Getting an abortion is an incredibly difficult decision, one that can take a long time to properly understand and work through. As many as one in three Australian women will have an abortion at some stage during their life. While it is quite a common practice, there continues to be ongoing debate regarding the morality of abortion and what a pregnancy termination clinic like Clinic 66 can offer. Regardless of how one feels about the ethics of the process, many women are left confused and upset about getting an abortion. So, if this resonates with you or someone you know, here are several ways that could help you or that close friend work through the complicating emotions after visiting a pregnancy termination clinic.
Understand and embrace the different emotions
Right after your visit to a pregnancy termination clinic, you’ll likely feel a range of conflicting emotions. On one hand, you may feel a sense of relief because you don’t have the pressure of possibly becoming a parent and the responsibility attached to it. However, this sense of relief can often subside and be replaced by a sense of loss and self-blame. Many women begin to feel that they missed a special opportunity and feel that the decision they made was the wrong call. However, if such regret becomes overwhelming, learn to embrace such feelings. Understand that grieving and feeling sad are normal repercussions of having visited a pregnancy termination clinic and received an abortion.
Surround yourself with close friends and family
After your visit to a pregnancy termination clinic, it is important to surround yourself with people you can trust. To begin healing and to be able to move on, you need to tell someone about what has happened. Being able to tell someone and relieve the stress can be very helpful for your mental health.
Naturally, it can be hard to share your experiences about visiting a pregnancy termination clinic. You don’t want to be judged by your friends, particularly if you know they are against abortion as a practice. The social stigma also doesn’t help either. As a last resort, if you feel like there is no one you can talk to in your social group or family that will understand your situation, get in touch with a psychologist or a phone line to talk through any concerns you may have. You are guaranteed a safe space when talking to a professional.
Do things that bring you joy
It’s very important that you do things that bring you joy and happiness. There’s no point reliving the moment you visited the pregnancy termination clinic in your mind again and again. What’s done is done. Instead, don’t lose sight of all the things that bring you happiness and joy. It could be going to the movies, reading a novel or catching up on your favourite television show. Make sure you go out and see your friends and family – get a nice lunch or dinner. Fill up your time with all the fun things in your life so you don’t lose sight of how valuable and precious your life is. It is so important to remain positive and focus on taking care of yourself and there are plenty of ways of achieving this.
Identify your strengths
Finally, it’s so important that you remind yourself of how your life has value. Everyone’s life has value and importance. You might love your job because it involves you helping people in need – that’s something valuable and important. Forget about what happened at the pregnancy termination clinic and recall all your strengths. Remember all the things that you are good at or things that give you value. Write them down on a piece of paper and hold onto it, so you can always come back to it when you’re not feeling great.