knowing when to bring up the past

The past is often a delicate subject for someone who is recovering from a lifetime of mental illnesses and bad experiences, such as me. It can be very difficult to speak about, or even think of the past. It's important to know when it is the right time to think things through properly.

Sometimes we don't get a choice of when to think about the past. We are reminded of it by someone talking about it, or just a memory passing through our minds which sadly remains with us for longer than we want. This is all natural, not nice at all, but natural.

It's impossible for someone to completely undersrand your situation because you will handle it in a way that no one else would, we're all different. But, sometimes that difference can be the cause of unwanted pain. Someone may ask a question about your past or discuss a memory that you don't feel ready to think about. But once it's in your head, it's there for a little while and you can't push it away. This is why it's important for people to know when it is the right time to bring up the past. All they need to do is just simply ask for permission to bring up a topic way may possibly be sensitive. If the person declines then you need to respect that. They will allow you to talk to them about it when they are ready.

It's important to know when you can handle certain things and to not push yourself too far. Bad memories are tough, but eventually need to be dealt with, however you must only do this when you are ready. 

I've experienced many tough situations where someone simply didn't think that something may impact me so much and they brought it up as if it was a general conversation topic, and this breaks me for a little while. All I ask is that people respect others that are struggling, and don't do anything when they are not comfortable with it.