When I look back into my past I realized I had to take some time in my life to process it correctly. It took awhile & caused a lot of hurt not only to myself but also my family.
But then I realized it was time to let the past go & stop processing it. Like a drew a line in the sand of my life & told myself I won't go back there & dredge it all up again bec I can get lost in it & it really doesn't help.

I remember a story in the Bible about...I think...(sorry) the disciples going into a town & preaching & if they weren't accepted they were to go to the edge of the town, take off their sandals, shake the sand off them & continue to the next.
Sorry for the religious example, but I like to think of the action of acknowledging our past, seeing it & shaking the sand off & leaving it. I'm not saying put up a solid wall & never go back, but to acknowledge it, then look at the present; then forward.