Article in Parent24

This is such a ridiculous article. It actually says that infertiles patients should go for mental health screening. They are not sure whether depression and anxiety are the underlying cause of infertility or perhaps a symptom of not being able to conceive???? Im really not sure who wrote this rubbish but is “smacks” of someone who just has no frigging clue.

A new study suggests infertile couples suffer from more mental disorders than their fertile counterparts.

Depression, anxiety and certain other mental health conditions are more common among infertile couples than those who are able to conceive on their own, a small study suggests.

The findings, say researchers, imply that routine mental health screening could benefit patients being treated for infertility.

While most of the 81 infertile couples in the study did not suffer from any of the psychiatric conditions the researchers assessed, they did have higher rates of certain disorders when compared with 70 fertile couples.

The biggest difference, the researchers found, was in the diagnosis of “adjustment disorder,” particularly among women. Adjustment disorder refers to symptoms of depression and anxiety in response to an identifiable cause – which, in these cases, was most likely patients’ infertility.

Among infertile women, 28% had an adjustment disorder marked by depression and anxiety, versus 3% of fertile women.

In addition, 18% of infertile women currently had binge-eating disorder, whereas none of their fertile counterparts did, according to the researchers, led by Dr. Chiara Sbaragli of the University of Siena School of Medicine in Italy.

Among men, there was evidence that infertility patients had higher rates of “subclinical” obsessive-compulsive disorder and social phobia – meaning signs and symptoms of these anxiety disorders were there, but not significant enough for a diagnosis.

According to the researchers, it’s not possible to say whether these mental health problems were the result of – or possibly a contributing factor to – patients’ infertility.

In the case of adjustment disorders, Sbaragli and her colleagues note, it’s likely that patients’ symptoms were a response to their fertility problems. However, they add, such symptoms could potentially make it harder for patients to recover from infertility; the effects of depression and anxiety on the nervous system, for instance, could in turn affect their reproductive function.

If larger studies confirm these findings, the researchers say, doctors may want to start routinely screening infertility patients for depression, anxiety disorders and eating disorders, and refer them for help when necessary.

“Personal Insight”

So I did one of those “personal insight” questionnaires for work. My manager wants to learn how to manage us (ja whatever).

 

The summary is as follows (taken straight from the report, except obviously whats written in blue):

 

Stress Tolerance

“Dee” recognizes that there is much room for improvement in handling stressful situations. Her attempts to deal with stress are usually associated with experiences of anxiety and nervousness (wouldn’t you be fucking anxious and nervous in an IVF 2ww). There is a marked need to develop better coping skills (ja, its called anti-depressants). The 15FQ+ indicates that “Dee” is currently experiencing extremely high levels of anxiety and has difficulty coping with emotionally grueling situations. (where is my AF/Please stay away/how many follies/whats my E2 level/sperm analysis results/AMH/FSH/waking up at 4:30am to be at VL for a scan to be back at work by 8:30am/Whos pregnant now/PCOS/varicocele/hydrocele/doctors/scans/blood tests/ZIFT/ICSI/when should I test/why the bloody hell am I so useless????? EMOTIONALLY GRUELING YOU SAY???????)

 

Impulse Control

“Dee” might experience occasional or frequent difficulties in resisting or delaying impulses, drives, and temptations to act (where’s the wine and ciggies – Ive had a bad day). There is a need for the recognition for better anger management as an important step toward improvement.

 

MAIN CHARACTERISTICS THAT COULD HINDER PERFORMANCE

 

·          May seem somewhat forceful and inattentive to the needs of others in achieving her objectives. Ja especially pregnant managers

·          May lack self-confidence and be prone to feelings of self-doubt. Will I ever be a mother? Why me?

·          May be seen as tense, forceful and somewhat confrontational. I fucking hate my ovaries

·          At times she may need to work hard to control feelings of irritation or annoyance. Fertile people sitting next to me tend to do this to me.

·          Believing there is one right way to do everything, she may be disinclined to compromise her standards. Damn straight bitch.

·          May tend to have difficulty in maintaining her composure under pressure. Ie Garden Services incident

·          May have difficulty delegating work to others, tending to take on too much herself. Type A personality – Time Urgent Perfectionist DELUXE

·          May at times need to work hard to control feelings of anger or resentment. Why the fuck aren’t I pregnant?