We want to surround ourselves with people whose view of us is somewhat in line with how we view ourselves. Without that, the secrets and doubleness pile up. Like Walt Whitman, we can and do encompass multitudes, but I prefer to live a single consistent life and feel like I am being my "self" at least 99.9% of the time.
I don't lead what I think of as a double life, but there are some pretty distinct hats I put on for various interactions. A friend I've known for years was surprised that some people I used to do business with see me as something of a hardass, and I in turn was surprised that these two hats caused such a disparate and distinct ideas of who I was as a person.
That Selinda story was a bit intense, though I understand that there is likely more contextual information, but I think I might be worried if the "original" personality were to be "put away" permanently.