Just as every life experience shapes and molds us, the experience of abortion does as well. Each woman’s journey looks different. Responses vary. They depend on your age, stage of pregnancy, religious or cultural beliefs, previous mental health, or whether you felt pressured by something or someone. Your immediate reaction may be different from what you feel long-term.
Whether your abortion was last week or ten years ago, it’s common to experience a mix of emotions coming to the surface at different stages following your abortion. For some, there are no regrets and there’s an overwhelming sense of immediate relief. Others feel confident in their abortion choice but struggle with why they felt they needed to terminate their pregnancy. They feel stuck in the “what if’s” and the “if only's.” Then there are others who experience a weight of shame and regret as they wish they could turn back time and make a different decision. Grieving the loss of "what could have been," is normal. It happens with most any fork-in-the-road type decision.
Grieving the loss of "what could have been," is normal.
At times your feelings may be all over the place as you struggle to understand why you feel the way you do. Sharing your experience with those who are closest to you can be scary, especially if you are unsure of what their reaction might be. They may not understand why you don’t feel the long-term relief that is expected. Your feelings might not be on the same page as your reasons for having an abortion and that’s ok. In order to move forward, your feelings need to be acknowledged and explored, not minimized or suppressed. Yes, emotions can lessen over time, but they won’t just go away. They are indicators of something deeper that needs to be addressed for your mental, emotional, spiritual, and even physical well-being. We are here to help you process your feeling and get to the other side of them.
Through Clarity’s Post Abortion Care program, we encourage you to give yourself permission to feel what you’re feeling, acknowledge the emotions that you have, and listen to what they are telling you. We create a safe space for you to talk about your abortion experience(s), process your emotions, and find empathetic and compassionate care in a group or one on one setting with a trained facilitator. We believe that there is hope for you no matter your situation and we desire for you to experience holistic well-being so that you can move forward with confidence.
Contact us if you would like to book a time to start your post abortion care journey.
