I Spent 15 Years Hating Myself - Here's What Finally Made Me Feel Worthy

The Brutal Truth About Why Success Didn't Fix My Self-Hatred (And What Actually Did)

At 25, I thought I had everything figured out.

The six-figure consulting gig. The sculpted body. The Instagram-worthy vacations that impressed my followers.

I was living the dream – or at least, that's what everyone kept telling me.

But every Monday morning, staring at myself in the mirror, I felt nothing but emptiness.

Another week of pretending. Another week of chasing that next high that promised to make me feel complete.

You know that feeling? The one where you're standing in a room full of people praising your latest achievement, and all you can think is, "If they only knew what a fraud I am"?

I see it now in my therapy practice.

That same haunted look in my clients' eyes - especially my LGBTQ+ clients who grew up like I did, in homes where being different meant being wrong.

Two-thirds of them tell me stories that mirror my own: achievements piled high like armor, perfect lives constructed like fortresses, all to keep the truth hidden.

Back then, I couldn't see it. I was too busy building…