Hi Salix, you have a lot of words of wisdom here and you have figured a lot of stuff out. Have you ever heard of healthy personal boundaries?

Also, do you understand why your self-esteem was low in the first place or what caused it rather? Once I understood this about myself I was able to increase my self-worth for good. If you don't understand what started it all, these memories continue to send you messages of how worthless you are.