How I Eased My IVF Anxiety, Holistically
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.
And it was elevated by the fact that I’m a holistic woman — I barely ever took medication — in every way, I was out of my comfort zone.
Here’s what helped ease my IVF anxiety, and may support you too.
This article was written by a human, experiencing human things. Not AI. (Hi! 👋🏻) Because I believe that words are far more meaningful and powerful when there's open-hearted energy and lived experience behind them.
Easing IVF Anxiety — a Holistic Approach
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.
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?
If you’re feeling overwhelmed, talk to a female therapist who’s working with clients moving through IVF.
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 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 cleanse your organs so they’ll be in optimal condition to process the medications. But dexoxing on your own can be dangerous if you don’t know what’s best for your body. I suggest reaching out to a holistic nutritionist, even better if you can find one that specializes in fertility and pregnancy.
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! I suggest working with a female Traditional Chinese Medicine Doctor or finding a naturopath who specializes in fertility acupuncture.
*(Most acupuncture success is anecdotal 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.)
Nurture 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!
Assign Your Mind 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.
You could also dive into your Human Design. It’s an absolute rabbit hole of personal exploration. As an Integrative Human Design guide myself, I can’t imagine a better way to prepare for motherhood than getting to know yourself on a deeper level. You can book a session with me, or DIY it by downloading your free Human Design chart and start exploring.
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.
Gratitude
Before you roll your eyes, stay with me.
Gratitude is powerful! It has the ability to completely change your outlook at any given time.
Remember how fortunate you are to be healthy enough to go through IVF, that IVF even exists, and that your baby is coming to you.
Because she is. Just in her own way.
If this resonated, here’s a pin for later.
Through Integrative Human Design, subconscious repatterning, and somatic expansion, Keri-Lee Larmand guides visionary women to expand into who they came here to be. Her work supports the quiet unraveling of conditioning so women can return to their natural rhythm, intuitive wisdom, and magnetism.