Post Abortion Syndrome

What is Post Abortion Syndrome?

To understand Post Abortion Syndrome (PAS), one must first understand Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) - victims of PTSD are said to have "experienced, witnessed, or were confronted with an event or events that involved actual or threatened death or serious injury, or a threat to the physical integrity of self or others, and the person's response involved intense fear, helplessness, or horror."

This event could be any number of things, including war, rape, witnessing a murder, being a victim of a violent crime, or surviving the devastations of an earthquake or hurricane. For the woman who has had an abortion, it is the act of taking the life of her own unborn child.

While abortion is perceived by our society as being an acceptable option to giving birth, most women, at some deep level of their being, realize that abortion is an act against nature, and must "shut down" any maternal instincts they may have in order to carry through with an abortion. After the abortion is over, many women are unable to reconcile the fact that they were responsible for the death of their child, and struggle for years with unresolved feelings of guilt and grief.

These women usually struggle with their grief in isolation, and rarely feel free to discuss their abortion experiences with others for fear that they will be condemned or abandoned by those close to them. While many women around the world are suffering from PAS, most believe that they are alone in their pain - that their negative experience with abortion is unusual or unique - thus compounding their feelings of loneliness and isolation.

When a woman does seek help, or attempts to talk to her friends and family about her experience, she is often met with resistance and a lack of understanding. Counselors, abortion providers, doctors and peers may all tell the woman that she needs to put her experience behind her, or get on with her life.

However well meaning their advice may be, a woman struggling with negative feelings after an abortion will find that her feelings will not disappear no matter how hard she tries to forget them. Rather, they often lead to a dysfunctional life style. The woman will simply go on with her life never knowing how to overcome the negative, self-destructive behaviors that become a way of life for victims of PTSD. Some of these behaviors include:

despair/helplessness/hopelessness
unhealthy/abusive relationships
sexual dysfunction
depression low self-esteem
guilt and/or shame
drug and/or alcohol abuse
frequent bouts of crying
anorexia/bulimia
nightmares
suicidal thoughts, threats and attempts and/or a preoccupation with death

There are other women who feel that they have not been affected at all by their abortion(s), and are unable to see the connection between other problems in their life, and their abortion experience(s). They have probably learned to cope with their feelings, usually by using "defense mechanisms (denial, repression, suppression, compensatory pregnancy and/or reaction formation)."

Do you have Post Abortion Syndrome?

This information is designed to help you, the woman who has had an abortion, decide for yourself whether or not you need to receive healing from your experience. As you continue reading, keep in mind that any "defense mechanisms" you may have been using to cope with your abortion(s) may still be firmly in place. Be honest with yourself as you answer the following questions.

Do you try to "turn off" any feelings connected to your abortion(s), perhaps telling yourself to "forget about it and get on with life?"

Do you find yourself becoming physically or emotionally tense and/or anxious when the subject of abortion comes up?

Do you avoid being exposed to the subject of abortion? Do you change the subject in conversations when abortion comes up? Do you change the radio/television channel when abortion is being discussed? Do you find yourself "tuning out" when abortion is being discussed, and you can't "run away," such as during a church service or Bible study?

Do physical reminders of your abortion, such as babies, pregnant women, or baby clothes, cause you distress? Do you have a hard time feeling happy for friends or family members who are pregnant? Do you feel uncomfortable around small children, especially infants?

Do you become depressed/anxious/sick around the anniversary date of the abortion, or on the projected due date of the aborted baby?

Do you have difficulty in relationships? Do you find yourself choosing relationships that are unhealthy and/or abusive? Do you find yourself sabotaging healthy relationships?

Are you unable to be vulnerable? Do you find yourself keeping people at a "safe" distance? Do you always feel that you're an "observer" rather than a "participant" in a group? Have you isolated yourself since your abortion?

Have you lost interest in activities that were important to you before your abortion? If you were going to school, did your grades drop after the abortion? If you had a career, did you find yourself sabotaging your success?

Since your abortion, have you used drugs or alcohol as a way to "medicate" your emotional pain? Do you have an eating disorder?

Do you struggle with longs bouts of depression? Have you thought of, or attempted, suicide? Do you struggle with self-destructive behaviors?

Are you afraid to share your abortion experience with others, especially with significant people in your life? Are you afraid of being rejected or judged?

If you don't have children, do you fear that you won't ever be able to get pregnant again? Are you afraid that you won't be able to have a normal, healthy baby? Or, do you find yourself feeling "turned off" by the thought of ever having children? Do you feel unworthy of being a mother?

If you have children now, do you find yourself smothering them with love and affection? Do you overprotect them? Are you frequently concerned for their safety? Do you have difficulty leaving them with a baby sitter?

Do you struggle with feelings of anger and/or rage? Are you irritable and "on edge?" Do you find yourself lashing out at people, especially men and children?

If you answered "yes" to most or many of these questions, you probably do need healing from your abortion.

We can help you!

If you've had an abortion, and need to talk to someone about your experience, please give us a call or send us an email! We've helped hundreds of women find freedom from the pain, guilt and depression that can follow an abortion - we want to help you, too. We have a support group, and we can also see you individually in our office.

These two quotes can be placed somewhere on the page with this information -

To forget the past too soon - in an effort to bury it beyond memory - is most certainly to risk the inevitability of its reappearing in later life in an even more frightening and painful way." Michael Mannion

"If she is not seen as worth much in her own eyes, how could the child within her be seen as worth any more? The destruction of her unborn child is but another side of her own self-destructive feelings." Michael Mannion.


Home Support Group Ectopic Fetal Development Post Abortion Syndrome Pregnancy STD's Why Wait? Un-Choice	Post Abortion Syndrome What is Post Abortion Syndrome? To understand Post Abortion Syndrome (PAS), one must first understand Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) - victims of PTSD are said to have "experienced, witnessed, or were confronted with an event or events that involved actual or threatened death or serious injury, or a threat to the physical integrity of self or others, and the person's response involved intense fear, helplessness, or horror." This event could be any number of things, including war, rape, witnessing a murder, being a victim of a violent crime, or surviving the devastations of an earthquake or hurricane. For the woman who has had an abortion, it is the act of taking the life of her own unborn child. While abortion is perceived by our society as being an acceptable option to giving birth, most women, at some deep level of their being, realize that abortion is an act against nature, and must "shut down" any maternal instincts they may have in order to carry through with an abortion. After the abortion is over, many women are unable to reconcile the fact that they were responsible for the death of their child, and struggle for years with unresolved feelings of guilt and grief. These women usually struggle with their grief in isolation, and rarely feel free to discuss their abortion experiences with others for fear that they will be condemned or abandoned by those close to them. While many women around the world are suffering from PAS, most believe that they are alone in their pain - that their negative experience with abortion is unusual or unique - thus compounding their feelings of loneliness and isolation. When a woman does seek help, or attempts to talk to her friends and family about her experience, she is often met with resistance and a lack of understanding. Counselors, abortion providers, doctors and peers may all tell the woman that she needs to put her experience behind her, or get on with her life. However well meaning their advice may be, a woman struggling with negative feelings after an abortion will find that her feelings will not disappear no matter how hard she tries to forget them. Rather, they often lead to a dysfunctional life style. The woman will simply go on with her life never knowing how to overcome the negative, self-destructive behaviors that become a way of life for victims of PTSD. Some of these behaviors include: despair/helplessness/hopelessness unhealthy/abusive relationships sexual dysfunction depression low self-esteem guilt and/or shame drug and/or alcohol abuse frequent bouts of crying anorexia/bulimia nightmares suicidal thoughts, threats and attempts and/or a preoccupation with death There are other women who feel that they have not been affected at all by their abortion(s), and are unable to see the connection between other problems in their life, and their abortion experience(s). They have probably learned to cope with their feelings, usually by using "defense mechanisms (denial, repression, suppression, compensatory pregnancy and/or reaction formation)." Do you have Post Abortion Syndrome? This information is designed to help you, the woman who has had an abortion, decide for yourself whether or not you need to receive healing from your experience. As you continue reading, keep in mind that any "defense mechanisms" you may have been using to cope with your abortion(s) may still be firmly in place. Be honest with yourself as you answer the following questions. Do you try to "turn off" any feelings connected to your abortion(s), perhaps telling yourself to "forget about it and get on with life?" Do you find yourself becoming physically or emotionally tense and/or anxious when the subject of abortion comes up? Do you avoid being exposed to the subject of abortion? Do you change the subject in conversations when abortion comes up? Do you change the radio/television channel when abortion is being discussed? Do you find yourself "tuning out" when abortion is being discussed, and you can't "run away," such as during a church service or Bible study? Do physical reminders of your abortion, such as babies, pregnant women, or baby clothes, cause you distress? Do you have a hard time feeling happy for friends or family members who are pregnant? Do you feel uncomfortable around small children, especially infants? Do you become depressed/anxious/sick around the anniversary date of the abortion, or on the projected due date of the aborted baby? Do you have difficulty in relationships? Do you find yourself choosing relationships that are unhealthy and/or abusive? Do you find yourself sabotaging healthy relationships? Are you unable to be vulnerable? Do you find yourself keeping people at a "safe" distance? Do you always feel that you're an "observer" rather than a "participant" in a group? Have you isolated yourself since your abortion? Have you lost interest in activities that were important to you before your abortion? If you were going to school, did your grades drop after the abortion? If you had a career, did you find yourself sabotaging your success? Since your abortion, have you used drugs or alcohol as a way to "medicate" your emotional pain? Do you have an eating disorder? Do you struggle with longs bouts of depression? Have you thought of, or attempted, suicide? Do you struggle with self-destructive behaviors? Are you afraid to share your abortion experience with others, especially with significant people in your life? Are you afraid of being rejected or judged? If you don't have children, do you fear that you won't ever be able to get pregnant again? Are you afraid that you won't be able to have a normal, healthy baby? Or, do you find yourself feeling "turned off" by the thought of ever having children? Do you feel unworthy of being a mother? If you have children now, do you find yourself smothering them with love and affection? Do you overprotect them? Are you frequently concerned for their safety? Do you have difficulty leaving them with a baby sitter? Do you struggle with feelings of anger and/or rage? Are you irritable and "on edge?" Do you find yourself lashing out at people, especially men and children? If you answered "yes" to most or many of these questions, you probably do need healing from your abortion. We can help you! If you've had an abortion, and need to talk to someone about your experience, please give us a call or send us an email! We've helped hundreds of women find freedom from the pain, guilt and depression that can follow an abortion - we want to help you, too. We have a support group, and we can also see you individually in our office. These two quotes can be placed somewhere on the page with this information - To forget the past too soon - in an effort to bury it beyond memory - is most certainly to risk the inevitability of its reappearing in later life in an even more frightening and painful way." Michael Mannion "If she is not seen as worth much in her own eyes, how could the child within her be seen as worth any more? The destruction of her unborn child is but another side of her own self-destructive feelings." Michael Mannion.
Silent Voices 355 "K" Street, Suite H Chula Vista, CA 91911 619-422-0757