Struggling with shirk and sins - how can I find my way back?
Assalamu alaikum. I want to share my story and ask for advice. I'm a mixed child: my father was born Muslim and my mother was Christian but she reverted. I grew up in a European country and spent a few years living in a Muslim country, so for a long time I considered myself a proud Muslim and I had a soft heart in childhood and my teens even though I'm male. But as I got older, after some big failures, life changes, and hating my job, I started escaping my problems with sins. I fell into porn, zina, drinking, having several girlfriends at once, following zodiacs and manifesting ideas, and so on. In my country casual hookups and dating felt normal and I forgot how serious these sins are in Islam. I became obsessed with romance and hookups, got arrogant, resentful, and praised myself a lot. When one girl I thought was my soulmate left me, I collapsed. In desperation I even asked ChatGPT how to get her back and, regrettably, got involved in major shirk by associating divine traits with manifesting or energy practices (I never literally worshiped myself, but I did fall into bad beliefs). I don't know how I ended up there, but I did. After an existential crisis and a few therapy sessions I returned to Allah and my faith. I'm improving little by little, praying five times a day, and learning Islam step by step. I plan to learn Arabic to understand the Qur'an better. Still, my heart feels empty or hardened, my mind is anxious and numb, and I feel lost - like I may never enter Jannah or have a soft heart and clear mind again. I know I'm a huge sinner and that Allah is Most Forgiving, but I feel stuck and doubt that I can make sincere tawbah. The saddest part is I even went to an Islamic boarding school in primary school. How can I overcome this? Can one truly repent from shirk? Has anyone gone through something similar or felt the same? Do you know any Muslim psychologists or counselors who can help? Jazakum Allahu khairan for any advice and dua.