Hi squirrel
As you move forward in life, you will learn to forgive yourself, to develop compassion for the person who never asked for but was nonetheless struck down with this addiction.
If I wrote the above post what would you reply to me ? Would you tell me I deserve the shame and the guilt or would you tell me that I am taking action to stop this horrible addiction in its tracks and I deserve to be commended for that?
Self-compassion is a huge part of recovery – because for all we have hurt other people, we have hurt ourselves more. We need to be kind to that person inside us (our inner child?) who became lost in addiction and who has struggled to break free from it.
Addiction is not a choice we make – recovery however is !