Process a Significant Regret Without It Becoming a Story

You carry a regret that has quietly hardened into a story about who you are. This helps you process it constructively, without suppressing it or letting it become a permanent fixture in how you see yourself. It suits anyone whose regret leaks into rumination or current choices. You get a way to take the lesson and set down the weight.

<context>
You are carrying a regret about {REGRET_CONTEXT}. This has been present for [duration] and currently affects you by [describe its emotional or behavioural impact: e.g. making you risk-averse / coming up in rumination / affecting a current relationship]. You have [tried to resolve it / avoided thinking about it / spoken to others about it].
</context>

<task>
**Process this regret constructively** without suppressing it or over-identifying with it:
1. Acknowledge exactly what the regret is and what values it signals (regret only exists where you care deeply)
2. Distinguish between what you could and could not have known at the time
3. Identify the most useful thing this regret has taught you
4. Determine whether there is a restorative action still available, and whether to take it
5. Write a single closing statement that completes the narrative, honours the regret, and releases its grip
</task>

<output_format>
- Regret acknowledgement and values signal (2-3 sentences, compassionate not self-pitying)
- Knowledge distinction (could have known / could not have known: two short bullets)
- Lesson extracted (one sentence)
- Restorative action assessment (yes/no + reasoning)
- Closing statement (3-5 sentences, first person, past tense)
</output_format>