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
Photo letter
写给我 记忆力里的那少年
人总是有那么多的那么多的遗憾，所以总是会偶尔渴望时光倒流，只有这样才能偶尔得到些慰藉。其实2013年的3月10才过去不久，其实失联很多年，只是这是我们是去再一次联系的机会，永远的失去一周年，这才反应过来为什么那天晚上头痛欲裂，翻来覆去几个小时的无法入睡，眼泪淹没在被褥里，抓紧被子，哽咽的无法呼吸、、
Icy
Mar 22, 2013 · Traveled 11 months 16 days
还在坚持和努力吗
To myself: 今日送爷爷最后一程了，从火化都入葬。爷爷死于2013年3月21日凌晨4点多。你的右前臂，骨子里有爷爷的回忆。还记得08年那14天的住院吗？是爷爷陪伴我度过的。但爷爷入院后，我只去过看他一次。他说他咳嗽的时候很痛。没想到爷爷的病是这么地严重，三公说切了个肿瘤出来有2个拳头那么大，
Jayin_Ton
Mar 22, 2013 · Traveled 6 months 1 day
Photo letter
给未来的你 -Wxp.秀
寄给未来亲爱的你： 阿秀，哦，不对，吴熙萍。 这个时候的你还好么？ 会不会还是在玩着电脑看着最新的新番动漫呢，又或者是在听歌打小说聊天呢？ 这是个很好的网站，让我可以给未来的你寄一封信。这封信我不知道会让未来的自己，也就是你，会有什么感觉。 也许是当自己收到这封信的时候，自己才想起来，原来自己寄给了
俊硕
Mar 23, 2013 · Traveled 3 months
Photo letter
希望有更好的自己
你总是很焦虑，周围的事情朋友会给你许多困扰，你不够努力，你知道自己想要什么，可是你就是不努力。你很天真，你还相信有你想要的感情，你相信你会找到自己合得来的朋友，自己愿意为之奋不顾身最后陪你看阡陌花开的人。你不是最美的，但你要足够坚强，坚强到无论怎样都无法把你打倒。相信那时的你，会是一个明朗灿烂的模样
n57
Mar 24, 2013 · Traveled 5 months 8 days
Photo letter
Are you ok?
这段时间你辛苦了知道你已经尽力了你也比以前更懂事了对于哥哥的感情你很遗憾是因为觉得自己不够勇敢那就给自己一个机会去争取去爱去挥霍去疯狂爱的人要想办法留在身边听着，是你先放弃所以要把他追回来
alohayou
Mar 29, 2013 · Traveled 1 day
Photo letter
写给五个月后的你
写给五个月后的笨笨： 偶然发现了这个时光信箱，在分手之际，感到了些许欣慰，也终于有机会给未来的你说说我现在的感受。 笨笨，当你收到这封信时，应该是五月后的开学之际，新的学期，你过得好不好，暑假过得怎么样，真不知道那时的我们会是怎样的关系，你还会不会想起我……会不会回忆起当年我们的眷恋…… 2008年
风中的香
Mar 31, 2013 · Traveled 5 months 1 day
如果可以不要喝醉
竟然喝醉了，你知道吗，我竟然喝醉了，一直觉得自己酒量很好的，但是却喝醉了。或许真的心里压力太大了吧，想要喝醉一下，吐槽一下。我不知道昨天晚上到底是发生了什么，记忆也不是很深刻，依稀有点印象。喝醉是蛮可怕的吧，好像讲了很多很多，这也是从早上的手机短信得知的。讲了就讲了吧。我想说没有下一次了，我要努力做
玻璃球
Mar 31, 2013 · Traveled 7 days
此刻应该忘记了吧
那些年错过的东西就让它逝去吧，没有意义了吧，一个人单方面记住又怎样，能改变什么，只会徒增烦恼与忧伤。曾经美好的东西在只有一个人记住的时候，一切都变得不再美好了。美好的将会变成痛苦的证据。不要想太多不要想太多不要想太多，那你们有没有想过也许是真的因为事情的存在，所以不得不想太多。只是没有人会愿意了解其
玻璃球
Mar 31, 2013 · Traveled 1 month
Photo letter
我希望你已经很坚强
不会再在友情上吃亏，但是吃亏是福最重要的是吃亏过一次，就坚决不要第二次 不会因为人际关系而伤神，因为你已经很能融入整个集体 再次找到和自己互溶的人，能包容自己的错误和坏脾气但是首先让我们再理智的想想，我们是不是做错了如果是，就道歉吧；如果不是，绝对不能委屈了自己 我相信，你已经变得比现在更坚强，别忘
罱亘
Apr 4, 2013 · Traveled 1 year
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你果然还是放不下朱翔，他会狠在乎你吗？你们还能多久？你们就要这样不冷不热吗
我以为
Apr 5, 2013 · Traveled 3 months
未来的你看到现在的我是什么心情
现在的你在干嘛 我不知道我在干嘛 很无聊的感觉 迷迷茫茫的今天淘到了一些自己感觉很好听的歌 然后单曲循环 很喜欢这种感觉宿舍里的花谢了 康乃馨谢了 白玫瑰谢了 风信子谢了 睡莲谢了 只剩下勿忘我还在 还好还在我喜欢花 如果可以我想要每天买一束花 看着我就开心 看着柜子上自己贴的便利贴 喜欢把有感觉的
玻璃球
Apr 6, 2013 · Traveled 3 days
写给未来的文曦曦子
被软星拒绝了，好难过啊，连个面试的机会都没有，是不是我画的太粗糙了，也许吧，创意也不够好，好想哭，但是没办法。也许就像鬼子说的，生理期忧郁症吧觉得自己不够好，画也画不好，还有一大堆事计划着要去做，什么补全系列，简直就是给自己背负担不过不知道那时候能补全到什么地步历史中医动漫美术史啊啊啊啊啊，我的人生
被猫化的生物
Apr 8, 2013 · Traveled 3 months 12 days
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