It’s like trying to put
together a puzzle when
you don’t know what
the picture looks like.
“Identity is this incredible invisible force that controls your whole life. It’s invisible like gravity is invisible, but it controls your whole life.”
Identity Loss
With over the counter DNA tests becoming one the most popular gifts it’s no wonder that over 30 million people world wide have taken one only to find that the parent that held them, raised them, loved them are not related to them. Just like that, half of their identity is gone, their ethnicity may have changed, and their sense of self vanishes. When they look in the mirror the face looking back at them is a stranger, and they are left wondering “who am I”? Identity loss is a trauma that many NPE’s suffer from.
“You are not a mistake and you are more than a secret. ”
Why it Hurts
“He’s still your Dad”. “Nothing’s changed.” “Isn’t it time to move on.” All words most NPE’s have heard, and all words that hurt. It’s hard for people to understand the loss that we feel. It’s hard to explain to people that we are mourning the loss of someone we may not have even known. It’s hard to explain the loss of ourselves. But the pain is still very much real.