For context, I wrote my original book from the same universe in third person. But I hated the fact that I couldn't express their struggles (my books are fiction novels from the perspective of serial killers.) And I wanted to humanize my characters.

But now, I'm seeing that saying, "I felt" or "I saw" is wrong and incorrect. But I'm already 200 pages in. I now feel like I failed, but I put so much effort and work into this universe since I was 7, and I am 26 now. I do have the character interact with the world around them, but also express what they feel. I use both types of examples, not just one.

"I Felt a sudden urge to strangle to woman in front of me. I could see myself wrangling her until she dies."

But I also use:

"The water beneath my feet awoke my senses, the stench of death filled the sky and it smelled like... victory."

Am I too far gone?