5 Ways to Ease IVF Anxiety – Styled by Light

Nervous to start IVF treatment? Here are five ways to ease your IVF anxiety.

April 23, 2022

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Got IVF Anxiety?

How are you feeling?

IVF can be both an exciting and extremely nerve-racking time.

Especially in the early days of initial consultations, paperwork, and preparation.

It’s totally natural to feel anxious, uncomfortable, nervous, and all-round freaked out.

At least, that’s how I felt before I started treatment. So I dug into my mindset toolkit and discovered the following five ways to ease my IVF anxiety — that worked incredibly well!

Empowering yourself through the IVF process, practicing solid self-care, and choosing to see it as a journey or adventure will significantly change your IVF experience.

1: PROCESS YOUR EMOTIONS

Grief

If you haven’t already, it’s important to allow yourself to grieve the loss of that perfect idea of conception you’d previously held.

The fun and excitement of trying to conceive.
Surprising your partner with a positive pregnancy test.
Experiencing that initial feeling that you may be pregnant.

For most, it’s a sense of disappointment, frustration, and disbelief. And just like any loss, you have to feel the grief to release it and move on.

My favourite self-healing methods are journaling and tapping/EFT.

Fear

The needles.

The unpronounceable medication.

The what-ifs.

The unknown.

The simplest way to squash the fear is to start viewing the process as an adventure.

Yes, IVF can be nerve-racking, but what adventure isn’t?

You’ve been guided to this place. To walk down this path.

Will you do it with your head down? Or do you choose to stand tall like the goddess that you are and face this challenge head-on?

And if you need additional support, hypnotherapy can work wonders.

2: EMPOWER YOURSELF

During IVF, you have to make peace with so much being out of your control — an incredible life lesson (and one of the 6 things I learned from my IVF journey) — but there’s also a lot that you can take charge of. Most importantly, your health and self-care.

Detox

Doing a light detox before starting IVF will 1) give you a sense of control, and 2) will help cleans your organs so they’ll be in optimal condition to process the medications. I suggest checking out the Medical Medium’s book Cleanse to Heal and consulting a naturopath.

Acupuncture

Acupuncture is not only great for preparing your body to house an embryo,* but it’s also amazing for stress relief and anxiety. The Yin Tang (a.k.a third-eye) point is blissful!

*(Most acupuncture success is antidotal because there hasn’t been much scientific research performed but here’s a study from the National Library of Medicine that shows an increase in egg transfer results.)

Pamper yourself

While undergoing IVF, you have a perfect excuse to full out relax and pamper yourself. The doctors will tell you that keeping your stress level down is optimal for success.

Go get a massage, take some work vacation days, meditate, and watch some feel-good Netflix. It’s all about you!

Affirmations

Reciting affirmations is one of my go-tos for empowerment.

When fearful, stressful, or anxious thoughts pop up, try Mel Robbin’s Five Second Rule. You simply count down from five to one and then choose to change your thought and/or behaviour. It sounds so simple but it works!

In this case, I suggest counting from five to one and then saying this:

I forgive myself for feeling this way.

And I now choose to think positively.

Because I know I am Divinely guided and cared for on this journey.

3: ASSIGN YOURSELF A PROJECT

IVF may take up a lot of your time but it shouldn’t have your undivided attention.

Before moving through the IVF process, assign yourself a project that lights you up. Something that needs to be accomplished during the IVF timeline.

Mine was planning a garden.

While I sat in waiting room chairs for countless hours, I was on Pinterest pinning garden inspiration and researching types of flowers, and when I was being poked and prodded, my mind was dreaming up my amazing future garden.

I knew that no matter what happened with the IVF, I had something beautiful and new to look forward to in the near future.

It truly made such a difference in my mindset and mood.

4. ASSEMBLE A SUPPORT TEAM

Having the support of close friends and family can be so comforting during the IVF process. But if you don’t feel comfortable sharing your IVF decision with those around you (which is perfectly okay), you’ll need to assemble an alternative support team.

Find your people

If you’re comfortable, try meeting women in the waiting room to see if you vibe with any of them. You could ask if they want to share their phone numbers so you can text each other about your experiences as you move through the process.

You can also find private IVF support groups on Facebook.

Work with a naturopath

Naturopaths are confidential and can offer a lot of knowledge and support.

I worked with a naturopath who specialized in women’s health and fertility during my IVF treatment and I learned so much from her (IVF clinics can be pretty fast-paced and don’t always explain everything thoroughly).

She was also an amazing confidant, shared my holistic lifestyle values, and cheered me on during the process.