Gather ‘round the campfire, kiddos. I've got a scary yarn to sew.

This is no ordinary tale of vampires, werewolves or ghosts. This is a tale about a real-life monster — the Worry Monster.

We're all afraid of the dark as children, frightened of the boogeyman under the bed or monster in the closet.

But these monsters are thwarted by the light. They're mere shadows prancing on the wall. There's no boogeyman. There's no ghoul lurking in the dark.

But the Worry Monster doesn't live in the dark. He doesn't creep in shadowy corners of your room at night. The Worry Monster doesn't live in the night or day alone. He doesn't sleep in a coffin. He's not weakened by a cross or silver bullet. He doesn't have fangs, or talons, or claws or wings.

He's invisible until he manifests into your worst fear.

The Worry Monster whispers in your ear, eating at your doubt and self-esteem like a hungry pack of Wolves feasting on new-found prey.

“You're not good enough.”

“You're wrong.”

“You're weak.”

“You'll never be happy,”

The Worry Monster softly whispers those thoughts into your eardrum, and they go straight to your brain.

And sure, you can fight back. The strongest do and win most times. But even the strongest can be quelled by the Worry Monster's evil ways.

Others stand no chance.

The Worry Monster controls them, paralyzes them, and stops them dead in their tracks.

He makes people do and say things they never want to, all out of fear and anxiety. He keeps from them saying other things they need to.

It can be debilitating.

Fear not, for the Worry Monster won't always reside in the corners of your psyche.

Soon, the Worry Monster leaves. A problem has been solved, a crisis averted — for now.

But the Worry Monster will return once again to wreak more havoc.

It's only a matter of time before there are more insecurities, more fears, and more vulnerability to feed on.

If the Worry Monster haunts you, you're not alone. He haunts us all.

We must be brave. We must breathe. And we must together fight the Worry Monster.

We can talk through our problems. We can seek help from professionals. We can be strong.

We can defeat the Worry Monster, I know we can.

Luke Lyons is the managing editor of the Valley Courier. He can be reached via email at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter by searching @luke_lyons14.