Camille Preston is an expert psychologist, speaker, and consultant for businesses and individuals on ways to live a happier, more productive life.
Her belief in embracing your full potential through self-awareness and tapping into innate emotional intelligence was put to the test when infertility took her on a physical and mental rollercoaster.
Camille delivered a heartfelt, witty, and perceptive TED Talk on her infertility journey this past summer.
She touches on the challenges inherent in trying to conceive and offers some incredibly poignant insights for confronting those challenges.
At the most basic level, Camille simply does a great job of explaining the infertility journey and specifically IVF.
During various points in her talk, she describes how incredibly lonely the infertility journey can be and how difficult it is to convey the confusing thoughts and complex feelings that are a part of process to others.
No matter how well intentioned, in many cases friends and family simply don’t get it. If this is the case for you and you’re simply too drained to try and explain yourself, ask your loved-ones to watch Camille’s talk.
She provides all of the information – technical and personal – in a warm and approachable way. Let her explain so you don’t have to.
Beyond Camille’s clarification of IVF treatment and other aspects of infertility, she delves deep into the emotional chaos that ensues when a person is pushed “beyond terror’s edge.”
“Terror’s edge,” as Camille describes, is the place far beyond the reaches of your comfort zone, where you succumb to your greatest fears. Camille recounts her own experience within this space – of relinquishing control and willingly entering an emotional free-fall.
As scary as it sounds, Camille points out that amazing things can happen when you fully give into your fears and confront what you feel without judgment or boundaries.
She reminds us that surrendering control and letting yourself go over terror’s edge is “not about giving up on what you want. It’s about going after that dream in a new way, with a new type of agility and persistence – being open to possibilities and new ways of how you could achieve (your goal).”
By approaching our fears in this extraordinarily vulnerable way, we open ourselves up to a world of new possibilities – a depth of yearning, sorrow, flexibility, sadness, and joy that we may never have known existed.
Camille stepped into the unknown and truly allowed herself to feel – everything. She developed a fuller sense of self and after a trying pregnancy, delivered a healthy happy baby boy.
Camille’s dream of being mom came true. Although this dream may not come true for everyone, remember that the infertility journey has brought us all to “terror’s edge.” We are not alone in our fears, and we are not alone in our joys.
I encourage you to watch the full talk and hope that you find strength in Camille’s bravery and commitment to her dream.
Daphne says
Thanks for sharing Camille’s TED-talk! What a wonderful story not only of success but of surrendering control, finding joy in the little successes, and facing her fears. A lesson everyone on this journey can relate to and can learn from. I appreciate hearing her talk.