Skip to main content

Pregnancy Paranoia: I Have Developed Obsessive and Irrational Fear of Getting Pregnant After Having an Abortion Two Years Ago



Photo: eretzsongs.blogspot.com

It has been about two years since I had an abortion. But I still relive the pain and fears like it happened just yesterday. I still remember how my mind blacked out, the numbness of my fingers, the dryness of my throat, the fears and anxieties of ‘how the hell did I get pregnant?!’

I am obsessed with NOT ‘accidentally’ getting pregnant again, so much that I think I have started abusing drugs especially ECPs (Emergency Contraceptive Pills); even though I know these are only to be taken in cases of emergencies and not actually to be used as normal birth control pills. 

 I think what fuels my paranoia is that my partner, two years ago, swore he used a condom and until now, we’re still not certain how the pregnancy happened. 

My own research and reading explained the fact that maybe the condom could have broken. And so up until now, I don’t feel safe, at all, when my partner uses a condom.

I still need some kind of assurance or prove that I won’t get pregnant, and to get that, I not only double check the condom after sex to see if there is a tear (which can be very ridiculous), but I also need to put my mind at rest by popping ECPs, sometimes without his knowledge, because he will tell me it’s unnecessary. 

I have gone as far as taking ECPs thrice in a month, and it really disturbs my cycle. Even WHEN THERE’S NO POSSIBLE WAY I can be pregnant (I keep a period calendar; all the safe and unsafe days thingy) I STILL NEED TO BE 200% sure.

Buying home pregnancy test kits have also kind of become a ‘thing’ for me. I have had to change pharmacies a couple of times to save myself the embarrassment of always having to buy ECPs and pregnancy test kits.

Unfortunately without them, I fear the worst will happen. That I will get pregnant, again, and relive all of the pain I’m trying to physically and psychologically run away from.

For now, it’s like not being pregnant and seeing my period at the end of every month is an achievement. I feel accomplished.  
I think I’m spiraling out of control.

The author of this post wishes to remain anonymous and Sista respects their decision


Comments

  1. I know the feeling.i had an abortion 3 years ago. It's hard especially since everyone who knows would not understand that you were trying to be careful when it happened.ive been on birth control since and I still get paranoid. I wish I had been able to deal with well so I could give some awesome advice. What I can say is take a day at a time...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for sharing your story. We're sure it will help someone out there feel less alone knowing there are others like her who are going through the same problem.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Say something about this post

Popular posts from this blog

Rape Is Not Just Sex. It Is a Crime of Power and You Don’t Tell Victims To ‘Just Get Over It.’

Photo Credit: Vox.com What most people do not understand is that rape is not something you just ‘get over’. No, it does not work that way. When the choice of consent is snatched from beneath you, it is a violation of not just your body but your mind too. Rape, is like a robbery in which something is taken forcefully from you with every unconsented thrust. Yet unlike robbery where items taken can be replaced, rape takes away parts of you that can never be replaced, only learned to live with. When a person is raped, it isn’t just the body that has been invaded but also the mind. And this unwarranted invasion can lead to a thrashing of a person’s mental health. Walls get broken and victims without the right help and counselling may never get around to becoming who they used to be. Their present comes to a standstill and the future turns to gloom. Some dire psychological effects of this violation may even be that victims may be broken to such abysmal levels that they acce...

“I have been both a victim of sexual abuse and most recently, rape.” Read Maureen Alikor’s Story and Her Campaign on Demystifying Abuse.

Photo: Maureen Alikor On the 16th of November 2016, my door was forced open by armed robbers who immediately striped us of all our devices and valuables. Myself and a friend. With a gun to our head, we were commanded to strip. We did. Yes, we were raped at gun point. All our pleas fell on deaf ears as they had their way, and left. Few minutes later, mobile policemen and neighbors began to converge in their neighborly pattern; in twos and threes, with folded arms, solemn looks, bowed heads and pitiful eyes; with much “sorry” and “take heart” to give, and curses intended to follow the rapists/armed robbers. But soon they left in their trickles. Fast forward to the next morning, neighbors and sympathizers converged yet again, and started dishing out various kinds of words of encouragement and advice on what to do; ranging from taking my pants to prayer altars so as to lay curses on the culprits, to burying the panties thereby burying their destinies. Others said, to...

Sista Clinik’s Ultimate Heartbreak Playlist for Women Going Through a Breakup

Photo Courtesy: Lovepanky.com Warning: This could get depressing, but oh, what the heck?! The pain is real. Like that kind of pain you feel when you accidentally hit your finger whiles hammering a nail into a wall. Or when a heavy door slams into four of your fingers without warning. Or when your baby toe accidentally hits something hard and won’t stop hitting into things at the exact spot of first injury throughout the rest of the day. You get the picture. Heartbreak is pain plus sorrow plus anger plus a little bit (maybe a lot) of insanity. Sometimes it feels like breath is being squeezed out of you or that someone pulled a plastic bag over your head. Almost every woman has experienced heartbreak—some many times more than others. For those who go scarred deepest and in the most repetitive of ways, every day is an emotional struggle. Dealing with men becomes a task executed with extra precaution because every man becomes a suspect, only in this case, guilty unti...