I disagree with the temptation thing
I think it's more along the lines of he did something wrong and the demons are still following him. He tries to shake them off, but he's not looking away from them, and it's driving him mad to think that he did those things wrong and it still follows him around, and that he won't repeat mistakes. There's no repose from the past, and if he continues to look back at it, it's just going to get worse, because he's already scarred. He can't change the scars, but he can change how he faces them: instead of running away, he can face up to the past.
It's just about how looking back at the past, and making youself relive it every day makes you insane because there's still a present and a future.