A counselor once told me that feeling guilty was just an easy way to excuse my continued bad behavior. The hard part was changing that behavior. Another (much kinder) counselor told me that guilt was God's way of letting me know I was still human. If I hadn't felt guilty for continuing to do something that I knew was harmful, something would have been seriously wrong. I tried for years to figure out how to enjoy the kind of life I wanted AND use drugs. Guess what, those two things were as incompatible as oil and water. I had to choose one or the other.