Wow, this thread really touches my heart. I feel sadly for everyone who has posted on it. People can be so mean. I was teased mercilessly in school and then sexually harassed in grammar school, it is something that I still have trouble making peace with, that it wasn't my fault. That was a really rough time for me, I was away at grammar school which was a boarding school and my parents were hundreds of miles away getting divorced. I cried so many days and nights, and I felt so depressed at such a young age.
Through all of this hardship, including difficult relationships, I may not have realized it at the time but so many of this experiences made me the strong woman that I am today. I wouldn't go through them again or wish them on my worst enemy for anything, some experiences leave emotional scars. I guess for me it is true 'what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger.' I still have a hard time with a lot of my past, I was diagnosed with a mental illness in my late teens and I have a lot of physical issues too, but somehow I try to believe in myself and have faith. At the time, I found solace and peace in horseback riding, I had a thoroughbred for four years and I miss that so much, he died a few years ago after my father sold him back to the barn where we bought him. I found out about his death via an email, so insensitive and I know his death was brought on by negligence. I didn't mean to go on a tangent there but, I have found more peace in music throughout the years too, I play guitar and that soothes my heart. So does swimming and writing and talk therapy is helpful too, although I would like to wean myself off of it, I have been in it for awhile.
What I am trying to say is that I have found a variety of coping techniques that help me, although I haven't found anything to 'erase the pain.' Believing in myself and in God helps.
Thanks for this thread, I didn't mean to go off on a tangent. Thank you all for listening.