How I Stopped Hating Myself
A personal story of surviving cancer and returning to Stoicism — and how this ancient philosophy helped me stop hating myself, rebuild my self‑worth, and finally come back to who I am: a normal, happy woman. You are allowed to be gentle with yourself — do the first step today. I am fifty‑six now. And for most of my life, I hated myself — quietly, constantly, almost automatically. It was a background noise I didn’t even question. I thought it was normal. Everything changed in May 2022. That month, I heard a sentence that felt like the end of my story: cancer. A major operation. A small chance to survive. No guarantees. When I woke up from the anaesthetic, the pain was enormous — some of the medicine didn’t work in my body. But my first clear thought was something I had never said to myself before: How strong I am. How incredible that I am still here. How alive I am despite everything. In that moment, something shifted. I realised life is too precious to spend it hating myself. Too fra...
