Support

I have always thought of the idea of support groups as kind of hokey. You always picture Alcoholics Anonymous meetings where everyone says, "Hi, my name is Earl and I'm an alcoholic." I thought of support groups as being for weak people. I also felt that I have very supportive friends and family and have many friends struggling with infertility as well, so I didn't need any more support. I was wrong on all counts. Support groups are not hokey, they are awesome! And I really, really needed my support group.
After our 3rd failed IUI and the devastation that came with that, I felt very weak and ready for a support group. Coincidentally (or not), the first RESOLVE support group in Utah started in January, the month after my last failed IUI. There were 5 of us in that first meeting, and I remember distinctly how I felt when I would talk about something in that meeting and all of the other women there looked at me and smiled and nodded. They understood! They knew exactly what I was going through and weren't going to judge me. They knew what to say because they too had heard so many insensitive comments that they knew what not to say.
I feel like my trial of infertility has purpose in my support group. I leave my self-centered little world of suffering that I've been living in for so long and I want so much to be a support to these women. I feel a new sense of urgency to break the silence about infertility so that it's not such a taboo or unfamiliar topic to so many. I feel like I have broken the silence in my own life and talk about infertility a lot more and now I'm even writing about it for all the world to see!
For more information about support groups, visit RESOLVE's website: http://www.resolve.org/support-and-services/ or this one for LDS support groups: http://www.ldsinfertility.org/forums/support-group/