I know from experience how destructive it is to harbor something deep inside and bury it deeper and deeper until it's beneath the surface and doesn't feel like a real thing anymore. To make every effort to no longer acknowledge its presence and it's reality.
I also know from experience that this process is always extremely painful and detrimental to not only yourself but any other people involved, especially in the long run. It doesn't result in steps forward but a million steps back. It is not a progressive process and it should be avoided at every cost.
This doesn't mean that it is easy to do so. Especially when it hurts as much as it does. With all of those insanely strong emotions and reactions and feelings and thoughts attached to all of that pain, feeling as if they will never wither away and die. "Bury the pain, forget about it, don't acknowledge or nurture it, it will eventually go away and never come back!"
Just because you buried it doesn't mean its roots aren't still very much present.
Grow your pain. Nurture it. Begin the healing process. Turn it in to something that is good and positive. Recognize the lesson and reason behind it. Look at it as a chance to do better and to be better. Build it up until its presence begins to matter and become a defining aspect of who you are. This manifested pain will become something good and beautiful and more powerful and stronger than anything you could ever imagine. Instead of burying it and making it disappear, I urge you to fill yourself full until you are busting at the seams.
**That is the goal.