Addicted to being pregnant

Having a large family can be incredibly fun, and being pregnant can also be incredibly fun. Having a large family is something women sometimes do precisely because they are addicted to being pregnant. You can especially notice that being pregnant is an addiction when you get a large family when you don't actually have the financial means to do so.

To make sure your pregnancy is no longer an addiction, there are a variety of steps you can take. Read which ones here.

The experience expert on pregnancy addiction

In the U.S., there is a woman who has found some kind of solution to her pregnancy addiction. She has 4 children and at some point there is a limit to the number of children you can support or in which you "feel like" taking care of.

She didn't want more children, but she missed the feeling of being pregnant. Tara Sawyer then became a surrogate mother and has been pregnant 3 times after her own 4 children for couples who have a desire to have children.

"Surrogacy is incredibly addictive." Says Tara, "It's a big rush once you see the test is positive."

Being adopted herself, she found surrogacy a great way to help parents like hers have a baby.

Because she enjoys being pregnant so much, she does not charge a fee for being a surrogate mother.

Cause of pregnancy addiction

Being adopted may be a cause of her pregnancy addiction. Neglect by your own (biological) parents can make you want to give your own children a big family with lots of attention and love.

There are also other causes of addiction to pregnancy.

Filling a "void"

Tara also mentions that being pregnant fills a void for her. Many people who are addicted to drugs or alcohol use these substances because they suffer from a psychological void. There is “something” missing in their lives, and the “fix” is the only thing that makes that feeling of emptiness go away.

In the case of pregnancy addiction, it is the pregnancy that fills the void (literally).

To keep a man with you

Are you struggling with a bad relationship? Some women use having a child as a way to keep their partner with them. After all, the pregnant woman needs to be taken care of, and so does the child afterward.

In doing so, the child needs a stable environment of father and mother.

Some men are very sensitive to this and therefore decide to stay with their partner after all. Unfortunately, this is not a guaranteed recipe for success. There’s still a chance that he’ll throw in the towel or, conversely, secretly pursue other relationships that are less stressful.

For Attention

A complaint of some pregnant women who are not addicted is that people stare at you when you are pregnant. Everyone wants to know if it's going to be a boy or a girl, and your belly is touched questioningly and unasked, even by strangers.

This attention can also be just another reason to get pregnant every time.

For a purpose in your life

Your life doesn’t always have a clear purpose. Getting pregnant and having a child does give you one, though. A child depends on you and needs your attention. That then becomes your purpose. However, as your child becomes more independent, you may start to feel that your life is still aimless and consider getting pregnant again.

To disguise uncertainty

Are you a bit insecure in social situations? Some women with agoraphobia and other social anxieties use their baby as a sort of shield. Pregnancy or having a small baby often provides a topic of conversation and relieves you of the obligation to meet certain social expectations—ones that you actually set for yourself.

What to do about being addicted to pregnancies?

If you suffer from this addiction and your car is really full right now, it is important to do something about it. Pregnancy is fun, but not without danger.

To break this addiction, it’s important to identify your personal cause. Is it insecurity, and does pregnancy give your self-confidence a boost?

Do you struggle with loneliness or a lack of attention?

Do you have beliefs—religious or otherwise—that make you feel you “must” have a large family, regardless of whether this makes you happy or not?

In fact, if you can identify the cause of your pregnancy addiction, it is possible to eliminate the cause of the addiction, and with it, the entire addiction.

Tips against pregnancy addiction

To find the cause you can do a number of things.

Tip #1: Write down the reasons why you want to be pregnant.

In doing so, be very honest with yourself. By making a list of reasons, no matter how small the reason may seem, you can see if there is some kind of larger "plan" behind this.

For example, the reasons may indicate loneliness, and then you know that if you do something about that correctly you won't have to have more children either.

Tip 2: Have regression performed on you.

Do you find it very difficult to follow the first tip? Then a hypnotherapist can help you figure out why you find pregnancy so addictive. If the cause lies in the past, regression can help you bring that memory to the surface.

Then you can look at that memory with more emotional distance, making it easier to stop being pregnant, or at least not go for another attempt after this one.

For example, you may find that you suffer from loneliness or lack of attention. Perhaps in your youth you saw a pregnant woman who actually received an awful lot of attention and, as a result, you have come to believe that pregnant women always receive attention and are never lonely.

The hypnotherapist can then help you change those beliefs and take steps to get adequate attention in ways other than being pregnant.

Tip 3: Conduct a socratic conversation under hypnosis

Another way to find out why you love being pregnant is by having a socratic conversation.

In a socratic conversation, for example, you can bring in the list from tip 1. After each reason, you can ask the question "Why?" This gets you to underlying beliefs that the hypnotherapist can then help you change.

Tip 4: Visualize a happy life without pregnancy

Do you find it difficult to imagine a happy life without being pregnant? Then a hypnotherapist can help you visualize this. By stimulating your imagination, you can gain more confidence in a future without pregnancies, and it also becomes easier to take steps to prevent pregnancy.

For example, you can visualize situations where you really enjoy being pregnant right now, such as at a party.

Visualization then covers, for example, how even without pregnancy you can make sure you get attention during the party and thus not stand pathetically in a corner eating your piece of cake.

Tip 5: Repeat hypnotic suggestions during self-hypnosis

Once you know why you care about being pregnant, the hypnotherapist begins to help you by changing those beliefs.

One way to do this is through hypnotic suggestions. These help to weaken beliefs that make you addicted to being pregnant and strengthen beliefs to have a life without further pregnancies.

A hypnotherapist compiles these suggestions based on your cause and beliefs for your pregnancy addiction. You are then often given an MP3 file to play at home.

Before you play the hypnotic suggestions make sure you are in a relaxed state. You sit or lie down in a comfortable place in the house, such as on the couch or in bed. And then first focus on your breathing. You can do this, for example, by placing a hand on your abdomen. When your breathing is regular and you relax your muscles well turn on the MP3 and close your eyes.

Self-hypnosis allows you to get the desired effect of hypnotherapy faster than without it.

Tip 6: Take an IUD

An IUD as contraception is inserted by the doctor and must also be taken out by the doctor. By taking an IUD you make it physically impossible, or at least virtually impossible, to get pregnant. Because of this, you now really have to work on the problems you solved before with pregnancy.

It is ultimately a lot harder to quit the IUD than the pill.

So there are all kinds of steps you can take against pregnancy addiction. The most important thing is to know "why" you want to be pregnant so badly. By identifying the cause, you can do a lot against this addiction. A hypnotherapist can help you with this.

Would you like to learn more about hypnotherapy, either for yourself or to help others? Then come to a workshop and check out the training programs offered by the Hypnosis Institute of the Netherlands.

Sources:

https://www.womenshealthmag.com/beauty/octomom-syndrome

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2632601/Woman-37-addicted-buzz-pregnancy-shes-seven-babies-wont-stop-womb-falls-out.html

https://www.womenshealthmag.com/beauty/octomom-syndrome