Abbie Says: #04 "Defeat Your Demons."

There are enough demonic forces attacking each one of us from the inside to drive us insane. Fight like a Shadowhunter, would you? That is my golden advice #04.

In the world of YA fiction literature:

Shadowhunters, also known as Nephilim, are a secretive race of beings who are humans born with angelic blood. They are the appointed warriors on Earth of the Angel Raziel. They are appointed specifically to control and preside over the Shadow World, as well as over the demons and Downworlders who inhabit it.

I am no less than a Shadowhunter of the real world. Over the years --- I have quite a few to brag about --- I have countered these demons that shriek and howl from within my soul. They have pretty bookish names:

SELF-PITY --- INSECURITY --- MELANCHOLY --- DESPAIR --- INFERIORITY COMPLEXES --- GUILT --- FEAR ---

They all live --- or have lived --- inside our souls since our existence and they tend to haunt us in our most confident of moments. Denial is not the idea here. The deal is to address them like you would address any illness you have. You have all the powers inside you.

Counter your Self-pity by pushing the Stop button on bringing yourself down in situations. If you feel there is something about you that is pitiable, try correcting that. I shed a billion tears on being a whale-sized girl who was a victim of bullying and ridiculing. But the more than being a victim of social demons, I was a victim of my inner demon of self pity. It kept making me feel miserable and distracted me from actually doing something about it. The moment I realized I was the cause of my own misery --- I took control. You can say the demon of self-pity derives its power from another one of Inferiority Complexes. You feel like you are not fit, not able, not worthy to do something.

Shrug of the demon of Insecurity by researching the issue and becoming more certain about the situation. If you are insecure about deciding which Major to opt for and everybody is acting like your guidance counselor, research your alternatives yourself and match them to the kind of life you want. I did that and I hold an awesome MBA degree now!

Melancholy is powerful demon I'd say. It thrives on the downs of our life and overshadows the peaks of good times we have had. It derives its power from another demon --- Despair --- that makes us feel that there is no hope left in the world. Fight it down by faith and belief in the idea that there is happiness, there is goodness, and it will come to us in due time.

Guilt is a nagging little demon that claws at your subconscious mind until you do something to overcome it. You need to learn to forgive yourself! Make that Guilt demon transform into an angelic opportunity to improve and correct yourself. When you let it go, you let go a bucket load of pain. 

The demon of Fear decapitates your potential as a human being! It needs to be grabbed by the horns and defeated for good. This has to be the most difficult to defeat because it has an emotional element that is inside your head, and then a physical element which requires you to perform a task.

These are the demons that I know and have fought/am still fighting. What about you?