tiger1; Congrats on your time sober! Good work!
I am able to deal with regret through working the steps of AA- the steps must be worked in order, but starting with step 4 and working with a mentor/sponsor in the program I was able to get on paper all that was tearing me up inside. I am working on cleaning up the wreckage of my past. "We no longer regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it." is one of the "promises" of working the program of AA.
Once I began the necessary work of recovery I was able to begin to see the nuggets of gold in the rubbish. Best Blessings!