8 Signs You Had a Difficult Past

“We are who we are for a lot of reasons, and maybe we’ll never know most of them. But even if we don’t have the power to choose where we come from, we can still choose where we go from there.” – Stephen Chbosky

Having a difficult past — whether it was because of a toxic family, a harsh upbringing, an abusive relationship, or a traumatic experience — is not something we would ever want for ourselves. Until we learn to face it head-on and make peace with it, it will never stop haunting us and dictating our path in life. But how do you heal from a difficult past if you don’t even realize it’s something you’re struggling with? This video might help!

We also made a video on the signs of unhealed trauma: https://youtu.be/41-dra66Y0o

Writer: Chloe Avenasa
Script Editor: Isadora Ho
Script Manager: Kelly Soong
VO: Amanda Silvera
Animator: Zuzia IG @zuzia.png
YouTube Manager: Cindy Cheong

References:
Brown, R. P., & Bosson, J. K. (2001). Narcissus meets Sisyphus: Self-love, self-loathing, and the never-ending pursuit of self-worth. Psychological Inquiry, 12(4), 210-213.
Carvalho, A. F., Hyphantis, T. N., Taunay, T. C., Macêdo, D. S., Floros, G. D., Ottoni, G. L., … & Lara, D. R. (2013). The relationship between affective temperaments, defensive styles and depressive symptoms in a large sample. Journal of affective disorders, 146(1), 58-65.
Joshanloo, M. (2013). The influence of fear of happiness beliefs on responses to the satisfaction with life scale. Personality and Individual Differences, 54(5), 647-651.
Liotti, G. (2004). Trauma, dissociation, and disorganized attachment: Three strands of a single braid. Psychotherapy: Theory, research, practice, training, 41(4), 472.

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