Dr. Simone’s Mind Space

Fertility choices in urban Chinese women

Today’s episode is live from Hong Kong during an Asian research trip in reproductive health. The latest project focusses on the declining birth rate in China, despite initiating a three-child policy and governmental incentives, including monetary benefits of having multiple children.

The research project investigates urban Chinese women’s own reproductive choices and their cause. Dive in and stay tuned for more.

 

@drschwank

@unesurcent

 

Intention Setting: New years resolutions yes or no?

Different scholars and news outlets conclude differently on the matter.

 

The pro team suggests that New Years resolutions foster:

#1 – Intention

#2 – Hope and Engagement

#3 – Responsibility

 

According to Forbes, YES: “Strive to be in the minority of people who keep their New Year’s resolutions. But know even if you don’t keep every one, the act of making them and striving toward them will have positive effects for you and for others.”

Much of our success depends on the habits we form in order to push ourselves forward. 

 

Follow these 8 recommendations for creating New Year’s Resolutions you'll keep:

1. Make resolutions for areas of your life that you can be passionate or excited about. Develop resolutions that are based on your values.  

 

2. Create a positive resolution statement.  For example rather that I want to lose 10kg, reframe it as I’m going to eat healthier and exercise regularly.

 

3. Make your goals as specific as possible.  Some suggest making SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, reasonable and timely) goals.  

 

4. Don’t just state a goal, create a strategy or system to achieve your goal.  For example, if your goal is to eliminate financial debt.  Your strategy might include monitoring your spending, creating a budget, making your lunch, having a spending free day each week, paying an extra amount of money each month on your credit card etc.

 

5. Focus on the process of moving forward rather than the outcome.

 

6. Take small steps.

 

7. Avoid blaming or shaming yourself.  View mistakes, failures and setbacks as opportunities for learning and growth.

 

8. Remember, progress not perfection. Keep trying.

 

“Atomic habits” by James Clear, a more condensed way of how to maintain habits. 

 

His 4 rules of atomic habits:

 

The 1st law (Cue): Make it obvious.

 

The 2nd law (Craving): Make it attractive.

 

The 3rd law (Response): Make it easy.

 

The 4th law (Reward): Make it satisfying.

 

The contra team lead by Karen Vanscoy shares the opinion that New Years resolutions increase stress and have a negative impact on our well-being.

 

"Many if not most of us will fail to follow through with our New Year commitments within the first couple of weeks. We all see and know that from the gym and their statistics.

 

The con team suggests, that people believe that if they achieve their resolutions they’d be happy.  As such, people have a tendency toward focusing on the end result (not very mindful), as opposed to appreciating the process (mindfulness in the moment) as a result. This is why they create and can’t undue stress.  A lot of pressure unnecessary pressure." 

@optimalperformancezurich

 

Resources

 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/tracybrower/2021/12/31/4-reasons-to-make-new-years-resolutions-even-if-you-dont-keep-them/?sh=152a935066a1

 

https://hbr.org/2021/12/should-you-even-bother-with-new-years-resolutions-this-year

 

https://www.mymentalhealthsolutions.ca/blog

It’s the most wonderful time of the year

It’s the most magical time of the year. A time for family and friends, me-time often becomes a spares good. The more we anticipate and plan carefully the better. 

Book in treatments, an exercise session or even better the more the merrier! Traveling and spending extended time with family can be intense for everyone. Even if you get along very well. 

 

@drschwank

@optimalperformancezurich 

Holiday blues

Holiday ‘blues’. Stress, loneliness, grief, loss, conflict, and unrealistic expectations during the “most beautiful time of the year“.

What helps to alleviate the symptoms?

1. Create islands of me time. Be kind to yourself. Treat yourself.

2. Let go of expectations. Take a moment to feel and express gratitude. 

3. Care for others. Volunteer. Serve a holiday meal. 

4. Go on a walk in nature. Watch a holiday movie or go to a restaurant.

5. Seek help. Reach out for support.

6. Set boundaries, say no.

7. Stick and remind yourself of healthy habits.  Pay attention to nutrition, exercise and sleep to boost your resilience.

8. Practice loving people that irritate you. 

@drschwank

@optimalperformancezurich

References 

https://www.mymentalhealthsolutions.ca/blog/title/holiday-blues/id/69/

Setting the tone for the season

It’s the most wonderful time of the year. Yet only if we can truly enjoy and stand still to observe the wonders. Look at the holiday season through the eyes of a child and don’t stress. Enjoy little islands of me time. The perfect way to reset the nerves. Light a candle, head to a massage. Enjoy the tranquility of simply being in the here and now. Even if you don’t have much time at your disposal. Every me minute counts! Try to be fully one and present.

 

 

 

L

@drschwank

@unesurcent

@optimalperformancezurich

Grounded in the snow

Learning to be patient..how challenging for the mind to be stuck on ground and not able to fly. Waiting in snow chaos in Zurich. As if there’s never any snow here!! We’re seriously challenged to remain calm, when in such a special scenario. The crew and all passengers kept very quiet. Thanks to the chocolate everyone got, I assume!

 

Personally, I feel I didn’t deal well with the situation! It’s been mentally very stressful to just sit and wait, without any agenda!!

Especially, since I have specific plans for this evening and my son’s very first birthday!

 

I so wish, I’d been up earlier this morning and having had my exercise in, instead of wanting to squeeze that in too.

But that’s the typical “shoulda, woulda, coulda” attitude that doesn’t change anything, only makes one more irritated.

 

Lesson learned:

1. Do everything you want BEFORE a flight or train ride!
2. Find tranquility in a situation you can’t change!
3. Stay open-minded and curious.
4. Challenging times ask for decompression!
5. Go for some exercise to not share the negative energy elsewhere!
6. Look at the bright sides, stay positive!

 

@drschwank

@unesurcent

@optimalperformancezurich

 

Couples coping with infertility

Infertility can affect anyone. There’s no socioeconomic advantage or exception of infertility. Yet, of course depending on the medical system, it can also be a very costly experience.

 

Yet while infertility can be a major stressor on a relationship, many aspects can actually help strengthen it. The most important part of the process is, to undergo it as a team, with a united goal, to become a family, one way or another. That’s however much easier said than done. Here are some aspects to keep in mind, that can help a couple to cope with infertility.

 

1. Be a team self-blame starts when you see infertility as your own struggle.
2. Try to keep some spontaneous intimacy. “Planned sex” is unsexy.
3. Manage your stress. Seek professional help, if your stress becomes unbearable and overwhelming.   
4. Communicate honestly. Resentment and anxiety can shut down the lines of communication in a marriage or partnership.
5. Become educated. Knowledge is powerful, especially when it comes from a qualified expert.
6. Set goals and limits. Communicate honestly about your limits, and set mutual goals. You may also decide to explore alternative methods of starting a family, such as egg or sperm donation, or adoption and decide when you’ll consider such methods,

@drschwank

@unesurcent

@optimalperformancezurich

Lifestyle factors and fertility

Lifestyle choices, such as excessive alcohol consumption, smoking, obesity, and high stress levels can negatively impact fertility in men and women.

 

What can be done?

1. It’s always easier said than done!

Change is super tough!!

 

1. Ask yourself, which adjustments are feasible and sustainable.

-Less is more. If you want to change a habit, start with a small change that you can maintained over a long period of time.

-Do it as a team and support each other.

Fertility treatments are super tough. You may therefore fall back into old habits. Don’t blame each other.

-Meet each other with dignity, kindness, and respect.

 

1. Set yourself a goal, like the Everest camps.

Start with base camp one, two, etc. nobody reaches the top within one day!

 

1. Keep living!

Fertility treatments can take a longtime to succeed. Keep your daily life and especially important your social life going. It’s crustal for mental and physical well-being.

 

@drschwank

@unesurcent

@optimalperformancezurich

Hormonal imbalances affecting fertility

Hormonal problems and irregularities, such hyper and hypo thyroid activity can impact fertility, the female cycle and male sperm production and quality.

 

Common causes of hormonal imbalance that affect ovulation

Some of the most commonly diagnosed conditions and hormonal imbalances are anovulation, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and hyperprolactinemia.

These conditions often result in infrequent or absent ovulation, which complicates an individual’s or couple’s ability to become pregnant.

Symptoms of hormonal imbalance

Often times, hormonal imbalance is not diagnosed until an individual experiences infertility. Women may experience one or more of the following symptoms:

 

• Absent or irregular periods.
• Spotting between periods.
• Heavy or painful periods.
• Increased hair growth on the face, neck, chest, and back.
• Unexplained weight gain.
• Constipation and diarrhea.

Men are less likely to have a hormonal imbalance that contributes to infertility than women, but they may still experience symptoms such as:

• Erectile dysfunction.
• Low sperm count.
• Reduced body hair growth.
• Breast tenderness and overdevelopment of breast tissue.
• Thinning hair or male pattern hair loss.

 

It’s important to discuss any of the above symptoms with a reproductive endocrinologist if infertility is suspected.

 

 

 

@drschwank

@unesurcent

@optimalperformancezurich

 

Source: https://lomalindafertility.com/infertility/women/hormonal-imbalance

Unexplained infertility

No specific cause of infertility can be identified despite thorough testing and evaluation. Treatments include fertility medication, lifestyle changes, intrauterine insemination (IUI) and in vitro fertilization (IVF).

 

How many couples have unexplained infertility?

The exact rates vary because the definition of fertility testing varies. What one provider considers standard or comprehensive fertility testing may differ from other providers.

According to one source, in 10% of couples trying to conceive, fertility tests are normal and there’s no detectable cause for infertility. But another source says unexplained infertility cases are as high as 30%.

 

Is it possible to get pregnant with unexplained infertility?

Yes, it's possible to get pregnant if you're diagnosed with unexplained infertility. A study from the National Institute of Health (NIH) found that 92% of couples with unexplained infertility who had fertility treatments ultimately had a child. A diagnosis of unexplained infertility doesn't mean you have to give up your dreams of a baby.

 

Lifestyle changes

Several lifestyle factors contribute to infertility. Some things you can do to help your chances of conceiving are:

• Avoid smoking, drinking alcohol and using recreational drugs.
• Maintain a healthy weight.
• Eat a well-balanced diet.
• Try to get 30 minutes of exercise each day.
• Limit caffeine consumption.
• Reduce your stress.

@drschwank

@unesurcent

@optimalperformancezurich

 

Source: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/23187-unexplained-infertility