If you've already had an abortion and are looking for healing, you've come to the right web page. AAA Life Services can help. We offer you free, nonjudgmental and confidential peer counseling with caring, trained people who know how to listen. We know it may be a big step for you to contact us, but we also know that, if you're burdened by the side effects of abortion, it's a step in the right direction.

Symptoms After Abortion

With evidence showing that abortion is associated with a decrease in long-term emotional and physical health,₁ it makes sense that both women and men can experience negative symptoms after an abortion. See if any of the following apply to you:

• Guilt
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Shame
• Self-abuse or self-destructive behaviors
• Preoccupation of becoming pregnant again
• Anniversary reactions (an increase of symptoms around the date of the abortion, or the due date)
• Flashbacks of the abortion procedure
• Nightmares of lost or dismembered babies
• Avoiding contact with children or pregnant women

When Do the After Effects of Abortion Occur?

This can vary with each person. Some women have some abortion regret right on the table, but go through with the procedure anyway, some feel it as soon as the abortion is over, for others, it may take them by surprise years after the event.   

Is This What's Happening to Me?

Check out the list below and see if you experience any of the following. If you have, maybe it's time you talked about your abortion with someone who can help.

• 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 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?
• 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 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?
• Do you become angry more easily?
• 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 have trouble finding, building, or maintaining good relationships with people of the opposite sex?
• Do you have trouble with issues of trust and control?

What About the Guys?

Anyone can be affected by an abortion, this includes men whose partner may have had an abortion without his approval or knowledge. Visit www.troubledwith.com

Healing After Abortion

There is help for those who've had an abortion. AAA Life Services can help provide a pathway for healing and wholeness. At AAA Life Services, you’ll find free and confidential support for both females and males who are hurting from an abortion experience.

Useful Links:

www.ramahinternational.org
www.pregnancycenters.org

1. Thorp JM Shadigian E, et al. Long-term physical and psychological health consequences of induced abortion: review of the evidence. Obstetrical & Gynecological Survey 2003; 58(1):67-79.