Was the One Ring destroyed?

[Estelyn Telcontar]

It was not the Ring itself that was tormenting Frodo when he returned to the Shire, but the damage that had already been done - and not just by the Ring. In 'Homeward Bound', he says

I am wounded with knife, sting, and tooth, and a long burden.

The combination of wounds from the Morgul knife, Shelob's sting, Gollum's bite, and the burden of the Ring were simply too much for him to bear. Had the Ring still had an influence on him after its destruction, he would not have said,

It is gone forever, and now all is dark and empty. ('The Grey Havens')