- Be aware of the "Cleaning House Phenomenon"
- TV News - Avoid watching the nightly news. It's a daily collection of horrible things and murders happening around your neighborhood. It's one negative blast after another. The goal of the evening news is to shock you and keep you watching.. It's a simple dollars and cents game. The station with the highest rating gets the most advertising dollars. It comes down to money for them, so their goal is do whatever gets viewers. And if that is to say "Heartless mother drowns her baby in the bathtub while her toddler watches! Details at 6!!" That's what they are going to do. It doesn't matter to them if it makes you break down and cry for half an hour. They don't care if their latest news flash makes you feel awful. They need viewers and ratings, and they'll do whatever it takes. Don't let their quest for endless money destroy your emotions and make recovery harder for you. Turn off the news and ignore what they shout to you from the TV.
- Newspapers - Avoid newspapers as well, for most of the same reasons to avoid TV. The more papers they sell, the higher their ad revenue. Newspapers aren't quite as "in your face" as the blaring TV, but they still have a collection of what's bad and depressing around the neighborhood and the country.
- Movies - Avoid violent movies, and movies with any abortion related themes or baby/children themes. These movies usually prove to be 'triggering', and can make certain PASS symptoms worse, and can hamper your recovery. Check the 'media warnings" section for movies that have been flagged by site visitors as having triggering content.
- Books and TV Shows - Avoid books and TV shows with any abortion related themes or baby/children themes. These things usually prove to be 'triggering', and can make certain PASS symptoms worse, and can hamper your recovery. Check the 'media warnings" section for books and TV shows that have been flagged by site visitors as having triggering content.
- Music - we all have different styles of music we like. I'm not going to tell you to throw away your rap cd's. But I will tell you to try to put on gentle music as often as possible. Try classical music, or Cd's that contain nature sounds, like ocean, rivers, rainforest, ect. Remember that while in recovery, you need to take it very gently, and do some things differently. Try to get away from standard music, and go to gentle and calming types for now.
- General Health - do the general things that are "good for your physical health". Try to do some sort of mild exercise at least once a day, whether it is a brief walk outside, some stretching, yoga, dancing or any other form of sports. Isolating is one of the common problems with PASS, and women tend to curl up in a ball on the couch or on the bed, and don't want to move. Moving is difficult, the cloud of depression that settles in makes you feel like you don't want to do anything. Try to push yourself to do a little bit of exercise every day.
- Physical Recovery for the first 8 weeks post-ab. If your abortion was recent, please look at the Physical Recovery Information Section. This area has specific information for recovery for the first few weeks after an abortion.
- Nutrition - since eating disorders can be one of the problems a woman is dealing with, it's especially important to try and follow general good nutrition rules. Try to drink lots of water, eat fresh fruits and vegetables, etc. etc.
- Caffeine! I know this is a toughie. I am a coffee lover myself, and have a difficult time cutting down caffeine. I also love sodas, and have a hard time controlling them too! However one of the common PASS problems is sleep problems, along with disturbing dreams and nightmares. If you have trouble falling asleep, staying asleep and have bad dreams, then it is ESPECIALLY important that you try to cut caffeine out completely. Or at least take in no caffeine after lunch time.
(STILL UNDER CONSTRUCTION _ MORE TIPS COMING)
How to take care of yourself while recovering from PASS.
Okay, you realize you are having difficulty with PASS problems. You are going to try and help yourself recover. What kinds of things can you do to help yourself while you recover? First of all, treat yourself very gently. Think of yourself as a delicate blossom that needs very special care. What you have been through and what you are still going through physically and emotionally is something that is rarely understood by medical professionals or other people who haven't experienced it. PASS is portrayed by the mainstream world as 'something that doesn't exist', so therefore no one tells us what to do, how to feel better, or how to take care of ourselves. So here's some guidelines for ways to help yourself recover.