Changes in Identities

There are many ways in which people change identities. Most people change their identities because they feel if others know of a part of their identity they might hurt the individual. They can also have changes in their identity by experiencing things that transform their perspective of their life. Simple things such as reading an influential book or going to a different restaurant can change the person's identity.

Another example of changes in identity is the witness protection program, where the people who have witnessed a crime and have given leads for cops have to be protected so that the criminal or the gang that they testified against doesn't try to harm them. During the witness protection program they usually have to change their name, lie about their date of birth, and hide or change many aspects of their life.

Victims of stalking also change their identity totally so that the stalker can't locate them. One person, Lisa, changed her name, contact details, and other aspects of her life. She moved from America to Southeast Asia and sucessfully lost the stalker.

During wars or immense prosecution civilians might hide part of their identity so they aren't prosecuted and targeted by the prosecutors. An example is during the Holocaust many people claimed that they were Christans and had no Jewish affiliations whatsoever. The reasons for this are obvious because if they admitted to being Jewish Hitler would have tortured and killed them.

People have been known to change their identity to hide from payments or debts. Many people change their identity so tax collectors and loan companies can't charge them and take their money.

Even when a person's life isn't in danger they may still change parts or all of their identity for  other reasons. One of them is when someone falls in love. When somebody falls in love with someone else who has a very different lifestyle, the person might try to change his/her life and identity to appeal more to his/her crush.

But in the end I think it is nearly impossible to change your identity. Even if you change your name, lifestyle, and interests the old aspects of your identity will still be there, in your subconcious, affecting you in minute and almost invisible ways. You can never take things away from your identity, only add things.

Sources:
http://www.helium.com/items/720422-why-do-people-seem-to-lose-their-identity-when-they-get-married
http://changeidentity.net/?p=19

-SM