Will I feel sadness or depression after the abortion?

 

No one but you can answer this question; however, there are "red flags" that will let you know that you might be at risk for a negative emotional response after your abortion.  These red flags, or risk factors, are split into two different categories. The first category contains things like emotional conflicts you have about your decision to abort, social stigmas you associate with having an abortion, and moral or spiritual beliefs you may have about abortion. The second category includes your historical data, including psychological problems, depression, age, support systems you have access to, and education. You can assess your risk for having emotional difficulties after abortion by filling out the checklist located here.

 

The emotional response after an abortion varies widely from woman to woman as well as from abortion to abortion. Many women report feeling relief immediately following the abortion. This relief could last hours, days, weeks, months, or years. Not all women regret their abortion or have sadness because of it. Other women, especially those who have the previously-mentioned risk factors, do have a wide variety of negative emotional responses, ranging from mild sadness to severe depression. Many of these women go on to heal emotionally and spiritually, while others feel as if they just can't get past the abortion. Common sense is often the key to discovering your own risk factors for sadness after an abortion. If you think that it will be hard for you to recover emotionally following your abortion, you're probably right.  You most likely have a reason for feeling that way - maybe you don't really want the abortion but feel it's the only option, maybe you're being pressured, or perhaps you've always believed that abortion is wrong. 

 

If you're feeling like you might experience sadness or regret, you're probably wondering how you can avoid having those feelings occur. Many women feel that by preparing for the abortion, naming their child, and enrolling in post-abortion counseling before the abortion occurs, they can stop the sadness before it starts. This is usually not true. You may feel relief after the abortion, because having the decision over with is incredibly relieving. Your subconscious may also bury those feelings of sadness deep down inside, protecting you from any sad emotions for a time. Like trying to prepare for any emotional hardship to occur, however, the woman who is likely to experience sadness after her abortion usually cannot stop the emotions from eventually occurring.

 

For the woman who is at risk for sadness and depression, the decision becomes a balancing act between which is worse: facing the possible sadness from an abortion or having the baby and facing the difficulties that may come from parenting or adoption. Hopefully you will now be able to adequately assess whether or not you are likely to experience sadness following an abortion and then weigh the possibilities of feeling sadness from an abortion with facing difficulties with the other options. For some women, the concrete issues that have solutions -  like finances, housing, and food - are easier to deal with than the abstract problems such as "why did I do it?" and "what do I do now?"  For other women, the opposite is true. Only you can know which seems easier for you in the long run, and we encourage you to make the choice that will leave you feeling the happiest and healthiest.