You can replace "encryption" above with an antivirus, a VPN, two-factor auth, an "awesome" system for coming up with passwords, or many other reassuring tools and methods. Try not to become complacent because you use something other people don't use—this overconfidence can lead to unsafe behaviors that you might otherwise have avoided. Remember that there are no magic bullets.
If you've been using a Windows computer on a regular basis for any duration measured in years, then you've been hacked before. This is nothing to be ashamed of—at least, not TOO ashamed—and I'm certainly in this category as well. Breaches of computer security can take many forms, and only a few (ransomware, for example) will make themselves immediately obvious to the average end user.
There's a lingering tendency that leads people to think that the online world is the online world, and the "real world" is the "real world." This is associated in part with the use of terms like "cyberspace" and "the cloud" that suggest that the digital world is a world apart. This is a fallacy. Things that happen online have "real" repercussions, and the digital infrastructure that we use every day is all based in the "real" world.
It's easy to think it's inevitable that your privacy will be violated online and that information security is a game you're bound to lose. While you can never be completely private or completely secure, there are many things you can do to protect yourself. Remember what was at the bottom of Pandora's box and try to avoid fatalism.
When you hear someone say this, ask them for their phone so you can read their email. (I've yet to have someone take me up on this.) This statement is a callous one, and comes from a place of privilege. Many people—persecuted minorities, victims of harassment or domestic abuse—do not have the option to have "nothing to hide" through no choice of their own. Others, such as journalists, doctors, and lawyers, have ethical and legal oblications to keep their communications private. Finally, whistleblowers, who serve a vital social function, face reprisal if they do not maintain secure communications.