I Won't Feel Ashamed about Hepatitis C: Looking at Regrets

We all have some regrets, so my title may be misleading, at least somewhat. It comes down to how we perceive what a regret is. One version may be about a choice of wall color or type of dinner one might have chosen last night. Yes, I know what that can be like, but right now in the context of my hep C experience, I have no real regrets worth mentioning or holding on to. As I have said in countless other articles, we are all different, and this is no exception.

We should not be blamed for our hepatitis C

Having regrets about decisions made or actions taken (or not taken) can have a contributing and accumulated affect on our own self-image or sense of worth. In the hep C experience, many of us have been made to feel less worthy and diminished because of the connection to drug use, and how we are often characterized as "being to blame" for our hep C. The way we contracted hep C should never be in question or at issue unless we choose to disclose, and that is only if we do know.

I don't know how I was exposed, and it doesn't matter

I honestly don’t know when I was exposed, but I do know that my age and life lived play a role. Nobody has the right to question me or make assumptions about when or how, as it is none of their business unless I choose to share all of the possible times I may have been exposed.

Regrets are a waste of time, and a construct that I have no claim to. That is a choice, and it is not about shirking responsibility. There is no running away from my past or choices I may have made that others deem "foolish" or "dangerous". They are done and over, these choices. They may have resulted in consequences, but by and large they are mine; I own them.

My advice: Do not feel ashamed

Please don’t get me wrong about this, because I cannot tell you how you should feel about the past or any regrets you may or may not have. That is up to you, at least in some measure, and I can only share in how I choose to deal with them. Not everything comes down to a choice, as we know. How we are impacted by forces outside of our control fall into that category, but understanding how we can best resolve their effect may help to tamp down their damage over time.

Regret has a common companion in shame, and if you have hep C or ever did, you have nothing at all to be ashamed of, regardless of what some others may think. No shame and no blame, and like the title says, no regrets.