Grief is multi-faceted and can impact every domain of functioning: emotional, physical, cognitive, interpersonal, and spiritual. Grief reactions oscillate in frequency and intensity over time and may include many conflicting experiences. The presence of a positive emotion does not mean you loved someone less. Nor does a difficult anniversary mean you have failed to heal.
For decades, researchers have worked to better understand why women are about twice as likely as men to develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). We know that differences in trauma exposure explain part of that disparity. Women are more likely to experience certain types of trauma, including sexual assault and childhood sexual abuse, both of which carry a particularly high risk for developing PTSD. But that has never been the whole story. Increasingly, researchers are asking another question: Could the natural hormonal changes women experience throughout life also influence how PTSD symptoms are experienced? While this area of research is still evolving, studies published over the past decade have begun pointing in a similar direction. From the menstrual cycle to pregnancy and the menopausal transition, researchers are finding that women’s reproductive biology may be a more important part of understanding PTSD than previously recognized.
When we think about maternal mental health, our minds often go to pregnancy and the postpartum period. Far less attention is given to what comes before - the often long, complex, and emotionally-taxing journey of infertility and fertility treatment. Host Elex Simon recently invited me to discuss this topic on the Mental Mixology podcast as part of Maternal Mental Health Awareness Month. During that conversation, I shared both my professional perspective as a psychologist and portions of my own family-building journey. While my husband and I spent 13 years navigating infertility and exploring assorted options, what stood out most to me in reflecting on that experience were not the details of our story, but the broader psychological lessons it offered.
One of the most important things a clinician can understand about working with veterans is this: the military is not just a job. It is a culture — one with its own values, language, and way of seeing the world. And that culture is worth understanding deeply, not as a barrier to overcome, but as a framework that has shaped who your client is.