Invisible Pain

Invisible Pain

         
People often say that words can't hurt you. That "real" pain leaves visible bruises, scars, or cuts. That all pain leaves a mark somewhere, that anyone can see. All they see are fistfights and bruises, broken arms and crutches. Those are painful. Words? Not so much. They think "Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me," is a true phrase.
         But instead of breaking bones, words break hearts.
         They don't see the young girl sobbing on her bed after school because her so-called "friends" called her a mean name. They don't see the teenage boy feeling sick to his stomach and unable to go back to school for three days because the school bully decided that math class was the perfect opportunity to reveal this boy's deepest secret to everyone. They don't see the young woman, who just lost another boyfriend, unable to make herself trust or date again, because it seems every man she lets in finds a way to her deepest insecurities and exploits them. And they don't see the boy, in the closet now for twenty years, because everywhere he turns, he hears hurtful comments, or worse, aimed at people like him.
         The truth is, most physical injuries can heal. If they can't, they can at least be lived with. Yes, they are important, they matter, they really do. But how does anyone live with utter betrayal from those closest to them, let alone try to heal after that? People try, and many of them get close to succeeding, but those words remain in their minds. Maybe those people don't think about them very often, but when they're up late one night, unable to sleep, those words and that pain creep back into their minds.
         Words, aimed maliciously, can bring about insecurities and pain that lasts for years after the event. A hurtful "joke" aimed at a young girl in fifth grade can stick in her mind until high school, if not longer. Words strike us were we are most weak, and they lodge themselves in the deep recesses of or brains, never letting us go, never releasing their hold. They are the last things we think about before going to sleep, maybe even the things that keep us up, unable to sleep.
When we're sitting in class with nothing to do one day, those words will creep back into our minds, cause us to writhe in our seats and wish we could go back in time to change that moment. When we're spending time with a girlfriend or boyfriend, during a moment of silence, those words will sneak up on us and bring back unwelcome memories, causing the other person to ask what's wrong. But we will be unable to answer, because they just won't have to same effect repeated to someone else.
         Bruises fade and bones mend. But words? Words don't fade. Can't fade. Words stay in our memories, our hearts, forever, leaving scars of the worst kind, scars that no one can see.