What is Post-Abortion Syndrome?

Post-Abortion Syndrome (PAS) is a form of Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSD). PTSD is the result of having suffered an event so stressful and so traumatic that the person is taken beyond his/her ability to cope in a normal manner. Victims of PTSD are unable to simply resume their lives where they left off before the traumatic event. Instead they experience a variety of reactions that do not go away merely with the passage of time. Although the symptoms of PTSD (and PAS) are varied, and although they may not surface for years after the trauma, they are nonetheless real and should be dealt with.

Please note that not only the primary survivor of abortion may be effected. Boyfriends, significant others, grandparents, siblings and professional healthcare providers may also be effected.

Although abortion is legal in the United States (and other countries), the events leading up to and including the abortion itself are often of such a traumatic nature that PTSD is often the result.

Following are some of the symptoms of Post-Abortion Syndrome:

Depression and Thoughts of Suicide:

Sad Mood

Sudden and Uncontrollable Crying

Deterioration of Self-Esteem

Disruption in Interpersonal Relationships

Sleep, Appetite, and Sexual Disturbances

Reduced Motivation

Thoughts of Suicide

"Anniversary Syndrome" (An increase of symptoms around the time of the anniversary of the abortion and/or the due date of the aborted child.)

Re-experiencing the Abortion

Preoccupation with Becoming Pregnant Again

Anxiety over Fertility and Childbearing Issues

Disruption of the Bonding Process with Present or Future Children

Survival Guilt: ...the decision boiled down to a sorrowful conclusion: "It's me or you, and I choose me."

Development of Eating Disorders

Alcohol and Drug Abuse

Other Self-Punishing or Self-Degrading Behaviors: abusive relationships, promiscuity, failing to take care of yourself medically or deliberately hurting yourself emotionally and/or physically

Brief Reactive Psychosis: an episode of drastically distorted reality within two weeks of the abortion

If three or more of the symptoms listed above describe what you have recently experienced in relation to an abortion, it is likely that you are experiencing Post-Abortion Syndrome.

Rachel's HOPE is a private, confidential program of healing and reconciliation.

For further information, please contact Kate Martin, LCSW

At

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