On my aborted child’s due date, I found myself crying all night. As I applied a hot washcloth to my eyes the next morning, I began to believe I was losing my mind due to some unknown reason.
After my abortion, the third week in March was always a bad week for me. Without knowing about Abortion PTSD symptoms, I didn’t connect those difficult days to my choice.
I never thought my tears that evening had anything to do with my abortion. I wouldn’t let myself even consider that possibility as I was working to distance myself from that memory. I chalked my mourning up to depression.
Years later, I recalled that mourning moment when first reading the symptoms of Abortion PTSD relating to “anniversary pain.” My mind immediately connected my baby’s due date to the crying session. That understanding brought peace.
Anniversary pain can be focused on the date of the abortion or the due date of the aborted child. When these dates resurface, unknown sorrow can result. Many times there is relief in understanding that this pain has a source. If you know the source of your pain, you can work to heal it.
Some describe this anniversary pain as “haunting.” The “presence” of a lost child may be on the edge of a person’s conscience, like any other family member who has passed away. Many are paralyzed in this distress and miss experiencing all that God has to offer their heart.
When understanding that a child was lost through their choice, the anguish of a past abortion may arguably be the worst form of self-torture existing in the world. It represents one of the few forms of “true guilt.”
In my conversations with thousands of post-abortive people, a typical comment is, “How can I even consider looking at this pain?” Interestingly enough, most face this pain every day. They just don’t realize the abortion connection.
Once a woman realizes her pregnancy loss, milestone marks that would have occurred in the aborted child’s life can also be painful. If the woman has living children, even their son or daughter’s smile and loving words can remind them of their missing one in heaven.
Sorrow can be stirred in simply meeting an individual who is the same age as the woman’s aborted child. The world is full of “reminders” as the years roll on. With each memory, and every tear shed, God drew me closer to his grace and mercy, helping me cope with the ongoing grief.
If you, or someone you know has experienced abortion, please review the symptoms of Abortion PTSD to understand the impact at a deeper level. Her Choice to Heal’s Abortion Recovery program, offered through pregnancy centers and churches, can help process this pain. God’s peace can end the traumatic impact of abortion anniversary dates.
God’s love and peace are available to everyone, regardless of our choices. Hebrews 8:11-13 shares this truth: No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.
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- #MeToo and Abortion Pain - June 26, 2018
- The Irish Abortion Vote - May 23, 2018
- The Health Benefits of Tears after Abortion - April 27, 2018
