It might not be startling to learn that infertility can lead to depression. In fact, infertility and depression often go hand-in-hand. What you might not know is that people who experience depression are more likely to have fertility problems.
You may also be interested to learn that depression during pregnancy and after pregnancy (postpartum depression) is more common in women who have struggled with trying to conceive. Just because depression is common among the fertility challenged, however, doesn’t mean that it should be ignored or allowed to go untreated.
When dealing with infertility issues, it is completely normal to feel sadness. The blues may come when your period arrives, when a fertility test comes back with negative results, when treatments fail, or especially when you are initially diagnosed with infertility. You may also experience heartache when reminded of your fertility struggles, such as when a friend announces that she is pregnant, when you are invited to a baby shower or even when your beloved sister gives birth.
One difference between sadness and depression is sadness lifts after some time, while depression lingers. Depression typically involves other symptoms and gravely interferes with your life. How serious the depression is depends on how much it impacts your day-to-day life.
The following are some red flag indications of depression:
- Feelings of helplessness and hopelessness
- Frequent crying or tearing up
- Sadness that lasts for weeks or months
- Frequently irritated or intolerant of others around you, specifically people who you used to enjoy being around
- Struggling with feeling pleasure in life, including a low interest in sex
- Lack of motivation, struggling to get work done at the office or around the home
- Difficulty sleeping, either sleeping too much or insomnia
- Difficulty with eating, either overeating or experiencing low appetite
- Frequent feelings of anxiety or worry
- Thoughts of dying, self-harm, or suicide (if you’re considering taking your own life, be sure to get help immediately)
Even if what you are experiencing seems like “just the blues,” rather than full blown depression, don’t let that stop you from seeking help. Many things that provide help or relief for those suffering with depression, like support groups, professional counseling, and mind-body therapies, can also help with the infertility blues.
Infertility is a very stressful condition, having an incredible impact on your sex life, your relationship, your sense of self-worth, and in your day-to-day living. In the midst of testing and treatments, infertility seems like it becomes your entire life. All of this stress can certainly contribute to the development of depression.
Depression is more common for those who are challenged by fertility issues, especially for those who have a family history of depression, those who have experienced depression before their fertility struggles, or for those who do not have a support network. Infertility frequently causes feelings of shame, which may make it much more challenging to bring up your feelings or experiences about your struggles to family and friends. Feeling isolated makes depression more likely to develop.
Be sure to mention to your doctors if you’re experiencing feelings of a low mood, sadness, or depression. That information may help them diagnose your infertility and manage your overall care. There are some specific hormonal imbalances that can cause infertility; these same imbalances may also contribute to mood swings and vulnerability to depression.
It is important to realize that depression may lead to lifestyle habits that can negatively impact your fertility. For example, depression often causes lack of appetite or overeating; being overweight or underweight can cause infertility. People who are depressed are more likely to drink or smoke, which can also hurt your fertility.
If not getting pregnant is contributing to depression, it seems totally logical to think that achieving pregnancy will cure depression. This isn’t always the case. Those who have experienced infertility are often more likely to feel depression during pregnancy and they are at an increased risk for postpartum depression.
Not achieving pregnancy, or failing to have children through adoption or other means, does not mean you will feel depressed forever. Most people find happiness in life again, although it may take a little while. If depression has taken hold however, it is does not usually get resolved on its own. Researchers have found that when IVF fails, some couples continue to grieve for up to three years or more. Post-infertility counseling helps many people get through the grieving process so you can move forward with your life.
Some couples put off getting treatment for depression, believing that antidepressants can’t be taken when trying to conceive. It is true that some antidepressants may negatively impact fertility, but there are a few drugs that do not have a negative impact. The good news is that some studies have found that treating depression with counseling and antidepressants together increased pregnancy success.
For milder depression, antidepressant medications are not the only treatment option available. Depression can also be treated with support groups, talk therapy, and a variety of mind-body therapies.
If you’re experiencing depression while experiencing infertility, be sure to speak to your doctor. There are many fertility clinics that offer counseling or support groups. Your reproductive specialist may also be able to adjust your fertility medications, prescribing medicines that are less likely to impact your mood. If medication for depression is needed, your reproductive specialist and psychiatrist should ideally work together to help you decide the safest and most effective treatments for your condition while you try to conceive.
The reproductive specialists and staff at the Center of Reproductive Medicine understand that extra support is often needed when you have not been successful in your attempts to conceive. At CORM, our professional staff is committed to providing the highest quality reproductive medicine, while ensuring that the best care possible is given to every patient/couple undergoing fertility treatment.