Hi Sadface,
That's part of recovery is forgiving yourself and loving who you are once again.
I had to do that when I became sober 11 yrs ago. Yeah, I hurt alot of people with my drinking and no one kicked themselves in the butt more than I did.
To finally forgive myself was thee hardest thing to do, but thank God I could do it. I actually learned to love myself again and had compassion for what I went through. I gave myself permission to accept that I wasn't perfect and never would be.
If someone tells me I'm a good person today, I can finally say "thank you".
Also, if he's having stomach problems,......he may be worrying alot.Maybe talking to someone or the AA meetings would be helpful for him at this time.
((hugs))