Had an abortion?
For some women, abortion is something they feel they have come to terms with, but for others they feel it is a painful part of their lives – something that affects them deeply, even if they felt they were making the right decision at the time.
Choosing to have an abortion is not an easy choice. There will have been many thoughts going through your mind. The pressure of circumstances can be overwhelming and afterwards often there is a sense of relief.
But for some – maybe for you – feelings can emerge immediately afterwards, or within a few months or even years later – feelings that can be difficult to understand
Possible feelings
If you had an abortion recently or a long time ago, you may initially have felt relief but now feel numb or be experiencing emotions like guilt, grief or anger. Coupled with that, you may also find it difficult to be near babies or pregnant women. You may be preoccupied with the whole experience. These kinds of feelings are common after an abortion.
Post-abortion stress (PAS) has been recognised as a distinct set of symptoms. As well as the above, you may have experiences other symptoms such as:-
- Feeling the need to ‘replace’ the baby
- A feeling of distance from, or conversely, over-protectiveness of existing children
- Inability to maintain normal routine
- Depressed feelings, stronger than a “little sadness”
- Sleeping problems
- Flashbacks
- A sense of loss
- Tearfulness
- Low self-worth
- Relationship tension or breakdown resulting from the abortion
You may feel a mixture of these emotions or just one of them.
Help is at hand
At the Charis Centre, you will find a safe place where you can express your feelings to an advisor trained in post-abortion support. You will find someone who has time to listen, someone who understands and does not judge, someone who cares enough to help.
At Charis, we run “The Journey” recovery programme. This is a sensitive one-to-one post-abortion programme that supports you and equips you to deal with the emotions you may be experiencing, helping you find the resources you need to relate to your experiences more healthily.
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