Home videos stolen by vindictive ex

[CC2022]

Having been told by well meaning friends that in the grand scheme of things, it's not the end of the world ~ it feels like that to me.
An ex partner who had access to my home, stole a bag of photos and videos from my desk while I was at work. I'm a nurse and have been working on a Covid ward, and suffer from underlying generalised anxiety.

I discovered they had been taken after we broke up. I'd broken up with him.
Having confronted him he denies it and I'm left wondering if he's telling the truth or not, as I have no proof. However, no-one else had access to my home.
He has admitted to feeling vindictive about me last year ~ due to me not committing to him in the relationship.
These are memories of my life and family from when my children were small, in a time before my divorce and of precious holidays. I'm beside myself with grief over the loss of them.
They were the only ones I had. I had never got around to digitalising them, and now they're gone.
I feel violated and also utterly bereft, as I had kept them safe all these years and had intended to put them into a digital format for my children to watch in the future and show their children one day.
Since he has denied it, and since I will not be seeing him again, I have to accept that I will never see the videos again. I feel I have let my children (now grown up in their early twenties) down, and I blame myself for not hiding them away somewhere safer than my desk.
I am now on anti-anxiety medication. I've had to give up my job and am moving back in with my mother as I cannot face being alone with this amount of grief. His cruel action has destroyed me.
If anyone can give me any words of comfort or advice I'd be most grateful,

Hi there,

I am really sorry to hear about the theft/incident, those pictures and videos are priceless, so you feeling low/distressed is extremely normal. It is a loss and there is no shame in feeling they way you feel right now. One thing I do not understand is that has this incident caused you to loose your job and move in with your mother or are there other reasons for these changes .....

Thanks so much for your reply. I only just saw it ~ and thanks for taking the time to do so. I was leaving one job (nursing on a ward) and am now doing a work from home role, so can move ~ just wanted to move away from other stressful situations, and this was the last straw.
I think the only way I can get over it, is to grieve it as a loss and hope to be able to put the pain of it behind me.
Thank you.

Oh I m glad to hear from you as well , I think you are on the right track here , distance yourself from anything that negatively impacts your health. Do you have any negatives or other family members who might have photos of some of the main events , you might be able to piece an album together...