I want to talk to my parents about something that’s been bothering me for a while, but I don’t know how to bring it up.

I’m not sure what sort of answers I’m seeking, but I feel like something happened when I was younger that I either don’t remember, or like they’re keeping a secret from me about themselves or something. I don’t want to pry because hey we’re all allowed secrets, but I can’t shake the feeling that there’s something that I need to find out.

It all came about because I have to write a short biography for a project. I got super stuck when writing about my childhood, and was just overcome with a really weird heaviness, like a sadness and anxiousness. I’ve also started having a recurring nightmare that I used to have regularly when I was a child, and it’s just bringing up some oddly specific and insignificant memories that seem like they fit together but I’m not sure how.

I just don’t know how to approach this with my parents, or even if I should. My instinct tells me there’s something to all of this, but if that is the case then obviously it’s difficult for my parents to deal with or they would have brought it up. I don’t want to upset them or bring up past hurt or make them stressed or worried or whatever, but also, I feel like I need to try and find out what’s causing me to feel this way.

What would you do?