I have been where you are Jeff. You are almost there, part of the road to recovery I believe I self realization. You have to realize that the things you've gone through you only went through because God decreed for those things to happen. Also you have to put all things in God's hands. When you do that it stop's you from worrying. How so? Because you give all of your problems to the creator. He's the only one who can get you through a difficult time. One way I deal with my worries and anxiety is by praying. I ask God to get me through this. I also use the distraction method, If im having negative thoughts I try to think about something positive. When you start dwelling on the past think about the present. It often helps to think about someone who's doing so much worse then you. I hope this helps and that you feel better soon.

Agreed, Jeff just remember that God is a forgiving God, and if he is able to forgive us, then shouldn't we be able to forgive ourselves.
You have your whole life in front of you, please don't ruin that by a few mistakes from your past.

The hardest thing to do is to teach our selves how to forgive our selves.
We learn by what we do, and it's ok to feel upset for a few moments, then switch gears, move forward and use what we learned to improve our next step.
You are definitely on the right track with understanding that anxiety is what your body and brain use to handle life's situations that require the chemical levels to switch on.
Hang in there!

There is nothing to forgive. You are just you. This is the personality you were born with. You didn't ask for it.

Feeling like you have to forgive yourself is just perpetuating the very attitude that you are working so hard to overcome.

Instead of being down on yourself you should be congratulating yourself on finally figuring things out. That is a huge step. SO many people refuse to believe that THEY are what has created their anxiety problems. They continue to be victims and that only makes the problem worse. But you have stood up and said "I caused this. This is of my own doing." And that is a big step in conquering anxiety and it takes a lot of courage to admit....not only to yourself, but to others.

Everybody who has gotten control of their anxiety has had to come to the same realization as you. It is a necessary step. It is a breakthrough. If I were you, I would be pretty pleased with myself.

Good for you!