Immediately, I was hooked and continued to read. Although that was the only real mention of adoption, I found the whole article quite interesting. The article mentioned that as early as 1913 Sigmund Freud observed that unburdening yourself of a secret might help your physical, as well as your mental state.

Interesting enough, several birth mothers have told me that their health improved dramatically after reunion. Author, adoptee and therapist Marlou Russell discusses in her reunion story called "Meeting my Mother" how much improved her birth mother's health was after reunion.

The article mentions that people who are secretive tend to have more depression, back pain, headaches and anxiety. Hardly a revelation that it is not healthy to keep feelings bottled up, but interesting still. Nevertheless, I have not read much before about keeping secrets before except in an adoption circles.

Although I do not profess to have had physical ailments that I attribute to being a birth mother, I know many women who feel strongly that many of their physical problems over the years were partially due to the stress of having lost a child to adoption.

What I can say for certain is this. Until reunion although I loved my life and enjoyed it, I was not at peace. There was always a vague sense that something was not right. I felt anxious at times worried that people would "find out" that I had relinquished a child. None of my turmoil was visible to others, but I felt it, and it plagued me.

Now, the one thing I worried about most is something that I publicly blog about. I feel sorry for anyone who goes to their grave with secrets, adoption or otherwise. I have to wonder, can they ever be at peace?