As the number of direct-to-consumer genetic testing customers grows, so do the number of individuals who learn something unsettling about their family history, the Boston Globe reports. This, it adds, has led to the establishment of a number of support groups to help people cope with learning, for instance, that their dad wasn't their biological father or that their husband has a child from a one-night stand.
The individuals seeking out these groups are often dealing with feelings of anger, the Globe says. "No other words can describe my feelings other than pure betrayal," one member of a Facebook support group wrote, according to the Globe. "My mother pretends she never knew I wasn't my father's."
The Globe notes that firms like Ancestry.com and 23andMe warn consumers that they might find out something unexpected about themselves or their families.
It also adds these DTC genetic testing revelations sometimes lead to another round of secrets in which those who learn a parent isn't a biological parent or uncover an unknown sibling don't mention it to invovled relatives who may be elderly or ill.