"You can also lose your identity through the gradual merging in a relationship. A healthy relationship should be reciprocal in encouraging and maintaining an individual sense of self."
"When we lose our identity and sense of self, we are likely to seek our sense of self-worth from others. It suddenly becomes very important how others view us, as our sense of value and self-worth, our feelings of confidence, are dependent on external factors such as our physical appearance, success, status, money, and even fame. As a result, we seek reassurance and praise from others to feel OK about ourselves - but in reality, our emotional well-being depends on how we feel about ourselves."