Quote:
Originally Posted by Rect0pathic
Hi all,
I saw t earlier and was speaking about my infertility issue. This is a huge thing for me at the moment and a dark cloud over my head.
So, I was telling T about my feelings and she suddenly says 'Do you watch that show 10(?) kids and counting on TV?" And goes into a 5 minute rant about the family on the show and all the babies etc.
Honestly, I just wanted to get up and walk out. The pain I've cried over so much with her and all of the private emotions I've spoken to her about, all felt invalidated. This isn't the first time, she also speaks about the newborn next door.
I just wonder why she does this (see title) I don't understand why she doesn't put two and two together. I know therapy is supposed to push you but things are very difficult at the moment and T knows I don't have the strength.
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These feelings you have, about how you feel when she talks about babies, are not universally shared by those who have had trouble with infertility. I've had multiple struggles with infertility that lasted a very long time, but I didn't think that people talking to me about other people's babies and children were being insensitive. In fact, I wanted to hear about pregnancies and babies because it gave me hope that it could work out for me. And I know of other women who have struggled with infertility who were hurt because others did precisely what you think should always happen-- not talk about these things that are totally normal, and joyful. Other people's joy over their pregnancies and births and parenting has never hurt me. You are not alone in feeling this way, and it is not wrong for you to feel this way. But I do think it is wrong for you to insist that everyone in your shoes would feel this way and therefore everyone should react to you or someone with infertility problems the same way. I think you could have simply said to your T, "it's too hard for me to hear about other people's children right now, could you please stop talking about it". This would mean that you took responsibility for your own feelings and needs, rather than making it your T's responsibility to not say x, y, or z. This isn't just a fertility issue, it's any issue we have in therapy with what our T's do. We need to give them feedback about what isn't working for us, otherwise we're just shooting ourselves in the foot waiting for them to figure it out, or being angry because they can't read our minds. You can switch T's and I think it's not a bad idea to see someone who has more expertise or experience with infertility, but unless you deal directly with what does and doesn't help you rather than expecting what you want to magically appear, it might not work out any better for you.