Beliefs can affect your biology

For couples coming for hypnotherapy for fertility we begin by changing certain words such as “infertility” to “fertility”. The unconscious mind is literal and you are the sum total of all that you repeat to yourself in the privacy of your own mind. It is essential you choose your thoughts carefully. When we have a thought or a feeling or an emotion then, in our brains, we make a set of chemicals known as neuropeptides.

There are receptors to these chemical messengers not only in brain cells but also in other parts of our body, for example, cells of the immune system, which protect us from cancer and infectious disease and degenerative disorders. (Pert, Candace. B ‘Neuropeptides and their receptors: A Psychosomatic Network’ Journal of Immunology 135 no2 August 1985)

In other words, you cannot have an idea or a notion, or a thought or a feeling, or a desire without your immune cells actually knowing about it. The immune cells are eavesdropping on your internal dialogue, they are literally listening to the conversation that you are having with yourself in every second of your existence. Dr Deepak Chopra, Magical Mind Magical Body.

Many couples experience great stress not only because of events happening in their life at the time, but also because of their inability to conceive. Stress causes tremendous changes in the bodies biochemistry and rhythms. It upsets the natural balance of the body.

Smile

"Even the knowledge of my own fallibility cannot keep me from making mistakes. Only when I fall do I get up again.". Vincent Van Gogh.

How hormonal responses to stress can be antagonistic to fertility

  1. The hypothalamus regulates both the stress response as well as the sex hormones. In an article written by Suzy Greaves entitled Can Hypnosis help to make you pregnant? Dr Elizabeth Muir, a clinical psychologist explains the hypothalamus is sensitive to stress and acts as a bridge between the emotional and the physical, turning emotional messages into physical responses that affect hormone levels.
  2. Adrenaline is released by the adrenal glands during times of stress. This hormone produces the fight or flight response that, in ancient times, was needed when faced with immediate danger. The same hormone actually inhibits the production of progesterone, thus impeding fertility.
  3. The hormone Prolactin, usually released to stimulate lactation in preparation for nursing a baby, also inhibits a woman’s fertility so she won’t conceive whilst nursing. During times of stress the pituitary gland emits high levels of this hormone.
  4. After prolonged stress the Sympathetic Nervous system can become hyperstimulated and send less blood to the uterus and ovaries, as the reproductive system is the most expendable, thereby impairing their optimal functioning.
The body’s priority is to keep us out of danger. Taking care of a pregnancy when ‘facing danger’ is an overwhelming strain.

References It’s Conceivable By Lynsi Eastburn. Conquering Infertility By Dr Alice Domar Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom By Dr Christiane Northrup Molecules of Emotion: Why you feel the way you feel By Candace B Pert