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Post Abortion
Are you struggling with post-abortion stress?
Q: Do you find yourself struggling to turn off feelings or memories
related to your abortion(s)?
Do you need to keep reminding yourself to just forget it or put it
behind you? Do you become uncomfortable with reminders of the
abortion, such as being around babies or pregnant women, being in a
doctor's office, or when hearing news reports about abortion?
Q: Do you feel anxious at the idea of telling a loved one about your
abortion?
Is your abortion a secret that is holding you back from greater
intimacy with others? When you do choose to share your abortion
experience with others, are you overcome with strong feelings such
as anger, grief, or guilt? Is there an increased distance between
you and your parents, siblings, or partner because of the past
abortion(s)?
Q: Do you have trouble talking about the abortion issue as a
political issue?
A: When you do talk about it, do you find it hard to respect
opposing views, or do you become overly emotional, either in support
or in opposition to it?
Q: Do you tend to look at life in terms of "before" and "after" the
abortion(s)?
Are there traits about your "self" before the abortion that you lost
but would wish to regain? Has the abortion changed the way you look
at yourself? Have you lost interest in taking care of yourself? Have
you tried to become less attractive to avoid the risk of becoming
involved in a relationship, love, and sex?
Q: Do you become angry or depressed more easily?
Have you experienced "reconnects" to your abortion, such as
nightmares, flashbacks, or hallucinations, such as hearing a baby
cry?
Q: Was there a period after your abortion when you experienced an
increase in the use of alcohol or drugs?
Have you experienced other forms of emotional deadening? Have you
experienced any suicidal thoughts? Do you take risks that put your
life in danger? Have you developed any eating disorders?
Q: Do you have trouble finding, building, or maintaining good
relationships with people of the opposite sex?
Do you have trouble with issues of trust and control?
Q: Have you lost the desire for sexual intercourse?
Do you have increased pain during intercourse? Have you become
promiscuous because of low self-esteem? Have you lost a previous
desire to have children, or are you filled with an anxious desire to
have a child as soon as possible?
Q: Do you experience periods of depression, heightened anxiety, or
cramping during certain months of the year,
particularly during the month of your abortion or due date of the
aborted pregnancy?
Q: Did you have faith in God that you have now lost?
Are you afraid of God? Are you angry at God?
Simply put, most women who choose abortion are going against their
own moral codes, and this explains why they feel guilt afterward.
And guilt is what stops them from talking about it or getting the
emotional help they deserve. A number of counselors who have
explored this issue in some depth have identified a condition that
they call "Post-Abortion Syndrome" (or PAS), defined as an ongoing
inability to:
* Process the painful thoughts and emotions -- especially guilt,
anger and grief -- which arise from one or more unplanned
pregnancies and subsequent abortions.
* Identify (much less grieve) the loss that has been experienced.
* Come to peace with God, herself and others involved in the
pregnancy and abortion decision.
If you have ever had an abortion, you probably feel very much alone
with the memories of your experience. Perhaps the father of the baby
has long since passed out of your life. Or it seems as if no one
wants to hear about your pain anymore. So you've taken all those
complicated feelings surrounding the abortion decision and stuffed
them down and tried not to think about them, right?
Did you know that 44 percent of all American women will have an
abortion at some point during their lifetime? More than a million
American women will have an abortion this year, but hardly any of
them talk about it. Why is that?
Many women who have abortions are very uncertain about their
decision. On one hand, their feelings say, "This is my baby...I will
do what I need to in order to protect and nurture this child." But
too often, their circumstances say, "This is not a good time to have
a baby...abortion is legal and easy; it'll be as if it never
happened...it's the only solution to this mess."
Please call us to make an appointment for a confidential interview.
239-513-9775
This information was taken from Hope and Healing, published by the
Elliot Institute.
P.A.C.E. Post Abortion
Counseling and Education
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