances of conceiving and even worse, possibly damaging your relationship with yourself and you SO.
I hope this helped somebody because it's something I'm going to start doing. It's not going to be easy, but anything worth it isn't easy. I won't be on here much anymore because it's just making me obsessed and stressed. I love you all and I really do love seeing those BFP's or just helping someone with a question they have. But I gotta put myself first. I will be back, hopefully, to share with everyone that it worked. I wish all of you so much baby dust and I hope you at least learned a little bit by this thread. Everyone has to do what works for them at the end of the day.
xoxo
Last edited:
