welcome to the ancestral findings podcast this is episode 251 DNA testing is exciting
you can find out so much about yourself and your heritage by having it done but you can also find
out information that can be disconcerting or even upsetting today I'll give you some common things
you may find in your DNA that may shake you and emotional coping techniques for dealing with them
the easy availability of home DNA testing has become extremely popular in both genealogical
circles and in everyday people who do not do genealogy the idea of being able to know
about our ancestors where we came from and even ourselves via health and other personal
information DNA provides is tantalizing since these DNA test kits are so affordable for most
it is hard to resist their appeal personal DNA testing is now more popular than ever with ads
on TV from companies like ancestry.com and 23andme comm being common everyone it seems
wants to get their DNA tested and give it as a gift to someone else and you can find out many
fascinating things about yourself and your family with these test kits reading over the results can
be riveting it can be fun it is terrific to share the results with other family members who have
also taken tests to compare results or to share with those who have not yet done it so they may
know a little more about their heritage and to encourage them to be tested - it is informative
and enjoyable for the vast majority of people who do it yet there are some people who make
unexpected and sometimes unwanted discoveries in their DNA they learn their ethnic background
is not what they thought or we're told it was leading them to wonder why they spent so much
time celebrating German culture when they are mostly Irish or it could be something even more
earth-shaking such as discovering they are adopted one parent usually the dad is not
their biological parent that a parent or other relative had an affair that produced children
or a child or that other relatives were adopted or products of affairs with health results such
as with 23andme calm people may learn they are prone to certain adverse health conditions and
wonder what to do about it they may find they are carriers of certain genetic conditions they could
pass on to their potential children they may find they have genes that virtually guarantee they will
eventually get some unwanted disease which may or may not have a cure what to do with this kind of
information how do you handle it learning how to properly handle the emotional response from these
kinds of discoveries as a key part of DNA testing and something you should learn before you have the
testing done the big DNA testing companies all have clauses you have to agree to before buying
the kit stating that companies are not responsible for any emotional distress you may experience by
having a test done and reading the results there's a reason for this again while most people do quite
well with their results and are happy with them a small percentage do experience emotional distress
the best way to protect yourself from this is to be prepared before testing the first thing
you should do to prepare is to consider why you want to get the testing done in the first place
what do you want to hope to learn by getting your DNA tested what curiosities about yourself or your
heritage do you hope the testing will satisfy what will you do if the test connects you to
relatives you never knew you had how will you respond if you reach out to those relatives and
they do not reach back in return what will you do if these new people do respond to you and want to
be a part of your life what will you do if you discover you are not biologically related to one
or both of your parents or that you are related to your parents but not one or more of your siblings
how will you handle that information be prepared to give yourself an answer because people who
never in a million years thought they would get these kinds of results have and they have been
faced with these very questions it's easier if you have answers ahead of time you can call it
an emotional preparedness plan for getting your DNA testing done it is not unlike preparing for
a natural disaster or the collapse of civilization for example the zombie apocalypse one of the best
things you can do after answering these questions for yourself is to let your family know you are
interested in doing DNA genealogy testing let them know your goals for this testing and let them know
any concerns you may have about the results give them an opportunity to tell you anything you may
need to know before the results come it's easier hearing unexpected news about your heritage from
your family before you read about it on your DNA test results page when you do get your results
take a moment to process how you feel about them are you happy excited sad angry confused
let yourself feel those emotions and then call your family or any friends you brought into the
conversation with you and express these emotions to them ask them any questions you need to ask
and give them an opportunity to give you an honest answer if you need emotional support from anyone
or a group of people in your family to help you deal with any DNA test results you receive ask
them for it also be prepared for people reaching out to you on the DNA site as others discover you
share DNA and are related in some way even distantly you may also want to reach out to
those with whom you share DNA decide how and if you will respond to others and be prepared that
many people you contact yourself will respond to you the conversations may range from thrilling to
disappointing be prepared for all possibilities and know they are all normal and be aware that
most people you contact will not contact you back at all for their own reasons just as you
have your own reasons for responding to or not others who contact you don't take it personally
and move on to other DNA relatives some of them will respond and it can open an interesting and
informative genealogical dialogue most of all always remember that regardless of your DNA
test results they do not change who you are as a person you are always you just as you have always
have you ever considered taking a genealogy tourism trip these trips are more popular than
ever and you can do them alone or with a tour group join me the next time and I'll talk about
what these genealogy tour groups have to offer why genealogy tourism is so popular and how it
can benefit your family history research thanks for joining me today I'll see you next time on
the ancestral findings podcast and for further info you can visit us at ancestral findings com