I always use a bracket order with a stop loss and profit target. There are top traders that use stops, and those that don't. For those that don't use a stop I hope their discipline is perfect, they can stare at their monitor all day, and their data feed never goes down. In most cases the stop less did protect me from suffering larger losses, in those times when a stop is hit but price bounces back in the direction of the trade I simply reenter, so what it cost a few dollars more to play it safe. I never enter a trade having a deep "conviction" or "complete commitment" that the trade is going to be a winner, in fact I always assume each trade will be a loser.
As far as your stop getting hit - we have all been there many times - your just more honest than some. There are some tactics that can help with that, but it will take some time to acquire the skills.
* Use a conditional stop loss based on another symbol such as an index or sector ETF that is moving in synch with the stock you are trading. This is very effective.
* Try using an ATR trailing stop if your platform has this. This is a favorite of many quants and fairy easy to use. It adapts to real time volatility.
* Learn how to use market profile if you platform has this. It can help greatly to find optimal exit areas that are outside of the noise and the obvious places where stops are resting. Once you use market profile you will never want to trade without it.