Losing the woman within

It would be true to say that almost every woman that has a hysterectomy will experience some sort of emotional upset as a result of it. How difficult this is and whether it is hormonal, psychological or a mixture of both will depend, to a large extent, on the life situation you have found yourself in.

“When I had my hysterectomy, I found myself lost in a sea of bewildering thoughts, feelings and practical necessities. I had imagined that as soon as the operation was over, I would be ‘a new woman’, just like the gynaecologist had told me and was extremely concerned, guilty, and angry – at myself - when I wasn’t. As the years have gone by, I have come to realise that what I felt was perfectly normal, that there is no ‘right way’ to have a hysterectomy – there is only the way we each individually experience it and there are so many shades of experience they make a veritable rainbow of alternatives.” Linda Parkinson-Hardman, Author of ‘Finding the Woman Within’

The title of this ebook is a response to the 1000’s of women who have contacted me at The Hysterectomy Association over the years who feel that their essential womanhood or their sense of self will be profoundly affected when they lose their womb. It is a full and frank account of the range of possible emotional impacts that a hysterectomy can have.

It covers the emotional upset that can be caused by our hormones as well as the emotional ones of anxiety, stress, anger, grief, guilt and depression; it talks about the possible effect on relationships and our sexuality and it is all done with the sensitivity and understanding by someone who has ‘been there’, and who has emerged happy and healthy at the end of it.

It is written by me, Linda and I am Director of The Hysterectomy Association. It is an informative guide to what you may experience, it is also interspersed with my own experience and story, which I have used to illustrate the emotions and situations she is talking about. It has a clear and easy style of writing, that will appeal to every woman who is about to embark on a hysterectomy journey.

The ebook looks at :

• Physical affects of hysterectomy
• How our hormones affect our feelings and why
• Emotional affects such as depression, anxiety, guilt, and grief
• Your relationship and sexuality
• How you can help yourself

I found writing about how I was feeling so cathartic that I have also included a couple of journal pages for you to begin your own diary of how you feel and you can print them out as many times as you need.

What Readers Have Said ….

‘Your story touched me in a way I that helped me cope with my own experiences.’ JH

‘I couldn’t have done with it’ AC

“Thank you, I needed to know it wasn’t just me and that I was normal!” JK.