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.

How to write this letter

  • 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

733 public letters
Delivered 简体中文

你要好好看完!!!!!!

小璇你好啊,好久不见啦,当你收到这封信的时候,我想我们已经分别了一百天,很抱歉我这样对你,我能看出你的生气,我也知道我这样做让我们连朋友都做不成了,可能你已经忘记我了吧,就像我说有天我也只是你过去轻描淡写的某一页,我并不重要,但是我现在好想你啊,网易云好友都不给我留,我想写一写我

3509738112 2025.03.01
Delivered 简体中文

等风来

亲爱的袁鹏翔:这是一封写给未来的自己的信。现在是北京时间2015年10月11日凌晨1:31,如果你已经忘记了这一刻的你为什么要写这封信,请你千万不要往下看。请你好好的生活下去。此时的你很难受,大概是16年来你最难受的一次,你已经不知道坐在床上胡思乱想些什么一个多小时了,你觉得世界

嚯嚯嚯嚯嚯 2015.10.11
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写给未来的自己

刚才本来已经写好了一封信,准备寄给五年后的自己,却不小心点没了,真是气死我了,这下要花时间重新写一次了。今天是2019年11月6日,我在上海大学嘉定校区6号宿舍楼的一楼自习室给你写下这封信,虽然明天要考试了,但是我想这件事可能比考试更重要,愿意花更多时间跟你在这罗嗦几句。未来的你

n4565 2019.11.06
Delivered 简体中文

写给未来的自己

刚才本来已经写好了一封信,准备寄给五年后的自己,却不小心点没了,真是气死我了,这下要花时间重新写一次了。今天是2019年11月6日,我在上海大学嘉定校区6号宿舍楼的一楼自习室给你写下这封信,虽然明天要考试了,但是我想这件事可能比考试更重要,愿意花更多时间跟你在这罗嗦几句。未来的你

n4565 2019.11.06
Delivered 简体中文

陈天赐的时光漂流瓶

写给未来的自己2陈天赐:  嘿。你还好吗?  你应该刚刚高考结束吧,祝你考个好成绩。我是少年时的你,或许你已经忘记了,今天我给未来的自己发邮件。我不知道你会不会因为换QQ或者什么原因看不见我给你发的邮件,但我真的希望你可以收到。  你知道吗,前一段的我遇见了烦心事,我喜欢了一个女

n4576 2019.11.17
Delivered 简体中文

好久不见。 这封信写给你,也写给我自己。我们已经许久没有联系了,我知道你已经不愿再见,也或许已经开启了新的生活。请你放心:这封信不求挽回、不图回应,也不是打扰,而是我在经历很长一段自我剥离、重建之后,对你说的一句“谢谢”,也是对自己的一声“我懂了”。 我们在一起的那段时间,虽然不

110138926 2025.07.28
9y 简体中文

写给未来的star0201

今天是2021年2月16日我记得我第一次见到你的时候是在公交车上 我刚刚放学做公交车去舞房 你离我好像只有3m近 我看到你和你旁边的同学在看我 我也有在看你 第一印象是觉得你长得挺可爱的 白白净净的一个男生 后面我们又阴差阳错的认识了 我发现我有点喜欢你 因为你在我看来很温柔很绅

n6601 2021.02.16
写给未来的你
Delivered
简体中文

写给未来的你

     说实话,我很害怕写这样一封信给你,因为我现在还处在对过去挫折的一蹶不振和对未来的无限惶恐之中,我怕重蹈覆辙。为此,我生怕哪一步又做错了——跟曾用心相处了一年的朋友莫名其妙绝交,又计划在四月份的时候跟同样的人出去玩,又去了同一个地方坐在同一个图书馆学习,选择了继续全脱产

只想安静地跳完一支舞 2013.03.22
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关于你的离开和存在

2年了。你有没有想我?每当我走在何处的时候,总会去听那一声声的犬吠; 每当我看到一只只萨摩耶,总会去抚摸,去把包包里的食物拿出来喂给他们;每当我回头的时候,总希望你在。人生最怕的无非是但是,一个转折,一个拐点,陪你走路的人走了,看你成长的人离别了。 但偏偏我们经历的最多的不是一

乔小姐 2015.09.20
Delivered 简体中文

是时候让种子萌发了

Hi:        好吧,看到这封信是是否想起了什么?记得写下这封信的动机?如今的你已踏入社会,是否找到了自己的位置?或者默默无闻,在社会的大流中被淹没,这不重要了。我只是想提醒你,不要忘记这颗冬眠的种子,不要忘记对音乐的期待,学习什么时候都不会晚,是时候弹起心中的钢琴。Wha

n1439 2016.04.20
Delivered 简体中文

一路顺遂,奔向山海

今天是七夕,昨天收到了你的信“再见陌生人”,然后我平静的写了一封不雅的信,然后又翻到你前面一天的一封信“再见”。因为一直都在用电脑训练我的AI知识库,通宵了几天,所以没能注意到邮件。 看见了你8.27凌晨的信,又五味陈杂重新写了一封,忘掉了刚刚寄出的那封信(那封信是针对分手后的,

ixiaocang 2025.08.29
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卢泫好啊

21年的冬天冷吗,月底来姨妈有肚子还是疼吗,有人在你身边了吗。这个我也不知道真的假的,不知道能不能送到你那边,不知道你会不会去看。现在是2020.11.30号,凌晨2:37分。还是很难过,睡不着的一天。我其实之前写过一封,定在了三年后,后面我觉得时间太久了,我等不到,世事无常,以

杨俊杰真帅 2020.11.30

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

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