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黄小姐你过得好么？
你是不是很惊讶会收到这封信?为什么我还会打扰你的生活，但是请你浪费几分钟时间看完吧，也算是我最后拜托你的一件事了。很抱歉这段时间对你的打扰，原谅我的出现对你生活造成了困扰，我很抱歉。原本我以为我们分手后已经一年过去了，怎样大家都释怀了，现实却是,无论是我还是你，好像大家都心里还有
Haven
2020.12.18
写给未来的自己
hi，我是2020年暑假7月22日的涂文华，不知道你过得怎么样了，我知道暑假工真累了，今天早上七点半起来去搬酒，回来吃个饭就去换班，晚上加了一个半小时的班，一天下来也就三百块钱，这就是挣钱的不容易吧；但是现在，感情仍然出现了问题，感觉陈灵莎和我其实本就不是一个世界的人，两年以来，
雨隔秋烟君长安
2020.07.22
黄小姐你过得好么？
你是不是很惊讶会收到这封信？为什么我还会打扰你的生活，但是请你浪费几分钟时间看完吧，也算是我最后拜托你的一件事了。 很抱歉这段时间对你的打扰，原谅我的出现对你生活造成了困扰，我很抱歉。原本我以为我们分手后已经一年过去了，怎样大家都释怀了，现实却是，无论是我还是你，好像大家都心里还
Haven
2020.12.18
傻逼哎
哎傻逼 今天是公历四月二十四日你收到那天是五月13日 我不想写了我现在非常不开心刚才写了满满一页一不小心没有了 没有了就是没有了所以你不可能再见到和那封相同的了哼
瑾色长安i
2016.04.24
写给最好的我们
李李 你好 4.30日 4月的最后一天的我们分开了 没有办法 太多的困难 你知道吗 在一起的我们也许真的不开心 但是不在一起的我们 会更难过上一封信 已经好久了 今天又打开了时光信箱不知道会不会寄出去？ 我的庚宸哥哥 其实我差不多已经死心了 曾经那么爱我的人怎么会觉得我烦啊你也
chener
2023.04.30
一辈子的回忆-----谢谢你 龙
Dear Tyrone： 跟你分手已经小半年了，龙，这段日子并不好过，you got your new girlfriend, i got mine，当我那天看到你脖子上的吻痕的时候，真的像在演电视剧一样，一扭头就泪流满面，在下楼时候碰到fish，i already
Elena饬樱
2017.04.05
一封来自2025年1月24日的信
十年后的郭彩丽，你还好吗？有没有拥有属于自己的房子？家人是否健在？有没有遇到真爱然后步入婚姻的殿堂？此刻，2025年应该是你人生最幸福的时刻，家庭美满，好友相伴，工作也还算稳定，你会一直在28中干下去吗？你好像一直很谨慎，很没有安全感。你总说自己不喜欢邯郸，但你根本没勇气自己去一
yydxccjnny1002
2025.01.24
愿你一世安好
鱼兔妹：生日快乐！不知道看信的这刻你是喜悦还是厌烦，又或者无感。在写信的今天凌晨，因为知道有这时光信的存在，所以，我一直在期待零点的到来，似乎这可以代替我对你轻轻的说一句：生日快乐，鱼兔妹！让我们又来预测一下，现在的你是否已经结婚了，是否快有小baby了，是否正拥你妻子入怀进入梦
pisces
2015.08.25
陈耀龙
致亲爱的陈耀龙： 呐，耀龙哥，现在是2018年6月7号晚上22:52，窗外下着很大的雨，这场雨持续了很久，街道的水积了很多，就像我内心想对你说的话那么多。 这个学期，考完月考二，我经历了一段很迷茫的时期。因为我付出了比平常还要多的努力，却得到了一个怎么也想不到的成绩，我从一开
邱琳一
2018.06.07
写给一年厚的自己
怎么说呢...宝贝... 怎么说呢...今天和网宿的大哥大姐小弟小妹玩得还算很开心，确实是很开心，虽然大家都还不怎么认识。其实重点不是这个...回来的时候，钟轶学长和我聊了蛮多的，感觉这世界是...比我想象的大多了~真像我所想的那样子，有些人是你永远也追不上的。有人
fudian
2013.05.26
梦想和现实
此时的你，如果没有在兵营里，就是在做自己不喜欢的事情。记得今年的二月份，一个叫做冯颖的来自新疆在陕西西安上大二的比你出生日期小25天的女孩，她告诉过你，她的梦想就是在军营里生活，因为你曾说过你喜欢那里面的生活节奏，喜欢那里的一切，可是你没有实现你的梦想，所以你选择了当护士，因为这
思绪开始停留2412
2013.07.17
写给你
终于好一点了，今晚又耐不住，吃了一碗很咸的面，不知道会不会有副作用，使刚刚好一点的咳嗽又复发，真怕啊，我真被自己的身体吓怕了，保佑一定不要再复发。。 今天写点什么好呢，就说心里很矛盾的一个原因吧，我还是不够大气，有时候会真的斤斤计较，不喜欢靠别人，说实
搁浅的海滩
2014.03.27
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