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i need to talk, and no one i know can even begin to comprehend what i'm dealing with.
i was adopted at birth, into a family with no other children. i had a pretty fairy-tale life, and i love my adoptive family more than anything. i had an open adoption, and until i was 7 or 8 my birth parents were always in my life as an aunt & uncle. i was always aware of my adoption.
when i found out the details of my adoption i was hurt. my birth father had a nasty habit of impregnating then leaving his wives. i have 2 half brothers by one woman, and a half brother & half sister from another. i was put up for adoption, and my birth parents stayed together for almost 2 decades. apparently it was a good choice for them.
i cut off contact with my birth parents. they were going to visit when i was 12 or 13, and they canceled at the last minute. i remember being extremely disappointed, then shortly after the excitement i felt turned to fear and i haven't had a relationship with either of them since. i was in contact with my bio-sister and one brother, but he wasn't interested in speaking to me, and i lost contact with her after one of her children died. i didn't know how to deal with the grief i had over the death of a child i'd never met.
my adoptive mother is still in contact with my birth mother, they remained friends and now my birth mother wants to visit. I know i should see her, speak with her, hear her out, but it hurts. my whole life i have wanted to be a mother, i cannot imagine giving up a child.
i feel guilty for being angry with her. i've always felt that loving them would somehow be betraying my adoptive family. i feel angry for feeling guilty. i didn't ask to be put in this situation. i feel abandoned, i always have. i'm terrified of people leaving me, but i often drive people away. the pain of feeling like i wasn't good enough for my own biological mother is always with me, and it makes me feel guilty because i feel as though i'm cheapening the love of the family that adopted me. and as much as they love me and i love them, i cannot walk into a room filled with them without seeing myself as an outsider.
i am so angry, and i don't know who i am angry with. i'm so sad and i cannot find anyone who understands. i feel ungrateful for the life that i have gotten to lead, because in the back of my mind i always feel like an impostor.
I have nieces and nephews who have found me through Facebook. my biological sister tried to add me as a family member on some app they have and in response i deleted my whole account. i freeze, i can't think when i'm confronted with biological family members. my biological father sent me a message, telling me that he loved all his children and that i could always talk to him. I'm ashamed to say i responded by telling him that i was not his child.
i don't know what to do. part of me longs to meet her, to sit down across from someone and have the moment of looking across the table and seeing something of yourself in someone else. i want to hear what she has to say, but i don't think i'll be able to accept it. most of all, i don't think i could meet my biological mother with my adoptive mother there. i think my head would literally explode.
i feel incredibly lost, i don't know what to do.
I have had adoption counselling a few times to try to understand the feelings I was having. It's confusing when some bio family members get personal and try to include you don't feel like they are family as you don't know them. How your adoptive mum to talk to? Mine would never comprehend talking to my bio mum. I did have them in the same room once and I can confirm that it's possible for your head to explode. It takes a bit of time for it all to sink in. All your feelings are very familiar to me. It's not always so crazy.
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firefly20
i feel guilty for being angry with her. i've always felt that loving them would somehow be betraying my adoptive family. i feel angry for feeling guilty.
Obviously as I am not an adoptee I feel unequipped to advise you. However I did just want to say, from the perspective of an AP, that I hope you can let go of worrying about the feelings of your afamily in reaction to your feelings about your bfamily. The feelings are different and one does not take away from the other. Perhaps the first thing you might work on is giving yourself permission to feel whatever it is that you feel.
Hugs and good luck figuring this out.
Hi Sweet Heart, Your Letter Has Touched Me. Sooo I Think You Owe It To Your Self To Meet Up With Your Birth Mom...remeber You Didnt Ask To Be Adopted.....you Need To Be True To Your Feelings-what Ever They Mite Be .....and Dont Waste Time B-cuz You Never Know What The Future May Hold. It Could Cause You More Pain-yes...... But You Will Always Be In Pain From The Unknown..and She Probly Canceled Out Cuz She Was Scared And Felt Guilty---maybe.......but I Know You Will Leave Stronger And Wiser No Matter What......god Bless You
firefly20
my whole life i have wanted to be a mother, i cannot imagine giving up a child.
i feel guilty for being angry with her. i've always felt that loving them would somehow be betraying my adoptive family. i feel angry for feeling guilty. i didn't ask to be put in this situation. i feel abandoned, i always have. i'm terrified of people leaving me, but i often drive people away. the pain of feeling like i wasn't good enough for my own biological mother is always with me, and it makes me feel guilty because i feel as though i'm cheapening the love of the family that adopted me. and as much as they love me and i love them, i cannot walk into a room filled with them without seeing myself as an outsider.
i am so angry, and i don't know who i am angry with. i'm so sad and i cannot find anyone who understands. i feel ungrateful for the life that i have gotten to lead, because in the back of my mind i always feel like an impostor.
.... my biological father sent me a message, telling me that he loved all his children and that i could always talk to him. I'm ashamed to say i responded by telling him that i was not his child.
i don't know what to do. part of me longs to meet her, to sit down across from someone and have the moment of looking across the table and seeing something of yourself in someone else. i want to hear what she has to say, but i don't think i'll be able to accept it. most of all, i don't think i could meet my biological mother with my adoptive mother there. i think my head would literally explode.
i feel incredibly lost, i don't know what to do.
The thought of giving up a child IS unimaginable. I think this is true even for our biological parents. For most of them, there had to be no other alternative--or the alternative was even worse than relinquishment--for them to decide on adoption.
Plus, for your b-parents, there is the added guilt of having remained together after you were placed. Anecdotally, it seems that reunion is harder for the parents who stayed together than for the parents who didn't. It just adds another layer of guilt.
I understand that you feel guilty about wanting to know your biological family. Society has tried to tell us (and only us) that biology and heritage do not matter, and we should be grateful for having parents who took us into their lives. . . . If you had a solid upbringing, you definitely should be grateful for having a loving family. Everyone, whether adopted or not, should be grateful if they had a family that cared for and loved them.
But, I personally do not believe that we need to be grateful for having been adopted. If we truly are seen as being just like biological children, we shouldn't have to feel grateful. No biological child has to feel grateful for having been raised by his or her parents.
You have a right to know your biological family. I understand what it feels like to look at your a-family and feel like you don't quite fit into it.
Did I miss how old you are? I am only asking because if you are 18+, you don't need to have your a-mom there when you meet your b-mom.
It's a lot. Your emotions are raw, and they probably will become even more frayed as you enter into the reunion zone. Feelings just keep popping up.
If you want to meet your b-family, you should.
I would like to say that your story touched me. I had to let two of my children go at ages 6 and almost 5. It was the hardest thing i have ever had to do in my lifetime. My dads sister adopted them and there isn't a day that goes by that i dont wonder about them. I still struggle everyday of my life with not having them in my life. I since then had a son and i look into his eyes and i see my beautiful children that i no longer can hold, and tell them just how much they mean to me. Christmas is still a tough time. My youngest daughters b-day is Christmas Day. Yes i celebrate it for my son but it still isnt the same without them there to tell them just how much they still mean to me and that hopefully one day they will find it in their hearts to accept me into their life. I know i cant replace the woman they know as their mother but i do want them to know that i will always be there for them no matter what the future hold. I pray each and every night that God will bring me through all this and that he is the one to know why things happen the way they do. There is a reason behind everything that happens and for the longest time i dwelled on why i no longer had my children then i cam to know the lord and now i know he has control of everything that happens and i have let him have the drivers seat. God Bless You!
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Hi Firefly,
Not that my opinion means much...but I met met my biological mother. My father says I'M NOT HIS! Im 42 now. I have 4 children and am "married". I know the feelings of guilt. What do you do on mothers day??? You feel a certain obligation to send your biological mother a card, while at the same time time your adoptive mother asked if you sent one or have talked to her...it almost feels like your cheating on a spouce! Your right...I too feel like my head is going to explode and no one except people like us know how it feels, or the pressure we have! I feel what you feel...unlike you, I have 11 brothers and sisters none of which im real blood. I just have to say I feel guilty on a daily basis....I love my real mom for loving me unconditionally...yet I love my adopted mom for clothing me feeding me and loving me the way she could (yet lesser than her real kids)...so I guess the guilt of love is real and something we can't change....go with your feelings!! I did!!! I am not totally happy but am cotent!!! Good luck