Finding Happiness Through Self-Love part 2 in our fertility series

Welcome to the second post in our energy and light fertility series. Jocelyn’s story is inspiring because she used her experiences with infertility as a catalyst for deeper healing – allowing her to be a more confident, self-aware and empowered woman and mother.

When Jocelyn first came to see me, she and her husband had been trying to conceive for over a year. She had been through four cycles of Clomid and three IUIs, none of which had resulted in a pregnancy. She had reached the point where her physician recommended she take a break from medical treatments due to the stress it was causing her. Jocelyn’s physician suggested she look into stress relief techniques such as acupuncture, which lead her to my practice.

At first, she was overwhelmed, feeling like she had to relearn how to eat; within a few weeks, however, she started to feel the positive effects of the elimination diet.

At our first meeting, it quickly became apparent that Jocelyn was putting a lot of pressure on herself to conceive. Medically speaking, she had an ovulatory dysfunction, making it difficult to ovulate even with high doses of medication. Initially, we focused on her dietary habits to see if we could regulate her hormones. We tackled her diet, slowly and methodically cut out gluten and dairy, and Jocelyn’s big one – sugar. I helped her to identify how her emotional attachments to food were contributing to her anxiety and stress. At first, she was overwhelmed, feeling like she had to relearn how to eat; within a few weeks, however, she started to feel the positive effects of the elimination diet.

After four months of weekly treatments, Jocelyn started ovulating on her own. This was a huge accomplishment and a sign that she was giving her body what it needed to heal.

I often start with diet in the treatment room because the physical improvement paves the way for deeper emotional work. As Jocelyn started to experience the benefits of more energy and improved mental clarity, she also felt empowered and in control of her eating choices – a feeling that would soon spill over to other areas of her life. After four months of weekly treatments, Jocelyn started ovulating on her own. This was a huge accomplishment and a sign that she was giving her body what it needed to heal.

Jocelyn had been experiencing intense shame around her infertility. She was incredibly critical, judgmental, and hard on herself.

At the same time, we also examined many of her relationships, particularly her relationship with herself, which would prove to be the most important aspect of her fertility issues. Jocelyn had been experiencing intense shame about her infertility. She was incredibly critical, judgmental, and hard on herself. Her continued difficulty to get pregnant just amplified this behavior, and in order to cope with the pain she shut down emotionally. Slowly, however, she started to tear down those walls and open her eyes to new ways of loving and supporting herself through this difficult process.

Jocelyn has learned how to experience healthy pain, the kind that moves through you instead of being bottled up and stuck inside. At one point she had a session where she really let herself feel the intense pain and sadness of her infertility; she allowed herself to really experience it, physically and emotionally. What she discovered after the pain subsided was a deep sense of peace, acceptance, and compassion for herself.

It was about six months after Jocelyn and I had started working together when she announced that she was going to be okay, no matter what.

It was about six months after Jocelyn and I had started working together when she announced that she was going to be okay, no matter what. Two weeks later, Jocelyn was pregnant. Without even really thinking about pregnancy, she conceived her baby naturally. The deep healing work allowed her to let go of her judgment and self-doubt had created a powerful shift. Today, Jocelyn is the mother of a beautiful baby girl.

Jocelyn’s advice for women experiencing infertility is to love yourself. Knowing that your self-worth is not dependent on getting pregnant is very powerful. It is like the saying, “Success does not bring happiness; happiness brings success.” Infertility can be an extremely painful experience and knowing that you have your own back makes all the difference.