How Can I Recover Emotionally After an Abortion?
If you are struggling emotionally after an abortion, you are not alone. Recent studies and research have shown a connection between abortion and side effects that can impact your mental health and emotions.
These side effects can lead to substance abuse, anxiety, and depression. Recognizing the signs of emotional trauma and its impact on your mental health is essential in finding healing.
What Is Emotional Trauma?
Emotional trauma is “damage or injury to the psyche after living through an extremely frightening or distressing event and may result in challenges in functioning or coping normally after the event.”
Some common symptoms of emotional trauma that you may experience include:
It is common to struggle to identify these feelings and how they relate to your emotional trauma. Talking with someone you trust and feel safe with can be a great first step if you are struggling with these emotions after your abortion. While it can not be physically seen, emotional trauma can be an ever-present struggle, and finding healing for yourself should be a top priority.
How Can I Heal?
Once you’ve identified the emotional trauma at the root of your struggles, taking the first positive steps toward healing is the next action you can take. Talking with a mental health professional is always recommended, but other measures can help create a healing environment to move you forward in addressing the trauma. These include:
- Talking with others about how you feel.
- Trying meditation or deep breathing exercises and participating in physical activity.
- Taking care of yourself.
- Get plenty of sleep.
- Eat a healthy diet.
- Drink enough water.
- Avoiding alcohol, drugs, and tobacco.
- Getting back to your daily routine.
- Getting involved in your community.
Your emotional health is critical to your overall health and ability to move forward with your life’s journey. Finding healing and reconciliation is an integral part of that journey.
We are Here for You
Regardless of where you are in the abortion process, we are here to help:
If you are struggling with emotional trauma after an abortion, we can provide resources and programs specifically created to provide healing after an abortion.
If you have taken your first dose of the abortion pill and are unsure you want to complete your abortion, there is still hope. It is possible to reverse the beginning stages of medical abortion if you seek help within the first 72 hours of taking the pill.
If you are considering an abortion and want to learn more about the emotional, mental, and physical risks associated with abortion, we can help. Through a free pregnancy test and follow-up ultrasound, we can provide the information you need about your pregnancy and answer all your questions and concerns.
You are not alone in this journey. Contact us today to schedule your free appointment and get your needed help and support.