Come Together Right Now Over Me: Finding Your Support Group
In 1986, social psychologists McMillan and Chavis formally defined a “sense of community.” They wrote:
“Sense of community is a feeling that members have of belonging, a feeling that members matter to one another and to the group, and a shared faith that members’ needs will be met through their commitment to be together.” (McMillan, 1976. As cited in McMillan and Chavis, 1986, pg 9).
Dealing with infertility can be isolating. Emotions run high as frustration and grief intertwine. Discussing infertility is still bound up in social stigmas.
And since its commonplace these days to look at the world through the rose colored glasses of social media, we often push our emotions down, put on a brave face and act as if everything is A-OK (insert the thumbs up emoji!)
But emotional isolation can be hugely damaging. It is so important to find a community that listens to your story, understands your needs, and supports your efforts to build a family.
Luckily there are so many great support groups and bloggers speaking up, talking about the realities of their fertility journey, and validating the emotional response to the crisis of infertility.
There is one vlogger (video blogger) in particular that has such a powerful message, I felt I that I had to highlight her specifically. Her name is Carissa Barzee and each video is about her and her husband’s infertility, pregnancy, and miscarriage journey. The posts are emotional, funny, hopeful and hugely genuine. She exposes the taboo. Its unfortunate that so many of us feel like we have to hide our grief. Like Carissa, lets stop hiding and start talking.https://www.youtube.com/embed/sqMs2cwJ0Ag?autoplay=0&mute=0&controls=1&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.aphroditefertility.com&playsinline=1&showinfo=0&rel=0&iv_load_policy=3&modestbranding=1&enablejsapi=1&widgetid=3You can follow Carissa and Brian on their YouTube channel or Instagram account.
Below I’ve listed other great support groups to click through. Don’t try to battle through this alone. Go in search of a community to lean on.
Support Groups, Blogs and Communities:
General Infertility Support:
RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association
Infertility Meetup
Beat Infertility Podcast
Miscarriage:
The Ferguson’s Vlog: Men and miscarriage
Share
Carissa Barzee
PCOS:
The PCOS Diva
PCOS Challenge
Endometriosis:
Endometriosis Research Center
Endometriosis Foundation of America
References:
McMillan, D.W. & Chavis, D.M. (1986). Sense of community: a definition and theory. Journal of Community Psychology.
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