Q: When I was about 9-13 years old, my father was very hard on me. He used to thrash me black and blue for every single thing that displeased him. I felt depressed about my life. During that time I came across a girl who gave me emotional support. Now she is not with me. My father has changed a lot since then. Now he treats me as his friend but when I see things that relate these incidents I cry involuntarily. Please help me.

A:Early childhood experiences do leave a significant impact on life. However, if your current circumstances are different, it becomes easier to resolve the pain from earlier times and focus on the here and now. As you mention that your relationship with your father is different now, try and focus on the positive changes and this will result in positive emotions. However, there seems to be a lot of pain that you are holding on to. One way to reduce the impact of that would be to have an honest chat with your father and tell him how you felt through your growing up years. In case you can't talk to him, write him a letter. Often just expressing yourself allows you to rid yourself of pent up emotions. Finally try and maximize on other relationships in your life and make the most of present circumstances. With all these changes memories will cease to bother you.