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
2020初，挺糟糕的；未来的你，要好好的
2020初，大至全球，小到个人，都有各种糟糕的事。好不容易憋了一个多月，疫情控制得相当好了。已经可以不恐慌地出门了，如常上班，越来越忙，却谁曾想忽然失去了充电器。本以为，已经入职2个月了，本以为他那么靠谱稳定，谁曾想，还是如同诅咒般又一次在进入新工作之际遭遇分手。我本不信命，却总遭遇如此嘲讽。你说没
R_Moku
Feb 28, 2020 · Traveled 3 months
是不是又错了
丽丽，展信安。 我是不是又错了，昨天他又来了，我很想放弃，可是一见面就什么都不记得了，我又认为他是喜欢我的，他说谎话都说的那么理直气壮，可是我明明知道是假的，我却要选择相信，丽丽，这个时候的你在做什么呢，是终于被谎言伤透了心，还是那不是谎言。 活在这种猜测中真的很累，因为信任已经没有了，即便以后有什
小雅
Mar 8, 2020 · Traveled 6 months
写给未来的自己
嗨，亲爱的，23岁的自己，希望明年看到这封信的你，要开心呀，因为你现在很不高兴，在流泪，在心碎，在崩溃。。。说起来，也许你明年就忘记了此刻的难过原由，也可能，明年此刻的你已经消失在这个世界上了，谁知道呢，对吧，你呀，我在这里提醒你一下，要好好珍惜她，可是，她已经丢了呀，她已经往前走了呀，我怎么能再把
n4841
Mar 11, 2020 · Traveled 3 months
写给三年后的自己
こんにちは！你还好吗？这个时候你已经快要高考了吧，不知道有没有走出来呢？你还记得三年前那个绝望，厌倦，空虚的自己吗？或许......你可能都看不到这封信了。又或许，你还在与它挣扎着。“是惯你太狠了”“不要想太多”“是你心理素质太差，不能抗压”“你别找借口了”“都很苦，不是你自己”“你只会逃避”。这是
明净_
Mar 19, 2020 · Traveled 2 years
给自己
很难啊。好难受。 你怎么样了？ 你......要开心啊。 2020-3-19
明净_
Mar 19, 2020 · Traveled 1 month
致未来的自己
生日快乐٩(Ü)۶♥٩(Ü)۶接受小心心，你好23岁的王宇琴。不知道现在的你过得什么样的生活，选择了什么样的人为你的伴侣，做着什么样的工作，是继续在幼儿园上班还是在小学上班，或者开了自己的花店、开了自己的钢琴培训班，还是去了么个小公司当了前台或者文员，这些都是我是20岁的你曾经幻想你能做的和你想做的
n4862
Mar 23, 2020 · Traveled 2 years 4 months
给5年后的我
好久不见，（额~咱来本身就是见不到啊~[图片已丢失]）今天是2020年3月28日，正好是一个星期六，而我刚刚经历了20公里的骑行，待心情平静后，忽然想给未来的你写封信。我现在是18岁的话，5年后，也就是23了。你现在还好吗？我今年是高三，面临着高考，但是好巧不巧，正好赶上了新冠状病毒，所以啊，就只能
n4869
Mar 28, 2020 · Traveled 5 years
hi
Whatever and whenever you fell in a dark hole, maybe you’ll feel hopeless and nothing to do, you should remind yourself: never never never say GIVE UP
食欲倍增
Apr 5, 2020 · Traveled 7 days
沛原你好，这是一份时空邮件
沛原：你好啊！不知道你还记不记得我啊，我猜应该大概可能已经忘记了吧。今天是4月7号，微博上说黑龙江已经开学了，再过不久你就要回到学校学习了，高三的日子很辛苦吧，是不是很累，压力很大啊。当你看到这份信笺的时候，已经结束了自己人生里重要可能又没有那么重要的一次挑战，所以很想对你说“毕业快乐!这一年你辛苦
阿咩
Apr 7, 2020 · Traveled 3 months 3 days
Photo letter
希望收到这封信的，是个开心的你
hey，我又来了很想提前看看你，因为现在的自己，依然没有很好，而我相信，六月的你，一定比现在好些。其实，早在找他吃饭那次，我就应该知道答案了。好像是从那时起才真正失恋，又好像是再失恋了多一次一样，还是，会忽而难过。我知道要真正学会放下了，哪怕我还是幻想着，等到夏天，再多找他一次。但，还是要学会接受所
R_Moku
Apr 13, 2020 · Traveled 2 months 7 days
写给未来的…
最近怎么样？是不是被网课逼疯了？我知道你想自杀，但是你要相信明天蛮好的，宝贝加油
Orson的3号小迷妹
Apr 16, 2020 · Traveled 7 days
写给未来的我的小姑娘
我亲爱的女孩： 好高兴你能收到这封信。这证明你顺顺当当很坚强地挺过了现在的一切。我很对不起你。没能让你开开心心地活着、没有让你和别的女孩子一样自信，但我想现在的你一定不一样了吧。在这一年的时间里，你经历什么呢？有没有遇到很多更好的人，将你从崩溃边缘拉回来，让你光明正大地活在这人世间，带着发自心底的笑
火星的木子
May 3, 2020 · 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
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