Latest / Cry It Out Loud: Navigating Infertility, Miscarriage, Stillbirth, Infant Loss & Pregnancy After Loss / Taking Control!
Transcript
- 0:10Cry It out loud a podcast, by chasing the rainbows with your
- 0:18host Bernice Quisenberry. This week's podcast episode is
- 0:30called Taking Control, and it's with Bree and B.
- 0:34Hey, Bree, thanks for joining me on video.
- 0:37Of course. See you.
- 0:38You too. Yes.
- 0:40So we are here today because we are going to be discussing and
- 0:45you know, putting ourselves out there about, you know, what it
- 0:48was like after the traumas of losing our babies and then
- 0:54having to return to everyday life and how we wanted to then,
- 0:58you know, take control of different aspects of our life
- 1:01and things that I never noticed or thought that I would need to
- 1:05control or felt like I needed to have control over to basically
- 1:09give myself that Peace of Mind or, you know, to basically make
- 1:14sense of something that didn't make sense, you know, during the
- 1:17traumatic events of everything with losing Brooke, right.
- 1:20And. We had just went through, yeah,
- 1:22'cause we just went through trauma and it was completely out
- 1:26of our control. Like, every aspect of it was out
- 1:28of our control. So suddenly we find ourselves
- 1:31wanting to, like, grab on to any type of control that we can
- 1:36possibly find to give ourselves some kind of stability and not
- 1:41feel like we're spiraling. It is.
- 1:44It's that stability and grounding almost, you know, like
- 1:46taking reins and and anything that we can like you said,
- 1:49because we were so just that whirlwind like it was a a
- 1:53tornado. Spinning.
- 1:54Yeah, yeah, literally spinning out and you know, finally just
- 1:58getting some grounding. I guess that's that really is
- 2:02the best way to say it. And you're so right.
- 2:04And I think the the number one thing for me that I really
- 2:07started to realize was when I didn't have everybody in my
- 2:12family, my son and my husband, in the house with me and our
- 2:16dogs. And if somebody was out of the
- 2:18house, I felt like something bad was going to happen. 100%, yeah.
- 2:23For that's just happened to me. It's OK.
- 2:26I'm so I'm eight years out from Emma and 10 years out from
- 2:29Landon, and I went away this weekend out of town.
- 2:35I left my So my oldest went on a youth retreat with the church
- 2:40and my husband and youngest stayed home.
- 2:42So we were all in three locations.
- 2:46I for four days I was away. I had to like.
- 2:52I mean I just had constant anxiety.
- 2:55It just weighed on me and it's like I want all my ducks home
- 3:00where I can visually see them and I just when I got home and
- 3:06everyone, like I was tracking them on an app to see where they
- 3:09are and make sure they get where they're going.
- 3:11Like even if my husband and daughter were just going down
- 3:13the street to a restaurant like I was tracking because I was
- 3:17obsessing over the fact that I had no control because they're
- 3:20out of my sight and I can't control what's happening.
- 3:23And like, I remember getting home Sunday night and we were
- 3:28all in the same room and I. Finally felt like I.
- 3:31I breathed for the first time like I just went and I really
- 3:36like I was like thank you like we're all here and we're safe.
- 3:40But I think it all stems from, you know, the trauma of my
- 3:44losses and just not having any control over that situation and
- 3:49like and so whenever I'm faced with another situation that I
- 3:53have 0 control over, it's like it's it sparks the trauma all
- 3:57over again. No, 100% I I agree with you and
- 4:00then like you said because you are in so many different
- 4:03locations and not that like we want to go to worst case
- 4:08scenario but from our trauma from our grief, you know we
- 4:12already like as a parent went through one of the worst
- 4:15nightmares that a parent can go through.
- 4:17We don't want to have to relive that again or or see, you know,
- 4:19us lose another one of our children.
- 4:22And realistically, like, I think if we're all together at least,
- 4:27like if something happens, we're all together then.
- 4:29But if we're not and we're all in different areas and you're
- 4:31hours away, it's also saying, too, 'cause you're out of your
- 4:34comfort zone. You know, you're out of your
- 4:36house, which is our comfort. Safe space or should be, you
- 4:39know, And then also away from, for me, being away from my
- 4:43husband, because he really was my comfort during that time
- 4:46because I felt like him and I were, you know, even if we had,
- 4:51you know, some issues after losing Brooke and things like
- 4:54that. But we were connected because we
- 4:55were the ones that knew Brooke. And, you know, we're her
- 4:58parents. And, you know, I felt like he, I
- 5:01never really had to explain myself with him when I was
- 5:03grieving. Like he just knew what I was
- 5:05going through. And he could, you know, even if
- 5:07he didn't or he wasn't grieving the same way he at least like,
- 5:10understood where I was at. And being away from him and
- 5:14having that, or having him be able to explain to people like
- 5:17This is why she's upset. That's why she needed to step
- 5:19away having him as my cheerleader, you know?
- 5:22And your voice when you can't speak like when you don't, you
- 5:25know you're not able to speak and he's like your your comfort
- 5:29blanket and and your voice all at the same time And then when
- 5:33that goes away you're you're left with and that's that is
- 5:36kind of how I feel with my husband too.
- 5:38Like you know he's my comfort. He's he's my steady.
- 5:42Like I I feel off when we're not together and and and it's not a
- 5:46good feeling. Yeah, like security.
- 5:49I mean, you really do feel that sense of.
- 5:52Yeah. Just that secure and comforting
- 5:54from him. Yeah, absolutely.
- 5:56Yeah. I also really had, like, bad
- 6:02anxiety when my husband was driving or my son was driving in
- 6:05a car with somebody and I have no idea why because, you know,
- 6:08it's not like our daughter died, you know, in a car or anything.
- 6:11But it was like. All around.
- 6:14Yes. And I think like we go to like
- 6:17and and like, accidents happen all the time.
- 6:19We see them on the roads constantly.
- 6:21And you know, if somebody has more than a two second commute,
- 6:25it really freaks you out. And most accidents do happen
- 6:28right by your house, you know. Yeah, and that's true.
- 6:30I think those apps that show like them driving was the best
- 6:34thing that ever happened to my anxiety, because I I can, like,
- 6:38obsessively track without them knowing.
- 6:41I'm like a freak. But because I know we.
- 6:45Don't want to show? Watch.
- 6:46I know, I know. And the other good thing too and
- 6:48I don't know if you do this but if I hear sirens, I used to
- 6:51before these apps came along if I heard sirens, I'm checking
- 6:55like like are you OK. I hear sirens, you know, and but
- 6:59I think it's that mentality of like, we're just so afraid of
- 7:02loss because we've experienced such a traumatic loss that our
- 7:07minds go to worst case scenario like I automatically if my
- 7:11husband was supposed to be home at 2:20 and he's not home and
- 7:14it's 225, I'm thinking he's in a ditch somewhere like I just my
- 7:18brain just goes there. Yes.
- 7:21And and you're right because we did go through these traumatic
- 7:23losses and we do go to the worst case scenarios like we we play
- 7:26it out because like we already were ripped of one of our, you
- 7:31know, our children. And it's like I almost, it's not
- 7:34that I want to think like this or anything because these are
- 7:36automatic, right. It's like things that just make
- 7:39happens now and it's like when's the other shoe going to drop?
- 7:41When is the next like tragic thing going to happen?
- 7:43When you're like pummeled, you know with loss after loss and
- 7:47you know reoccurring losses and things like that.
- 7:49It's like, Oh my goodness, just my when can we come up for air?
- 7:53Yes, my my pastor calls them automatic negative thoughts.
- 7:57Ants. Yeah, they're ants.
- 7:59And they just like take over and.
- 8:01And they're like. Like they're just all over you
- 8:04and they can't. Like it's hard to get them off
- 8:06of you because you just are constantly like your your brain
- 8:10just goes automatically to it's it's another it's something
- 8:13terrible it's another loss it's you know just because you know I
- 8:17and and especially for us the our especially our first loss
- 8:20with Landon it was so I mean they were both they were all
- 8:24unexpected but like it was really out of the blue and and I
- 8:30think now I am it's like I'm always peering around the corner
- 8:35like what's coming next like what what what horrible things
- 8:39up next you know because you just you've experienced and it's
- 8:42kind of jaded your ability to see past you know and and not
- 8:49assume it's going to be something negative or or
- 8:53horrible. Well, yeah.
- 8:55I think that, you know, after, you know, going through your
- 8:58first baby loss, it takes away your innocence almost, if that
- 9:01makes any sense. Because like you have that first
- 9:05time experiencing a very significant loss.
- 9:08And it's not that I didn't look at my grandparents as a
- 9:10significant loss in grief, because I did, you know, I did
- 9:12grieve them deeply and I miss them every day.
- 9:15But it's different when it's your child and it's unexpected
- 9:20and you know it. It's And then the events around
- 9:22everything with it and going through medical procedures,
- 9:26surgeries, you know, the hormones of it all.
- 9:28Like the. Yeah, just everything.
- 9:31Total loss of control. Yes, 100% spiraling out for
- 9:35sure. And it you know, this also
- 9:39brings up like I then constantly worried, like if our son or or
- 9:43my husband had a sniffle. Where like.
- 9:46Any kind of sickness. I was like, whoa, we need to go
- 9:50to the doctor's immediately. We need to get this checked into
- 9:53to the point that my son, you know, he was having some stomach
- 9:58pains and I thought maybe it could have been maybe anxiety,
- 10:00but like of course that we had to run the gambit of tests.
- 10:02Because I'm not going to just settle for for a maybe anxiety
- 10:07until we go through all of the other avenues and find that out.
- 10:11Yep, I totally agree. And we say it so like my
- 10:14daughter, I remember she had headaches and like my mind
- 10:18automatically ants went to It's a brain tumor.
- 10:22It's got to be a brain tumor. Like.
- 10:24Would be there be. It's a brain tumor.
- 10:27Well, but I gotta say like, I mean it's definitely so my
- 10:30husband struggles with this too with I think it coming from the
- 10:33losses and he he tends to go that track as well, which is not
- 10:38a good combination for the two of us.
- 10:40But honestly, each other, yes. It's.
- 10:43Terrible. But it's like one of those
- 10:45things that it has benefited us as well.
- 10:48So like, I'm I, our viewers don't know this, but like I'm
- 10:51currently going through breast cancer and like I, you know, I
- 10:56found a lump last year and I brushed it off and even my
- 11:01doctor was like, I don't think it's anything you're too young,
- 11:03you know, no deal, nothing, no family history.
- 11:08And like I just, I felt content with that.
- 11:13I for once was like because it was me.
- 11:15I think it's different with ourselves versus like our loved
- 11:19ones. We're still not.
- 11:21Yeah, but my husband, with these tendencies, and this is where it
- 11:27benefited us, because I was going to cancel my mammogram.
- 11:31I just didn't think it was anything.
- 11:32I was content with what, you know, everyone had to say about
- 11:34it. And he was like, I don't know.
- 11:38Nope, I don't feel good about it.
- 11:40You need to go. And I was like, OK, so I did it
- 11:43for him. Lo and behold, breast cancer.
- 11:45So, you know, it's like I I think there's benefit to having
- 11:52those tendencies to want to control situations and like get
- 11:57the answers for things. There's a healthy balance
- 12:01because you know, sometimes it can be, you can go to extreme
- 12:05with it. But there are tendencies and and
- 12:10times like with my situation and my breast cancer journey that it
- 12:14actually saved my life that my husband felt.
- 12:18You know, he he was so scared of losing me that he pushed for me
- 12:22to get this done and get this test done.
- 12:25And I did it and it saved my life.
- 12:28Well, absolutely. And I think it goes back to and
- 12:30we, you know, we had this last week in our episode, you know,
- 12:33educate to advocate. And it goes back to, you know,
- 12:37doing whatever gives you the Peace of Mind, right, Like
- 12:39making sure that you are getting the test done because like you
- 12:42said, you thought that your daughter had a brain tumor.
- 12:45Like I was like, Oh my goodness, Bryson has, you know, our son
- 12:47has stomach cancer. And like you go down those
- 12:50rabbitals and I don't want to be that person that ignored the
- 12:54signs. And then it does turn out to be
- 12:56something terminal or, you know, to that point.
- 12:58So like I, you know, all I can do is just advocate for him or
- 13:02get him some further testing, which then gives us all Peace of
- 13:05Mind. And if that's what it comes down
- 13:08to, OK. And we spent money on that.
- 13:09Yeah. But like, it's better than me
- 13:12living in this constant worry that there's something more
- 13:14going on and I'm not looking into it.
- 13:16And you're so right, Brie. And I I think, you know, there
- 13:19is that healthy balance because you know, like don't.
- 13:23Want to be a hypochondriac either?
- 13:25Yeah, yes, yes. Yeah, it's definitely finding
- 13:30the balance. Yeah, 'cause it can go, it can
- 13:32go to, you know, you don't want to be so lackadaisical that
- 13:35you're like, whatever, you know, my stomach hurts, my head hurts,
- 13:38no big deal. I found a lump in my bra.
- 13:40So that's fine, you know, no big deal.
- 13:42But then there's the other extreme of like, Oh my gosh, I'm
- 13:45going to die tomorrow. Oh my gosh, just cancer.
- 13:47You know, like, automatically assuming the worst case
- 13:50scenario. And I really, I truly feel like
- 13:52that a lot of that stems from trauma and and the traumatic
- 13:56events that we've experienced and just the the tendencies that
- 14:01we have now to go to other extremes all stem from that.
- 14:08Absolutely. And I mean, I remember too, like
- 14:11also needing to get other opinions.
- 14:13Like I wasn't OK with just one opinion that we got about our
- 14:16son. Like we went and got model
- 14:17opinions. Now it was also because like,
- 14:20you know, in that trauma, like you lose trust, or at least I
- 14:22did, you know, I lost trust in everyone and everything because
- 14:25I questioned everything then moving forward.
- 14:28And you know, so for our own, like sanity and Peace of Mind, I
- 14:32needed to hear it from multiple people, you know, in this
- 14:36profession and also get it from specialists to be able to hear
- 14:40that as well. And you know, I think, you know,
- 14:42our son needed to hear that too. All of us did.
- 14:45You know that we're involved in family because of what we just
- 14:48dealt with and and went through, you know?
- 14:51Yeah. And I I, I did the same thing.
- 14:53I feel like, you know you are at the mercy of the doctors when
- 14:59you're going through a loss and you don't have control or say.
- 15:03And so when given a situation, I do think it's wise to get second
- 15:10opinions. But I think we're more sometimes
- 15:13we do it for more Peace of Mind because we're like we just want
- 15:17to confirm that it's true and like confirm that we're going
- 15:21down the right path And yeah, it we for sure.
- 15:27I still do that I still seek out multiple opinions and stuff.
- 15:31Just you just don't. I mean it's hard to put you know
- 15:33just like with my with when I found the lump I for some reason
- 15:38because I I honestly think 'cause it was me if it would
- 15:40have been my child I wouldn't have settled for It's fine.
- 15:44I settled for it for myself for some reason.
- 15:47But my husband did not. And he was like, Nope, let's
- 15:50let's keep pushing this and get some answers and.
- 15:53I'm so glad you did. Yeah.
- 15:55Uh huh. So am I.
- 15:57Yeah, absolutely. Yeah.
- 15:59And it's it's just one of those things that you know, you need
- 16:03reassurance that you're on the right path because it gives you
- 16:10more control because you have you have sought out those
- 16:14answers. So yeah, I I just think it's
- 16:18just another form of trying to control, you know, your
- 16:21surroundings, which and it's not a bad thing, that's certainly
- 16:24not a. Bad thing.
- 16:25No. And you know, I think sometimes,
- 16:27you know, doctors can miss things.
- 16:29They're not a higher power. They're not.
- 16:31You're human. Not God.
- 16:32You're human. Yeah.
- 16:33And human error, error happens. And so, you know, as long as
- 16:37like whatever you need, you know, to give you that Peace of
- 16:40Mind of reassurance and like you said and and having those
- 16:44answers And you know, I think that it never hurts to in my
- 16:49opinion, I'm like I'd rather educate myself and and hear what
- 16:52others have to say. And I like also how like doctors
- 16:56each are different as they explain things or how they
- 16:58handle situations. And also then it's like, OK,
- 17:01well, I feel more comfortable with this doctor or like this
- 17:05doctor, you know and like, and then finding who's going to be,
- 17:08you know, that doctor moving forward and who you're going to
- 17:09have that relationship with or a specialist or, you know, it's
- 17:12just always good, I think to. Building our poor building
- 17:16trust, Yes, and. You never know how your story
- 17:20and you sharing that Bree might be someone else's survival guide
- 17:24or might actually give somebody the courage then to go to the
- 17:27doctor and ask a question or to advocate for themselves.
- 17:30Like I have a lump even though I know I have dense breast tissue.
- 17:33But like can you check this out and like can we do a mammogram
- 17:35you know like it. It's so true.
- 17:37And I think, you know, us sharing stories and other
- 17:41survivors sharing their stories is really like how, you know, we
- 17:45can all come together as a community and look out for each
- 17:48other and ask questions that we never thought to ask.
- 17:51Well, and that's the big thing. Yeah, 'cause like, you know, you
- 17:54may not even be thinking to do something or ask a question or,
- 17:58you know, but you hear somebody else say it and it resonates
- 18:01with you. And it just sits there and sits
- 18:02there and you're like, you need to act upon that.
- 18:04And I think that's the beauty of sharing our stories.
- 18:09Absolutely. Yeah.
- 18:11It so is, You know, I also found like as I, you know, had to
- 18:19return to society everyday work, like all that stuff, you know,
- 18:23to support our family and especially, you know, only
- 18:25getting a couple days to grieve and then having to go back.
- 18:27Like, I like when people, I found it really hard for me to
- 18:32have empathy for things that were outside like other people's
- 18:35problems I couldn't really take on because I was so worried and
- 18:38consumed about my immediate family.
- 18:40And then also too, just, you know, trying to process
- 18:43everything that we were, you know, dealing with as well and
- 18:46and grieving and the trauma and all that.
- 18:49But you know, I just didn't care about, like what people had to
- 18:52gossip about or complain about or their problems if it wasn't
- 18:56as final as death. It seems like insignificant.
- 19:00Yes, yeah. No, I know what you mean.
- 19:05Yeah. And I think like you know, going
- 19:08through our loss and experiencing the worst thing a
- 19:12parent can go through is the loss of their child.
- 19:15And in my humble opinion that it was almost like I just, it put
- 19:20things into perspective about what was a big deal and what
- 19:23wasn't a big deal, outside factors and not taking on other
- 19:28people's stuff if that makes. Sense.
- 19:30Oh my gosh. Yes.
- 19:31I definitely learned that as well.
- 19:32I think, you know, I had to. I struggled with it a little
- 19:37bit. So like if somebody was going
- 19:39through a hard time and let's say like, in my mind, I'm
- 19:42thinking seriously like this is not as big of a deal as losing
- 19:46my child, you know, and learning to.
- 19:51And it took time. It did not happen right away.
- 19:54But like learning to, you almost have to learn how to have
- 19:57empathy again, because you you get so like.
- 20:02I don't know May. I don't know you you you feel
- 20:05the same way, right? Like this happened to you too
- 20:07because I I like I'm saying that I I feel like I sound crazy
- 20:10where I was just very like your problem is not as big as my
- 20:14problem when it comes to that. And like it took me time to
- 20:19realize that like you know we're all fighting battles and we are
- 20:24all you know, our mountains may be different but they're still
- 20:28mountains. You know, like you don't know
- 20:30what somebody's, what hurt they're having, how that's
- 20:35impacting their life. Maybe it's, you know it, it's
- 20:38more traumatic than what we give it credit for.
- 20:41We don't really truly know the full story.
- 20:42So like, it took me a while to learn that though, because I
- 20:45definitely struggled with finding empathy for situations
- 20:50like you said, that are not the death of a child.
- 20:55Agreed, agreed And it did it. I think it also, you know, after
- 21:01going through it all like, it took away that like
- 21:03superficialness. Like I almost felt like I needed
- 21:05to have like real conversations with people and like have the
- 21:09real estate people in my life who weren't.
- 21:12Just like the toxic positivity wasn't just like the fake
- 21:15optimism wasn't coming at me with those, like, Silver Linings
- 21:20that I didn't want to hear, you know, right during that time.
- 21:24And it was really the authentic, genuine people that were like,
- 21:27you know, I don't know what to say.
- 21:28I don't know what to do. I'm here for you.
- 21:29I'm here to listen like all those things.
- 21:31But you know the ones that like got or met us with where we're
- 21:36at in our journey, you know and and going through it and
- 21:40processing. Those are the.
- 21:40Ones you keep close. Absolutely, and I think it did.
- 21:43It took away any of the fakeness and seeing it, but I also I had
- 21:51to stay off of. And I know we talked about this
- 21:53in other episodes, social media and the news after we lost
- 21:56Brooke. Because I could not handle
- 21:58seeing any more disasters. Because then I would think the
- 22:00disaster is going to, like, hit our home or all of a sudden we
- 22:03need to build a bomb shelter in our backyard, you know,
- 22:06underground and have like, you know, I'm going straight there
- 22:11and it's like, OK, let's like. Pump.
- 22:13The brakes A. Little bit but.
- 22:15I think that speaks to the weight and the gravity of losing
- 22:19a child and how heavy that is. And to add additional heaviness
- 22:28is going to run you to the ground.
- 22:30Like you put weight on your shoulders, you can only carry so
- 22:34much until you fall down. And like, you know, having just
- 22:39going through the loss of a child, you know it's so you're
- 22:43barely keeping yourself upright and then to have world problems
- 22:48and like all this other stuff coming in, it's unnecessary.
- 22:52It it doesn't need to. It doesn't while you're in the,
- 22:55especially those early stages. Until that you can, like, get
- 23:00your shoulders up and like, really hold that weight firm,
- 23:04like there's no reason to add excess weight onto your
- 23:07shoulders. Well, you're so right.
- 23:09And you know, 'cause then you're taking on.
- 23:11And like we said, like that's why I couldn't really hear other
- 23:13people's, you know, things because of that lack of empathy.
- 23:16But it was also self preservation, because I just
- 23:19could not take on anybody else's problems.
- 23:21I just didn't have the bandwidth.
- 23:22And if I because before losing broke, before all this, like if
- 23:26I took on someone's problems, I took it on full force and like,
- 23:29I like went into it and I was like, let's fix this like I'm a
- 23:32it. Became your problem.
- 23:34Yes. And I think for myself, I was
- 23:36trying to, at this point learn how to survive and especially in
- 23:41those, like early days. But then also it was trying to
- 23:44learn, OK, how do I live a life that I still can love and enjoy
- 23:48while I'm grieving the loss of a lifetime for my baby?
- 23:51Like, how can I do both of these?
- 23:53And they coexist. And it's really trying to figure
- 23:56that out. And then also then reintroducing
- 23:59that there's other things in the world that's going on around me
- 24:02because, you know, we're so focused on this.
- 24:05Like, it's hard to take on any outside, you know, you know, as
- 24:09the world keeps moving. I didn't want to hear anything
- 24:11that the world was doing, you know, and and I think it is, I
- 24:15think it's to protect ourselves, like you were kind of saying,
- 24:18you know. Yeah.
- 24:19Yep. I totally, it's 100% to protect
- 24:21ourselves. And you know, and it's not that,
- 24:25it's almost like it's not like I didn't care, but like I couldn't
- 24:29handle it. I didn't care and I cared, but
- 24:33not enough that I could take on the weight of it.
- 24:35Exactly. And that's I had to leave it.
- 24:38Yeah. Then that's different for me
- 24:39because I'm like you. If there's a problem, it's now
- 24:42my problem and I'm taking it on. And I had to relearn how to
- 24:48handle other people's problems and and do it in a way that I
- 24:53could be helpful, but not it wasn't burdensome, You know,
- 24:56like it. You had to.
- 24:58You kind of have to relearn how to.
- 25:01And I think the losses taught me that as I walked through that
- 25:05journey of just how to manage other people and worldly
- 25:12problems. And it goes to, you know when I
- 25:15shared about Brooke, right? And like, this is what got me
- 25:18then to start to think like, I don't need to be the fix it.
- 25:21I don't need, like, people when they're sharing their problems
- 25:24with me. It's not that they need me to
- 25:25take them one or they need me to fix it.
- 25:27Like, I would just voluntarily jump in and want to do things.
- 25:30But I realized after, like you you said, after we went through
- 25:32loss and Brooke and things like that, I realized no, people are
- 25:35just coming to talk and they just want to be heard and listen
- 25:37and validated because that's all I wanted.
- 25:40I know you're not going to fix me.
- 25:42I know that whatever you say or do is not going to take this
- 25:46pain away. I need to process it and I need
- 25:48to sit with it and I need to do whatever makes me comfortable
- 25:52to, you know, feel this grief and trauma and to actually, you
- 25:56know, do it in a healthy, coping way and, you know, do different
- 26:00things and honor my baby in a certain way and do these.
- 26:03And it's not going to work for everybody.
- 26:04Everybody's different. But it's like now I know, OK,
- 26:08when someone comes to me, they're not always looking for
- 26:10an answer. They just.
- 26:11Want to talk? Most of the times they're not
- 26:13looking for an answer. No.
- 26:16And I was like, wow, So I almost felt like too.
- 26:19This really opened my eyes, then, to having those real,
- 26:22genuine, authentic relationships with people where it was just
- 26:27listening. And that's a huge thing.
- 26:29I think you know that I learned from all of this.
- 26:33Yeah. And I think as you know, as
- 26:35women, we tend to want to fix, We want to fix.
- 26:38We want to make it better. We want to.
- 26:39You know, we want to answer. We fix.
- 26:41It yes, we, yeah. So that is a a lesson I have
- 26:45learned as well and I think until you are in a situation
- 26:52where it can't be fixed, there are no words or actions that
- 26:56will fix it. That is when you learn the
- 27:00benefit of having somebody to just listen to you and to just
- 27:06be in your present presence, not no expectations of fixing
- 27:11anything. And that's not our nature, but I
- 27:15think it's it's equally as important and beneficial to just
- 27:22have somebody to just be with you and to just sit with you and
- 27:27to just listen to you. I mean that's not necessarily
- 27:31fixing your situation, but it's healing your situation.
- 27:36It's. It's healing.
- 27:37The whole process is. Well, and I think sometimes, at
- 27:40least for myself, when I say things out loud and I actually
- 27:44put a voice behind it. And I I talk about my fears.
- 27:48I talk about, you know, Brooke or I talk about the events
- 27:52themselves, like all around it and everything.
- 27:55It almost like takes away the power of it.
- 27:58And I'm like, OK now I feel like I can actually process it.
- 28:01And I don't want to be shut down.
- 28:02Like, you know, everybody wanted to say because it wasn't my
- 28:05fault what happened and things like that.
- 28:07And I get that. But I need to still be heard and
- 28:09I need to say these things out loud because I feel better about
- 28:12it. If I say I'm out loud, I can't
- 28:14keep them stuffed in. If I keep them stuffed in,
- 28:16they're going to come out in other ways and it's going to be
- 28:19unhealthy. But if I can feel safe that I
- 28:22can go ahead and get it out like in support group or wherever and
- 28:25it's like I can just like cleanse myself almost of it.
- 28:29And and not that those thoughts aren't going to come back and
- 28:32I'm going to need to say them again, but in a in a way that
- 28:36like, I'm not shut down. It's like, yeah, I can
- 28:37understand why you're feeling that way.
- 28:39Absolutely. I would too.
- 28:40And it's like and like you. Said, it takes the power away.
- 28:42It takes the power away from that.
- 28:45But it validates too. Like I'm not the only one
- 28:48thinking this, or another survivor can actually see why
- 28:52I'm thinking this or how I have these feelings.
- 28:54And that's what's important. You feel less crazy?
- 28:57Yes, we need our community of survivors.
- 29:02We do. We do.
- 29:04Absolutely, absolutely. Well, thanks so much for joining
- 29:07today Bree and for jumping on our segment.
- 29:10Loved having you and for all the survivors out there, we are
- 29:13always with you. We have daily support services,
- 29:16you know, support groups, mentors, this podcast, an online
- 29:21support community, all the different things go on our
- 29:23website chasingrainbows.org. But please follow and like our
- 29:27podcast so we can reach more survivors.
- 29:30And we are always with you, Infertility, Miscarriage, Still
- 29:34Birth and Infant Lost Survivors. Thanks So.
- 29:37Thank you. So much thank you.