GentleWave

Infertility and Grief A little while back I wrote a blog about the stigma of infertility and my own personal journey. I have decided to re-engage this topic by discussing the grief associated with infertility as the focus. I read an article in Counseling Today (CT) magazine by Tristan D. McBain, that shared information on this unique grieving process. Because infertility can look very different in various individual experiences, it is important to remember that these are some general things to consider or think about but may not be applicable to every case. In some cases of infertility, both partners may have issues leading to inability to conceive and in some cases, only one of the partners has the issue. This can play itself out in many ways. In addition, some individuals will go through costly and exhausting medical procedures aimed at increasing the likelihood of conception. Others may begin the process of adoption. There may be others who have been able to conceive in th...

Saying “No” Means Saying “Yes” to Self-Care Recently I attended an annual convention that had a theme of self-care. When I had first heard the theme following last year’s convention, I remember thinking, “how can we do an entire convention on self-care?” I wondered how we would be able to have 30-40 sessions all on self-care that didn’t completely overlap each other. Over the course of the last year, I worked to put together my presentation for the convention. I realized that there are so many facets of self-care, especially in our field, that I hadn’t initially thought of. One of the biggest things I walked away from the convention and my own research with is that saying “no” is necessary for self-care. So often, we feel an obligation to say “yes” to the requests of others. We may feel compelled to always be ready to lend a helping hand, even when it means that our own needs fall to the wayside. This is particularly true of those in helping professions, parents, and educator...

Re-Entering the Workforce After Kids Sometimes individuals may leave the workforce to raise families. The amount of time that we may leave the workforce varies from person to person. I personally had some time “off” while having babies and raising them. In my case, it wasn’t necessarily my choice to take the time off that I did, it was due more to life circumstances (relocation, school, etc.). This may be the case for others as well. Whatever the reason, coming back to the workforce can be overwhelming and scary. This tends to increase with time away. It is important to start early. As soon as you decide or need to return to the workforce, begin preparing. You must decide if you want to do the same type of work you did before. In my case, I returned to my previous employer after my first child was born and I chose to return to school for an advanced degree after my second child was born. Social media platforms, such as LinkedIn can be helpful to get your name out there and be...