When It Hurts, Write to the You Who Made It Through
Some kinds of pain are hard to hand to anyone. Telling friends feels like being a burden; telling family means making them worry; posting it online is too exposed. So it stays lodged in your chest, replaying at 2 a.m., getting heavier each time. Writing it down is one of the most consistently proven ways to loosen that knot — and writing it to your future self adds something more: a quiet assumption, built right into the envelope, that a day will come when you're out the other side, calm enough to read this. People have written here on the night of a breakup, in the week they were laid off, from a hospital bed, and after losing someone they couldn't imagine losing. Most of these letters were sealed in tears. But opened a year later, nearly all of them say the same thing back: you made it through. Below are letters their writers chose to make public — because they wanted whoever is hurting right now to know this road has been walked before, all the way to the other end.
Ideas to get you started
- Don't compose — pour. The hurt, the anger, the fear, exactly as they are. This letter has no other reader; it doesn't need to be presentable.
- Write down what actually happened. The pain will fade, but what you went through deserves to be remembered truthfully.
- Give future-you one small, gentle assignment: eat at that hotpot place for me. Get a full night's sleep for me.
- If someone is being kind to you right now, put them in the letter. When you're through this, remember to thank them.
Real letters from the vault
615 public letters写给未来的你
亲爱的你收到这封信的时候，我想你在开心的过年吧，希望你不像我一样过的年那样的孤单痛苦，我也希望现在的你的脸上洋溢着我所没有的自信和笑容。我希望这一刻你是最幸福的，并且我希望你忘记了所有的爱和痛苦。这封信是我的一个期许，对你，也是对我。我希望你忘记了何瑞龙并且开始新的生活，我希望你怀着感激的心情忘记这
不同年代的自己
Oct 8, 2017 · Traveled 4 months 8 days
Photo letter
为了爱，写给未来的自己
冬至，深夜，一颗孤独的心。失落中，我写了这封信给未来的自己。最近，我的脑海里都是你的身影，挥之不去。你的笑，你的声音，你有道疤痕却不失性感的唇。2017年10月14日，老门东。于你，是一次大冰忠实读者交流会；于我，却是一次对你心生情愫以致我无法面对自己的旅程。坦白说，我不喜欢这样的自己，人类的情感真
Cheng_Chen
Nov 7, 2017 · Traveled 6 months 13 days
无题
不知道说什么，最近很烦又来写这玩意，果然是个只能活在回忆里的人了吧（笑）最近“我他妈孤独的要死”我的朋友呢？班上的男生群体融入不进去，一直能玩的开的女生也感觉没有共同语言，每天就拿个破柠檬茶喝着，天天抄作业，单词课文也不背，数学题也不会做，物理化学浪的一批，生物睡觉非选择题能他妈错完。一直在考虑我到
望筹臭臭为何臭
Nov 11, 2017 · Traveled 3 months
我可能比你想象的更加爱你
我的建，此为分手后的第一天。与你尴尬的视频了一次，虽然脸上挂着微笑，可是末尾时还是忍不住要哭了出来。我很确定的是，我要告诉你的是，我很爱你，很爱你，很爱你，很爱你，比你想象中的要爱你很多。可是依然很作，依然决心要与你分手，原因很多，不方便叙述，或许我想尝试一下我们做朋友的感觉，这样我不会对你要求太多
沙拉小妮
Nov 30, 2017 · Traveled 2 years 7 months
我又睡不着了
我们现在怎么样啊，分手了吗。我最近太难过了，你好像不太喜欢我了，每次找你玩你都爱理不理的不知道是不是太烦我了呢，所以我也不太想去了我好累，特别特别累不想再看到你对我不耐烦的样子，你生气的样子太可怕了，生气之后可以直接把我丢下不管，每次都是去哄你，我受不了，真的太累了。连想和你解决这些问题的精力都没有
又又
Dec 30, 2017 · Traveled 2 months
一年复一年，现在的你，又经历了什么呢?
说实话，感觉上完大学以后，也变的颓废了些，不知什么原因，感觉各方面的能力都大不如以前了，没有当初的那种劲头了，自制力也变差了，学习学着学着，就感到非常的无聊，不能进行下去，接着就会去看看视频，去玩玩游戏，导致时间都被浪费掉了， 不知是因为中间生了场大病，体验了一次住院的感觉，还是因为自己的股骨关节一
Mr丶阿萌
Jan 1, 2018 · Traveled 11 months 30 days
假如生活欺骗了你
If by Life You Were Deceived Aleksandr Pushkin If by life you were deceived, Don't be dismal,don't be wild! In the day of grief, be mild . Merry days
橙子
Jan 6, 2018 · Traveled 1 year
猪猪猪猪
有没有觉得最近的我很奇怪，作作的，说话气人 我也不知道我怎么了，每天看起来太开心了，其实有好多难过的事，为什么总是不说呢，可能是觉得没有人可以帮得了我吧 发现其实我根本没话跟你讲，什么都聊不起来，你做你的我做我的，该在一起闹一下就闹一下。好像没有互相倾诉过什么吧，这也许是让我难过的原因之一。明明是最
又又
Jan 6, 2018 · Traveled 1 day
愿时光可以将这一切消磨殆尽
敬宜同学: 别来无恙，我又来打扰啦(预计你明天还会再收到一封，不过是我以前写的) 真的很抱歉，给你带来了这么多的困扰，我的不成熟应该给你带来了很多烦恼吧……再次向你致歉。一年前的这个时候，我贸然向你表达了喜欢之意，结果导致了与当时被拒后双方协定的一如往常…我还是太蠢了吧，这种事情毕竟不可能就这么一笔
所谓羞耻心
Jan 11, 2018 · Traveled 6 months 20 days
生日快乐
突然想起20岁生日那天中午，在新叶幼儿园午休的时间，收到了自己17岁时写给自己的信。当时真的很有感触…… 现在一晃都22了。未来还是一片迷茫，我看不清我的事业，看不清我的感情。我对未来充满期待，也充满恐惧。我不知道，当你收到这封信的时候，正在做着一份怎样的工作，是依然在上海做夜场，还是自己开起了小店
萌阿萌
Jan 12, 2018 · Traveled 2 years 11 months
不知道怎么选
我不知道应该怎么办，我爱他 ，但是我不敢再去等了，我好累，怕到时候还是和现在一样让我难过。8年的感情，不容易放下，我真的不知道怎么办了，？？
你好
Jan 17, 2018 · Traveled 3 days
对未来的不确定性产生恐惧
这两天爸爸可能就要走了，虽然我不是很喜欢他，但是想到即将失去这么一个亲人我的心还是很痛。他走之后，哥哥那边少了财务上的资助，未来会怎样？其实我也好不到哪去，如要期货上再赚不到大钱，我该如何面对未来的生活？我不愿意没有尊严的苟延残喘。希望明年这个时候我不用再为钱犯愁了。
绽放
Jan 24, 2018 · Traveled 1 year
Frequently Asked Questions
Will anyone else be able to read this?
No. Letters are private by default — only you, on delivery day, can open it. Going public is entirely your choice; every letter on this page was shared deliberately by its writer.
Does writing it down actually help?
Expressive writing has a substantial body of psychology research behind it. Many users describe the moment they hit "seal" as physically handing over part of the weight.
What if, a year from now, I don't want to be reminded?
All that arrives is a notification — whether you open the letter, and when, is up to you. For what it's worth, most people report reading theirs with a smile.
What if things feel really serious right now?
A letter can keep you company, but it's no substitute for professional help. If what you're feeling is affecting your daily life, please reach out to a counselor or a mental health helpline where you live.
When It Hurts, Write to the You Who Made It Through
Write yours