First of all I would like to apologize for being absent and not posting anything for the past few weeks. It has been difficult with the current situation to focus on writing.
When I look back at how this pandemic started and the impact it has had on my life, I think it equipped me in some ways to better understand what a patient with infertility goes through. I want to emphasize that these comparisons are not exactly the same and the effects of infertility could be much more severe compared to what we experienced. I don't want to downplay or take anything away from what the infertility journey entails but I think it is a good comparison for people who have difficulty understanding the emotional/mental aspect of the process.
Let's start at the beginning, it was a sudden unexpected shock for everyone when the outbreak of Covid-19 was announced and countries were placed into lock-down. For many people, their lives were changed and had to take a new course. This could be compared to when a patient is first diagnosed with infertility. Their whole life is changed and their new "normal" could be very different to what they are used to. So at this stage, we had to come up with ways to cope with the new situation just as patients have to learn to cope with their new diagnosis.
We had to put our faith into our governments and authorities to protect us and inform of us of what we should be doing. Again, this is similar to when patients have to put all of their faith and trust into their clinical team and accept the course of treatment they have been assigned. There's also the sense of isolation that couples may feel from their friends, family, and society as a whole. When we were faced with a similar situation, how did we deal with it? By reaching out to our support systems and keeping in contact with people who made us feel safe. This emphasizes the importance of being able to share these feelings with others and learning to promote a society that is understanding and willing to help each other in times of need.
For me, the main thing I had to deal with was the fear of the unknowns and "wasted time". Going through infertility is a long process in which patients have to face constant uncertainty. They have to wait for certain results and examinations which may feel like a "waste" of time. They are expected to handle all of this additional emotional burdens added to their daily life events (which could have their own challenges). Having experienced some of these emotions, it is commendable how patients are able to cope and handle these emotions. Now, it's true that there is some level of uncertainty when it comes to our daily lives but I think its safe to say that for most of us, this pandemic has been a wake up call. It taught us about uncertainty and having to deal with it in ways we did not imagine. Infertility patients (and patients suffering with other disorders/diseases) have to overcome similar situations every day.
I think there is a valuable lesson to be taken away from this, which is that people (whether going through infertility or other medical issues) have to deal with increased emotional/mental/physical challenges as well as uncertainty. Now, we only had a snippet of what some people may experience for years and even though most of us were able to handle the situation, it was definitely not easy. We can take this opportunity to become more empathetic and understanding of what patients go through. For many of us, things will eventually go back to normal and we will be able to go on with our lives as we did before the pandemic. For patients undergoing infertility treatment, this may not be the case.
Also, patients did not stop needing the care provided by their clinical teams, in fact all of the issues I mentioned above were escalated in patients because of the pandemic. As some clinics were advised to shut down, the line of communication with patients may have been broken. Imagine, the added pressure and this could have placed on patients. When is comes to clinics, it is crucial to keep an open line of communication with patients and make sure they are aware of everything that is going on. Try to explain the situation as much as possible and provide support as these times can be very frustrating. So what did I take away from all of this? I took this as an opportunity to better understand the emotional journey of patients and learn to empathize with them even more. My advice for patients would be to try to not focus on things that are out of your hands and maintain healthy support systems to help you through these tough times. As for the general public, try to remember the mental toll this pandemic had on all of us and show a little more compassion towards people who have added pressures in their lives.
If you have any comments or concerns, please feel free to message me.
