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Post
Abortion Stress?
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Help us offer healing to women with post-abortion stress.
HOW?
Forward this article to someone who will pray for hurting women, who may be
interested in being in a healing group, who may need prayer counseling
ministry, who may know someone who is considering an abortion, or who may be
willing to open their home to a mother to be.
Did you know that 43% of the women today have experienced an abortion?
Who are they?
They are your sister, relative, schoolmate, co-worker or neighbor, from
every kind of group, every race, status or religion. What amazes me is that
there are not more healing ministries or support groups for women and men who are
hurting after abortion. We hope to help fill the gap.
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Do
you have Post-Abortion Stress?
If you were told that you
would feel better after an abortion but instead you find that you are
struggling with painful emotions, you are not alone.
After an abortion, many women attempt to shut down feelings of grief,
anger, guilt, regret and emptiness but cannot. Whether you had a
miscarriage or chose abortion, it is not uncommon to continue to feel
as though something is missing or to grieve the loss or your child.
Maybe its time to open your heart to healing.
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These
feelings are often referred to as "Post-Abortion Stress" or
PAS.
PAS
results
when a woman or man represses the emotions that they have after an abortion.
Many women isolate and carry their secret for 10, 20 or 30 years. If you
had a miscarriage, you may wonder what role you played in your baby's death.
If you chose abortion, you know what role you played in their death. The
grieving that follows abortion includes the normal stages of grief.
Relief
that the decision was made and that you were no longer pregnant is usually the
first stage. But then the feelings of relief give way to memories of the
actual facts of the abortion and denial begins. "It wasn't
really a baby; I just terminated a pregnancy." Moving out of denial
may take years depending on the person. Denial may end when you see
pictures of fetal development or become pregnant again. You know that it
was not just products of conception, but your child.
Then comes
the anger and blame. You may be angry at the clinic, the father,
your friends or family for what they told you. You may blame others for not
being there for you or pressuring you. If you did not deal with this
anger, you may have become bitter, resentful and unforgiving of those who have
not understood how they have hurt you. You cannot change the past,
but you can choose to forgive and release those who hurt you. You can
change how you respond to the past.
If you did
not forgive yourself and others, you may have been overcome by depression,
guilt, self-pity or shame. If you have been condemning or punishing
yourself, you may have gotten into self-punishing behaviors such as
destructive alcohol and drug use, over eating, unhealthy relationships,
self-deprecation or self-sabotage. You may be trying to suppress the
feelings, the memories and the thoughts about your abortion.
With
Restoration
Prayer Ministry, we can help you move into the stage of acceptance, healing
and wholeness. Yes, with the right support, you can release those who
have hurt you, forgive yourself and even accept God's forgiveness. When
you face the emotions, walls and blocks left in your life by abortion, you can
invite healing truth into those areas. You will be amazed as God makes
your weakest places strong and you eventually begin to encourage others to
find health and freedom. He will redeem every experience, taking the
pain out of the memories and fill you with a new vision for His plan for your
life.
If you are
suffering emotionally from a past abortion, we can help you get the healing
and support that you need.
Restoration
Prayer Ministry
is a safe, confidential,
non-judgmental way for you to share your feelings, to be healed with
prayer and to
begin new personal growth.
If you
take this test
in light of your abortion, you will be able to determine
areas that still need healing. You may even be interested in joining a
healing group for women who have had similar experiences.
Also
see Healing Your Sexuality.
How
do you know if you still need more healing?
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Are
you still trying to forget the feelings?
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Do
you still react when the subject is brought up?
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Do
you avoid things that remind you of it?
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Are
you depressed at certain times of the year?
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Are
you still resentful and unforgiving?
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Is
your lifestyle one that could lead to hurt again?
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Have
your relationships become less healthy?
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Are
you using food, alcohol or drugs to cover pain?
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Do
you often have flashback memories?
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Do
you feel empty, angry, guilty or shamed?
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Have
you stopped growing emotionally since then?
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Do
you look at life as before or after the abortion?
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Are
you still keeping it a secret? Or
telling too much?
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Are
you performing to prove that you are OK?
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Has
God felt distant since then?
If
you have done all you know to do and have not gotten the healing and
restoration that you need, you might benefit from sharing in a confidential
healing group or from
Restoration Prayer Ministry. For
more information contact us.
Learn how Restoration Prayer
Ministry will give new meaning to your experiences and prepare
you to fulfill your destiny in confidence and wholeness. To find out
more about
Restoration
Prayer Ministry or healing groups, call Carlotta Waldmann at
1-866-480-LIVE 9am-7pm ET.
Test Yourself: Do you need restoration prayer ministry?
Thanks to
"Pass" for their research and to Linda Cochrane, who wrote much of
our material and our group study book, "Forgiven and Set Free."
