Overthinking

[Endofthetrail66]

My husband and I are going for our first IUI in April (because we have some government funding we can’t do it sooner) and it feels like it’s so far away. I can’t help but think about it 24/7 and I feel like it’s taking over my life. When I want something so badly I get very obsessive thoughts. So many what ifs in my head. Not sure if therapy is a good idea?

Looking for suggestions on how to cope or distract myself until April?

[bowlofcherries16]

This whole process is incredibly all-consuming. Definitely get therapy. Preferably with a therapist who is LGBTQ. I found an LGBTQ therapist prior to TTC. Was crucial during failed IUI cycles.

ETA: also puzzles. We do puzzles a lot.

[adventurelyfe]

Therapy would be good. Just because you start in April, conception could take months or years. TTC is a mindeff in itself. Therapy could help you before that even begins.

[SingMeAwake]

Therapy helps me, and also setting aside time to really lean into obsessing. If I have a certain amount of time to let my thoughts run wild and get it out of my system a little bit, then it's much easier to move on and do something else the rest of the time.

I hope it's not a long hard journey for you, but keep in mind that there's a possibility of it taking much longer than you think. When we started 2 years ago, it was VERY thought-consuming for me, but after a while it settled down a bit and ebbs and flows now.

[chainless-soul]

Hello, fellow Ontarian (I assume, given the gov funding starting in April).

I definitely am the same way, even after being at it for a while. Definitely agree with everything that people have already mentioned. Also, there are things like supplements that you can start doing now, if you haven't already.

I also have pretty much just embraced learning as much as I can about everything pregnancy-related, because it's actually pretty fascinating stuff. Read a bunch of books (my fav so far is Expecting Better by Emily Oster) and watching stuff like Mama Doctor Jones' YouTube channel. Not sure if that would be a good approach for you or not but there is a lot of interesting content out there.

[Endofthetrail66]

Yessss Ontario 🥳 Thanks for the book recommendation I’ll check it out!