1. It’s #mentalhealthawarenessweek so I thought I’d share some of the results of a survey I did with just over 100 #childlessnotbychoice people last year for a project I was working on. #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek2020. A thread.
2. Not that these results will be any surprise to those of us living with #involuntarychildlessness but judging by some comments I’ve seen on social media recently, they may be enlightening to certain other people.
3. 93% said they’d felt isolated or lonely socially as a result of their #childlessness.
4. 84% said they had suffered from poor mental health as a result of their #childlessness.
5. 83% said they felt isolated or misunderstood by family members.
6. 80% had been told they were lucky to be childless.
7. 71% had been told their opinion about something was less valuable because they weren’t a parent.
8. 70% felt isolated, misunderstood or discriminated against at work.
9. 69% had been excluded from a friendship group.
10. 63% had been told that something they’d achieved or something they valued in life did not compare to parenthood.
11. So please remember that being #childlessnotbychoice is not a privilege, not a freedom to envy. It’s brutal and can have a profound impact of the #mentalhealth and wellbeing of those of us living with it. Thanks for reading. #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek
