From Our Blog
How Can I Help a Friend or Family Member Who is Struggling After an Abortion?
As a friend or family member, it’s challenging to watch your loved one struggle mentally and emotionally after an abortion. You might be unsure of how you can help or what to say.
Every woman’s experience is unique, and how you can best help your loved one will be based on their specific needs. However, here are tips to help you navigate this situation.
Additionally, Woman’s New Life Clinic offers professional counseling in Baton Rouge and New Orleans to help women heal after their abortion experiences. Refer her to one of our locations today.
Make Yourself Available
Your loved one may feel grief and other emotions in waves or at different times of day. Make yourself available when she texts or calls you or needs someone to keep her company.
She might seem fine when at group gatherings or carrying out her routines but could struggle with her thoughts once she’s home alone. Tell her you are available for calls, texts, and late-night visits.
Listen When She’s Ready
Maybe she’s not ready to talk about her experience yet or share her feelings or what she went through; that’s okay. Avoid pressuring her into speaking or trying to extract information from her.
Explain that you will listen whenever she’s ready to share. You can also gift her a journal so that she can begin to process independently and work through her feelings in privacy.
Plan Activities for Her
As a close friend or relative, you likely know your loved one’s favorite activities. While fun won’t heal her wounds, it can give her short breaks to breathe.
Plan activities that she enjoys. We recommend anything that involves exercise or getting her outside; both of these are so helpful for improving her overall mental health.
Help with Chores
One sign your friend may need extra support is if you’re noticing she hasn’t been doing her chores. Maybe she has a large pile of laundry, stacks of dirty dishes, or an empty fridge.