Would you confront someone who assaulted you just to let your anger out, or would you move on?
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I want to hear people's honest opinions on this, especially from those who've experienced something similar.
Imagine you were assaulted or taken advantage of by someone when you were still a teenager, and he was a much, much older man. There was a significant age gap and an imbalance in maturity and life experience, but the person doesn't even believe what he did was assault. In his mind, he hasn't done anything wrong, and he continues living his life as though he's a perfectly decent person.
Meanwhile, you're left carrying all this anger and resentment over what happened.
What makes it worse is the thought that he probably doesn't even realize the gravity of his actions. He doesn't see himself as someone who did something terrible, and watching him behave like a saint while you carry the emotional weight of that experience is infuriating.
Now, I want to clarify something: I'm not looking for an apology, an explanation, or an acknowledgment from him. I don't even want to hear what he has to say in response.
I just want to let my anger out.
There's a part of me that wants to confront him, tell him exactly what I think of him, and get everything I've been holding inside off my chest. Not to change him, not to make him feel guilty, and not to get anything from him. I just want to say what I need to say.
But then I wonder whether doing that would actually make me feel better or whether I'd be giving this person more of my time and energy when I should be focusing on moving forward.
So, if you've been in a similar situation, I'd genuinely like to know:
- Did you ever confront the person who hurt you purely to release your anger? Did it help?
- Or did you find that expressing your anger privately and moving on was better for you?
- If you could go back, would you confront them, or would you leave things unsaid?
I'm not looking for advice about forgiveness or making peace with the person. I'm trying to understand whether confronting someone purely to get your anger out is worth it, or whether it's better to find another way to release that anger and move on.