'Roe V. Wade' Anniversary: 4 Facts About Abortion
By Trudy Johnson. Posted on .
4. The abortion isn't always the closure; processing the grief is. Professional therapists know to assess for unprocessed grief when clients present them with emotional problems like depression, anger or anxiety. Grief after abortion is an example of disenfranchised grief. Disenfranchised grief as defined by Dr. Kenneth Doka, an expert in this area, as: "...a loss that cannot be openly acknowledged, socially validated or publically mourned." Disenfranchised grief, whether connected to the loss of an ex-spouse, a gay partner, a pet or even an abortion, can have a profound effect on an individual.
If you've had an abortion, you are not alone. You should find a safe place to share and perhaps even let your guard down enough to examine your heart for sadness. A lovely woman from Ireland says it best when she affirmed the message that disenfranchised grief after abortion is real and needs to be dealt with in the lives of women of choice:
More from YourTango: How To Survive Mother's Day If You Feel Post-Abortion Grief
"The term disenfranchised grief has totally changed my life by giving me the key to unlock the anger that I have carried all these years and the anger that was hiding the pain and grief I felt. Through the book, CPR: Choice Processing and Resolution [written by the author of this article], and a wonderful therapist beside me, I have been able to work through and dig deep into my soul to bare the pain and re-emerge from the darkness. I can't thank Ms. Johnson enough for writing the book to help people like me."
