Verity Miles

Support My Walk for Mental Health Research

I am walking this October in solidarity with Australians impacted by mental illness. I am also walking to help improve my own  mental and physical health.

The last couple of years have been some of the hardest of my life. I had the decision a few years ago to try and have a baby on my own. Having a child is something that I have always wanted and I decided that this was the best way for me to try and make this dream come true. And so I started the rollercoaster that is fertility treatment.

About this time last year, I got the news that the last fertility treatment I could afford was unsuccessful. Since then, it has been rough as I have dealt with both the mental and physical impacts of those treatments.

I am sharing this as I wish that I had known of someone else who also had to make the decision to stop fertility treatment to talk to. So please reach out if you or someone you know is in this situation.
It has taken a lot for me to get to the stage where I am now doing ok and am able to talk about this. And I want to share what has really helped me through this.

1.        Psychologist – I have been seeing a psych through my work’s EAP as I have needed throughout the year and she has been amazing in supporting me and reminding me to be kind to myself and that grief takes time

2.        My amazing support system (aka family and friends) – I have incredible people around me who are there to share a laugh and make me smile, be a shoulder to cry on or just have my back in whatever way I need

3.        Taking a break when things get hard – I have had a couple of last minute holidays that have made a huge difference, one to Port Douglas when I needed to get away and one around Melbourne recently when I needed to recharge, reset and get some stuff done around my house

4.        Enjoying my hobbies – I am creative and always have a colouring page, cross stitch kit or painting on the go (or all three at once) – or my latest obsession of creating keyrings from shrink plastic

5.        Embracing new opportunities – I have been semi on the look out for new things to do this year. I have had a couple of secondments at work that have been amazing to have some new challenges and I have also started playing D&D (am now a ‘proper’ nerd) and am loving it

I hope that some of these ideas above give you an idea or some inspiration as to something you can do to help with your mental health. And remember you are not alone.