Symptoms and treatment of depression after an abortion
Losing a child in the making is a very painful situation that has a series of important psychological consequences. It requires starting a perinatal mourning process that, if not adequately accompanied, can become complicated and end up causing depression.
We are talking about depression after an abortion, which can also arise due to a voluntary abortion. What symptoms can arise in these cases? What characterizes depression after an abortion? As we will see, the symptoms are the same as those of a “usual” depression, although the trigger is very specific: an abortion or a pregnancy loss. How to overcome the loss?
Depression after an abortion: a subtype of depression?
- Depression is a mood disorder characterized by a series of mood, motivational and behavioral, cognitive, physical, and interpersonal symptoms that last for at least two weeks. There is one of these symptoms that must appear yes or yes: depressed mood or loss of pleasure for all or almost all activities.
- Actually, we cannot talk about different types of depression in terms of their symptoms, but we can talk about different depressions depending on their moment of appearance. One of these types is post-abortion depression.
- The truth is that the WHO does not classify it as its own entity, but the medical literature has described it (and calls it post abortion syndrome). He describes it as a pathological picture that includes various symptoms and that arise after an abortion, which may be voluntary or involuntary.
- Thus, this “type” of depression is included within major depressive disorders. Because? Because the clinical symptoms are the same in post-abortion depression as in other “types” of depression (although the triggering factor for the disorder varies).
- Depression after an abortion affects women who have either decided to terminate their pregnancy voluntarily or have suffered a gestational loss. Actually, these are two very different situations, so the symptoms may vary from one case to another. We are going to describe how this depression can manifest itself in women who suffer from it (in both types of abortion).
Different symptoms of depression after an abortion
- The symptoms of depression after an abortion vary greatly from one woman to another. These are directly related to the reasons that have led to the abortion, the gestation period, the relationship with the couple, the steps to reach the decision, the influences received, etc.
- The symptoms, as we said, are the same as those of a “normal” depression (or one that does not arise after an abortion). These include symptoms of different types:
Mood symptoms
- Sadness
- Dejection
- Unhappiness
- Anxiety
- Vacuum sensation
- Irritability
- Emotional anesthesia (in severe cases)
Motivational and behavioral symptoms
- Inhibition
- Apathy
- Anhedonia
- Lack of motivation
- Agitation
- Psychomotor retardation
- Stupor (autism, paralysis)
Cognitive symptoms
- Altered performance and deficits in attention, memory, or mental speed
- Circular and ruminative thought
- Self-loathing
- Feelings of guilt
- Ideas of death or suicide
- hopelessness
Physical symptoms
- Sleeping problems
- Fatigue
- Decreased or increased appetite
- Decreased or increased sexual desire
- Nausea, unsteadiness, or dizziness
- Diffuse body discomfort
Interpersonal symptoms
- Deterioration of relationships
- Decreased interest in people
- Social isolation
- Rejection
Characteristics of depression after an abortion
Although depression after an abortion does not constitute an independent clinical entity, that is, it is not a specific subtype of depression (because the symptoms are the same), the trigger is very clear: an abortion or a pregnancy loss. This means that the symptoms can present themselves in a more specific way.
Depression after a miscarriage (pregnancy loss)
- In this case, we are talking about a very traumatic situation. The woman (and her partner) lose her/her child, her baby, and this is very painful. Due to this situation, both must start a grieving process. Although both members of the couple can suffer from depression, we are going to focus on the woman, who is the one with the highest risk of suffering from it.
- After a gestational loss, the woman must face two types of losses: the loss of her baby and the loss of the life expectancy she had with that baby, her life project. That is, all the illusions and expectations that she had created around that creature.
- This does not mean that you “lose” your life project forever, because you can get pregnant again, but you do lose the project with THAT baby (and it is clear that no baby replaces another). For this reason, after a gestational loss, the woman initiates different types of mourning that require dedication, time and patience. If those duels get complicated, that is when depression can appear after an abortion.
Depression after a voluntary abortion
- Depression can also be triggered after a voluntary abortion, that is, after the decision to terminate the pregnancy. We are talking about a very complex situation, which can occur for multiple reasons: carrying a child with difficulties or with an illness that is incompatible (or not) with life, feeling that it is not the time to have a child (whether for personal, economic or, labor, etc.), that it is not a desired pregnancy, that it has been the result of a rape (in more extreme cases) and a host of other causes.
- Each decision is personal and unique, but what is clear is that the woman has the right to decide what she wants to do with her body. Logically, policies for the prevention of unwanted pregnancies are also important here, since they make it possible to reduce this type of painful situation.
- Making such a decision is a complex and painful process, which has important psychological consequences. Thus, the woman may feel guilty after this act, and develop various depressive symptoms. Let’s not forget that it is, as in the previous case, a traumatic situation; and it is that an abortion is not innocuous neither physically nor psychologically.
Perinatal grief vs. depression after abortion
- Depression after an abortion is a direct consequence of this painful situation, which is regardless of whether it was taken voluntarily or not. Logically, a woman’s experience changes, not just from one woman to another, but from one situation to another.
- Losing a child is not the same as terminating a pregnancy; in the second case, for example, more guilt may arise. In the case of losing a child, on the other hand, life expectations and an illusion are also lost, all those desires that the woman (and her partner) had projected onto her child. In both cases, it will be important to receive adequate emotional support, above all, to avoid triggering a true depressive disorder.
- As a final reflection, it is important to keep in mind that it is not the same to be going through perinatal grief than to have depression. In mourning the symptoms are similar to those of depression, but this is a normal reaction to loss, it is not a disorder or a disease; however, if the grief becomes complicated (symptoms intensify or become chronic, for example), then depression (or pathological or complicated grief) can arise.
- Depression due to an abortion is a very complicated process and it will always be recommended to require help, so do not hesitate to ask for it to overcome the loss.