Rachel Clifton · Unedited · 25 September 2026

On self-attack

I recently realised that I could be very cruel to myself.

I didn’t notice it, but when I saw it I couldn’t un-see it, and it made me feel very sad.

I mourned all the ways that I had hurt myself in the name of what I thought love was.
I mourned all the ways that I had held myself back or denied my goodness.

Wherever you go, there you are, and here I am. Human.