Hi Rising Pheonix
How I love to read posts that celebrate triumph over adversity.
Using the past for reference only is, in my opinion, good. I hope that one day you will stop regretting a past you cannot change but see it as an education, (albeit a terrible one) towards living a wonderful, gamble-free life.
Those who have struggled out of a very real and very frightening abyss deserve to be valued and heard. Those who follow your story can stop thinking they are doomed to fail – but believe instead that they can succeed, because you did it. That is ‘your’ message and it is so special.
Thank you
Velvet