If you have experienced an abortion, you may have gone through a period of relief. Relief that this chapter in your life is now over and you can move on. Sometimes, though, for some women, moving on is not as easy as she had hoped. This can be partly due to the challenges faced by not only the physical recovery but the emotional recovery. Usually, for the physical recovery, you were given care instructions to follow after your abortion procedure. And, most likely, you expected to have to deal with some physical recovery and were pretty prepared for it. However, what about the emotional recovery after an abortion? Normally, you would not be given care instructions for that part of your recovery.
One thing to remember is that you are not alone if you are suffering emotionally after having had an abortion. Your emotional response can be due to many factors including the type of abortion procedure you had, how you have handled grief in the past, and how supported you feel by others around you. If you are experiencing regret or struggling with self-forgiveness after your medication abortion, it may be intensified because of the sense that it was you yourself who took the pills. After a surgical abortion, it is not uncommon for the woman to feel anger. Anger directed at the medical personnel or at someone who urged her to go ahead with the procedure—that this was done to her. Or, there may be other responses after your abortion procedure. Things that you had not expected prior to the procedure that are now troubling you. Frequently, we hear from women about some of the things they struggle with. Struggles like feelings of anxiety, bitterness, anger, an inability to forgive herself, or a spiritual crisis. These feelings can make you feel alone, especially, if you feel you do not have any support in your life by others around you.
What can you do if you feel like you cannot move on emotionally in your life? Consider contacting Restore.
Restore After Abortion helps those for whom the lingering effects of abortion continue to cause pain. Restore provides free confidential post-abortion care and support services to teenagers and adults.
Here is what one client wrote about the effects of her abortion and her feelings after going through the Restore Program: “After my abortion, I felt like my whole world had shattered and I would always feel broken. With the help of my peer counselor at Restore, I was able to work through my abortion grief. I feel whole again and Restore helped me to feel this way.”
Another client reported this: “It has been a great aid to the healing and recovery process. So open and nonjudgmental. Safe. I would have been the last to say, but hope and life and release truly can be restored.”
Restore After Abortion serves DuPage County, Illinois, and surrounding communities. If after your abortion procedure you are not “moving on” as quickly or easily as you had hoped, please call or text us at 630-599-0043. We are here to help you!