Are you a different person after the abortion than you were before?
This is a good question to ask yourself if you’ve had an abortion and are not sure if it has had an emotional or psychological impact on you. Perhaps you sense a change but can’t put your finger on it. Here are some more questions you might ask yourself in order to get to the bottom of it:
- Am I open and trusting in my relationships, with men especially, or do I hold back?
- Do I have anger towards men? Do I tend to use them or let them use me, and not care?
- Am I afraid to get close to people?
- Am I afraid to let people get close to me?
- Am I afraid that if people really knew me, they’d reject me?
- Am I spending more time alone than I used to?
- Am I spending more time drinking and/or using drugs than before?
- Am I over-eating or starving myself, unlike before?
- Do I have unexplained bouts of depression?
- Do I think I’m a horrible person who doesn’t deserve anything good in life?
- Do I punish myself, because deep down I feel like I deserve to suffer?
- Do I find myself crying more often, but don’t know why?
- Do I find myself going through the motions of life? Has life become a chore?
- When abortion comes up in conversation, do I respond differently now than when I did in the past? Can I talk about it without becoming sad, anxious, angry or defensive?
- Do I feel like I’m carrying a heavy weight around that wasn’t there before?
- Do I think about the what if’s?
- Am I able to feel happiness and joy?
- Do I deserve to feel happiness and joy?
- Am I just surviving or am I reaching my fullest potential?
If you found that you are different since the abortion(s), know that you are not alone. Many women experience this. Everybody processes events in their lives differently. How we process them depends on our gender, our age, our temperament, our family life, our culture, our values, our beliefs, our support system or lack of it, and our life experiences, to name a few factors. No one person’s experience is the same as someone else’s. We are unique and so is our story.
Every person has her own story, and that story needs to be heard.
At Project Rachel we listen to your story and help you make sense of all the emotions you are going through. We are here to help, not judge. Everything you talk about is 100% confidential. Reach out today.
