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Changing health outcomes; we’re hiring!

I’ve been thinking a lot about jealousy lately. While researchers seem to think it is innate, much of the conversation centers around evolution. Men could not be sure whether a child was theirs at birth—therefore evolved to take safeguards to make it so—namely, jealousy. And women similarly, would get jealous to ensure the man they wanted to procreate with was not spending time procreating with someone else. But in modern society, jealousy is a lot more complicated. We may feel jealous of the person who is seemingly getting better grades than us, has a nicer outfit, or more money to buy more things that we would love to own. My daughter, who is not yet 5 years old, told me she was jealous of a friend who was wearing a cool mermaid outfit. It turns out that jealousy comes in all shapes and sizes. And despite this, it tends to feel like a dirty expression of desire, something we don’t talk about often. There is nothing more palpable and powerful than the jealousy that seeps in when you’re trying to get pregnant and it feels like everyone around you has a much easier swing at it. It is now clear that high school sex education didn’t prepare us for how difficult it can be to conceive. Which means it can be tough to feel happy for your dear friend who is newly pregnant, despite deep down feeling happy for them! We may need to set a boundary around discussing their pregnancy or even avoid going to their baby shower. Or we may continue to show up but do so with immense sadness deep down, a constant reminder of something we want so badly that we seem to have zero control over bringing to bear. And if you’re like me, you then feel guilty for feeling jealous. Ah, the spirals can be endless. If it’s something you want so innately, it turns out there’s probably an evolutionary reason why you’re feeling so frustrated. You know that saying, “Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about.”? Well, one of the secret sauces of the Conceive community is we make those battle scars visible to each other, which means when someone finally does get pregnant, the level of excitement and support is through the roof—and the natural tendency toward jealousy seemingly avoided. This happens regularly with members new and old. They “graduate” from “trying to conceive” to “pregnant”, and despite the nerves that come with turning to those you’ve been in the trenches with and saying “see you later”, the level of support they receive is unparalleled. It’s really something I’ve never quite seen before. We may not have fixed that familiar stomach-drop of jealousy, so deeply ingrained in how we function as humans, but we’ve somehow managed to find a way around it through a crew of women who are in it together, celebrating each other for the wins, and supporting each other through the losses. There’s magic that happens everyday in this community, but these are some of the most magical moments of all. ✨🙏

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Ali Mostashari, Ph.D

CEO of LifeNome (Precision Health AI) | MIT PhD | Top 20 Cited Scholar in Complexity Science | Future of AI/Technology and Longevity

1mo

Thought provoking reflections. Thank you.

Eszter Zakarias

Goal: find opportunities in project management, utilizing experience in non-profit and for profit environments. Bilingual. Dual citizen EU, US.

1mo

Great thoughts and wisdom to ponder.. wonderful to see a community that was built to support women in these challenging situations and to elevate them from the struggles, focusing on positive outcomes.. 🙏🏼❤️

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Caroline Newton

SHRM Executive passionate about impacting how people & work connect!

1mo

Love this

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