Ten Tips for Managing Stress During IVF

Stress reduction during fertility treatments

Fertility treatments can be a rollercoaster of emotions; stress, anxiety, and worry are all common during fertility treatments. You may spend a lot of your time researching and thinking about different scenarios, making big changes to your life, and your bank account. Often big life plans are put on hold, holidays, career moves, always praying next month you will be pregnant. Then your period comes along and you go through the whole rollercoaster of emotions again. Having tools and practices in place can help you to feel less overwhelmed and more able to make healthy choices as you go along.

Having the right tools to support you emotionally as your go through these treatments will play a vital role in your physical and mental wellbeing.

Whether you have a solid meditation routine in place or have no idea what mindfulness is, there is something that can work for you. Read through this list and start with something that easily fits into your day, then add in other elements as they become your routine.

Ten Tips for Managing Stress During IVF

• Breathing - Taking ten deep belly breaths increases blood flow and oxygen promoting relaxation and enables self-control and better coping mechanisms to life stressors.

• Journaling - writing down your concerns, your dreams, your daily thoughts is a proven way to release internal angsts and worries.

• Sleep - on average seven to nine hours is needed for a night of restorative sleep.

• The green prescription - take a walk in the park, get out to the bush or swim in the ocean. While it opens up your senses to the natural world it has proven to promote relaxation and reduce stress.

• Delegate - if there is too much on your plate get everything down on paper and take a good look. What can be delegated, crossed off till next week/month/year, removed from the list completely.

• Meditation - the world isn’t talking about this because it’s a fad and it is one of the habits that top CEO’s consistently mentioned when they talk about their morning routines. Check out this list of Fertility Mediataion Apps

• Mindfulness - a practice any time anywhere. Before you eat take a breath, look at the food, smell the food, observe the flavour as you chew, being aware.

• Breakfast - eating a balanced diet starting with breakfast balances your blood sugar which in turn gives you better energy and helps you to manage stress more effectively.

• Movement- whatever this may look like for you, taking a walk around the block, running 10 km, or restorative yoga. Any form of physical exercise releases endorphins the feel-good hormones and nobody ever finished a workout with regret.

• Get a massage - after 30 mins massage your brain switches into the parasympathetic state which is also called rest and digest. It enables your body to relax, repair from injury and improves your mood.

If you would like a personalised plan to support your fertility and wellbeing goals get in touch I would love to help you.