The country singer, 38, took to Instagram on Saturday, Oct. 1, to start off Domestic Violence Awareness month by sharing her own history of abuse.  In the photo, a much younger Kramer smiled for the camera next to her mom, although there’s a much darker story behind the seemingly joyful scene, as upon closer examination, you can see various cuts and scrapes along Kramer’s arm and on her shoulder. “This is a very hard photo for me to look at,” the One Tree Hill alum wrote in the caption. “One might look at this and see two smiling faces. A daughter with her mom. But what was under the smile is something that I still to this day have a hard time talking about.”  She continued, “I don’t remember the excuses that I told people when I flew home to escape my abuse about the cuts and scrapes on my shoulder and arms, or why my ribs were hurting,” she continued. “But when I look at this photo that’s all I see.”  The “Voices” singer then went on to recount her experience with an ex who “pinned her to the ground” and began “strangling [her] saying that he was going to kill [her].”  “I was so full of shame. I was made to feel like I had no one, and no one would believe me and that the reason I would be choked or hit was because I was bad. That I was wrong and I deserved it,” she recalled, while telling her followers that she has held onto those beliefs “for years.”  “…one day soon I will speak more on the abuse that followed that one and the patterns that continued, but to be honest it’s been a journey and one I’m still trying to walk through knowing that wasn’t the last abusive relationship…” she continued.  Kramer’s post on Saturday also included video clips from a speech she once made for Safe Horizon, a nonprofit organization for victims of abuse and violence. In the video, the actress talked about the years of abuse while holding back tears.  At the end of her Instagram post, Kramer encouraged her followers to use available resources if necessary, including Safe Horizon. “Please talk to someone,” she encouraged.  You can find resources on Safe Horizon’s website. If you or someone you know is suffering from domestic violence, Safe Horizon is here, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year at 1-800-621-HOPE. More News:

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