The Cambridge Dictionary (n.d.) defines a demon as “an evil spirit” and, in an approving sense, as a person who performs a particular activity with exceptional skill or energy.
For example, the dictionary uses the expressions “She works like a demon” and “Stefan has a demon serve.” In a humorous context, demon may also refer to a person who behaves very badly, as in the example, “That’s the last time I take care of her kids—I’ll be glad when the little demons go home” (Cambridge Dictionary, n.d.).
Most people define a demon as an evil spirit. With that definition in mind. The first thing to do in facing your demon is to realize that it is not an entity outside of you. Your demon is a product of your mind. It feeds on your fears and insecurities. It grows and clings as large and as securely as you allow it to grow and cling on you.
Once your realize that your demon is in your mind you can develop tactics to overcome it. Identify your exact demon. Determine what’s in your thinking that is fueling it. Diminish or extinguish that fuel. Try not to associate a mental and or physical problem with a demonic attack on you. Nothing that I an saying about demons is professional advice, it is only my opinion. Seek medical help if you feel that your demon, whatever it is, is affecting your quality of life.
I can say that my demon is myself not an evil spirit. Against my wishes and desires, my demon takes control of my thinking and behavior. My demon breaks my peace and enjoyment of life. It makes me feel physically bad when my body wants to feel good. I try to control it, but it finds ways to influence me. My demon cannot defeat me, but it makes my walk in life more troubling than it should be.
Facing my demon is facing myself. Finding it’s wakeup call and quickly putting it back to sleep is my task. Not allowing my demon to spill over onto others is my first course of action. This is my private struggle with myself that does not involve anyone else. Of course, keeping my demon personal is hard to do.
There is nothing evil about uncontrolled and unproductive habits. It is not a spirit floating in the wind waiting for it’s chance to attack me. It is not something that a man and a woman eating a piece of fruit thousands of years ago brought on me. It is me. My thinking of myself and of other people. This is not saying that the actions and the behavior of other people does not fuel my demon. Unfortunately, I allow it to; to my own detriment as they walk away satisfied of what I have allowed them to accomplish.
What is my escape, what is my help from my personal demon that will not leave me in peace? Recognizing and addressing what is triggering my demon. Realizing that life and health is too fleeting, and that I don’t have the luxury to hamper it. This must come from me not from an outside source. It may take medication to free myself of my demon, and moreover, a better understanding of myself. Whatever it takes, I must do to enjoy however many moments of life I have left.
