How can we show up for ourselves and our loved one?
1. Identify Your Emotions
The emotions that we feel refer to our conscious mental reaction to everything happening in our lives, which is often accompanied by physiological and behavioral changes in the body. Identifying the emotions you are experiencing following the Roe V. Wade Decision will provide you with important insight regarding what is happening internally. This will help you respond mindfully, communicate with others, and process and overcome your negative emotions in a healthy manner.
In order to identify your emotions, it is important to be curious about your experience, aware of your bodily reactions, and to make time to free-style journal.
2. Validate Your Emotions
When a traumatic experience arises, it can be challenging to make sense of the emotions you are feeling. Following the Roe V. Wade Decision, people have found it difficult to validate, or recognize, their negative feelings as making sense, accurate, and/or acceptable.
In order to validate yourself, it is important to pay attention to your feelings, reflect back on them without judgment, and then look at how they make sense given the situation. To validate your emotions you may say to yourself, “It makes sense that I feel angry and afraid that the Supreme Court overturned Roe V. Wade given that, in the past, nearly one in four women in the United States (23.7%) have an abortion by age 45.”
3. Take Time To Grieve
While many people associate suffering with losing a loved one, grief can also arise through the loss of many other things, such as fundamental women's rights.
So, how do we grieve effectively?
There are many ways that we can move past our trauma and cope effectively. Sometimes, speaking to your loved ones can help. Letting out your emotions can bring reassurance, closure, optimism, and allows your support system to understand how to better help and support you.
Implementing coping skills can also be helpful. Coping skills are the behaviors, thoughts, and emotions that we use to manage and deal with stress. Healthy coping skills include distracting yourself, making crisis plans, or practicing mindfulness, progressive muscle relaxation, and grounding techniques.
Gaining a sense of control is another efficient way to manage grief. Although we can control our thoughts, behaviors, and responses to specific situations, we cannot control the future of aborition rights. Ask yourself what you’re in control of versus what is out of your hands right now. Try staying focused on what you can control.
4.Take Action
Although you are one individual, your drive and passion for abortion rights can make a difference. Donating to an abortion fund, supporting your local Planned Parenthood, finding events near you, and sharing resources on social media to find an abortion clinic are all ways your voice can be heard!
5. Reach Out For Support
Lastly, if you notice you are struggling to use any of the methods above to manage your emotions and use healthy coping strategies, please do not hesitate to reach out to our Bespoke Wellness professionals by calling 646-596-7797 or emailing info@bespokewellnesspartners.com to get the help you deserve. We are here for you.