7 Elements of Horror

Don't Let Them Win

Do you see those monsters up there? The ones hanging from the trees, crawling across the ceiling, and hiding in the shadows? Don't let them win. I know they're very persuasive, cunning little beasts, but nothing they say is true. Every word you'll ever hear them say is a lie. No matter how convincing they act and no matter how "factual" their words are, it's all only just a ruse to get you to slip up and let your guard down. As soon as you find yourself being persuaded by them, that's when they attack, and we lose another wonderful person to their deceit.

They'll tell you that you aren't worth it. That you aren't good enough. That you don't deserve all the blessings that you have. Or they will say you aren't REALLY a good person. They'll do anything they can to infect you with self-doubt, and that's the first step in their master plan. As soon as you begin to question your validity and worth, your goodness and talent, they'll dig their claws into your skin just a little deeper.

They'll hurt you, then convince you not to cry out. They'll keep you quiet. They'll tell you not to bother others. Not to talk about your pain. They'll call you weak, and threaten you with humiliation and shame should you dare try to reach out and ask for help. Even though they'll maul you relentlessly, squirming all over and inside of you, they'll tell you to be strong and keep a game face on. They'll tell you not to break, or even bend.

They'll tell you that because others have had it worse, you have no right to attempt to alleviate your own pain. They'll try to convince you that it is your cross to bear, and that the only way you can deserve to be rid of it is if you manage to defeat it on your own. But that is just the next lie in their twisted schemes. By insisting that the only way to win against your demons is to win alone, they're isolating you from the most powerful tool in your arsenal: your allies, and your ability to ask for help.

By silencing you, they are killing you. It gives them free reign to continue to destroy your body and mind without a care in the world. If they continue to whisper to you that asking for help is weak, or bothersome, or annoying, they know you'll all but roll over and let them have their way with you. If they can convince you that others have it worse than you, and that somehow means you can no longer reach out, then they have essentially immobilized you.

But that's just another part of their lies. And the final lie is the lie that all of this pain and suffering is deserved. It's not. It never is. No matter who you are or what you may have done in the past, no one deserves to be attacked by these horrible little creatures of the deep. They're just looking for a feast, and prey that does not fight back is the easiest target. All they need is to latch onto you, then they leech you dry without hindrance.

By convincing you that you deserve this grisly fate, to be a host to hungry and heartless little parasites, they successfully destroy you, and the world loses one more good person that it could've kept otherwise. And the isolation doesn't just keep you from escaping their little fangs and claws. It also convinces you that there is no escape at all. It convinces you that you are alone in your pain, and that you are somehow an outsider. That is their smartest, cruelest lie of all.

Are you suffering? Well be quiet, because no one else would care or understand. Do not trouble the others with your trivial aches and pains. That is what those little parasites will try to tell you as they burrow into your mind and take up residency there. They'll try to tell you that no one else feels the way you do. By convincing you of that, you fail to see the army at your side and at your back. Those parasites make you blind to all the many ways you have to defeat them. But if you could manage to ignore their cries despite your gut instincts, you could find that there are many tools at your disposal.

You are not alone, we are all suffering together. So what we must do is help each other. If we cannot love ourselves, we will love each other, so that way, the love is still spread evenly around. We will help each other dig out all of these pesky parasites until the pain is gone. We will then realize how silly we were. Even though those creatures speak honeyed words with convincing "evidence", it's still just a sham. The truth is, this world is much more likely to respond to a cry of help than you may expect.

True, it still is no ideal world that we live in. But the monsters tell you nobody will ever want to hear your problems. There is the lie. In truth, because we all suffer these pesky little blights together, that makes us all the more likely to understand, empathize, reach out and help. All you have to do is take that courageous first step, ignoring their annoying little whispers, and drown them out by asking and telling.

I'm hurting, I need help, I want support. I'm in pain, but I don't want to feel this way anymore. Even if there are others out there who have it worse, I am still worthy of time, attention, care and recovery.

And as soon as you find it in yourself to say these things, our side takes another victory, because with every person that we help, that's another host these blights lose. Soon, we're gonna starve them out until there's nothing left for them to do except go extinct. What a glorious day that will be! But we need every soldier we can. So that's why I mean it with the utmost sincerity and support when I beg of you, don't let them win!

AN: Seems like everyone I know suffers some secret storm, but always feels too alone, afraid or ashamed to reach out. I have likened this issue to little ticks and mites that worm their way into your body and eat you from the inside out. If we can open ourselves to each other, then, we can help each other remove these annoying little buggers until we are able to rest assured that our pain is NOT deserved, and that we all have a right to feel ok again, no matter what our minds may try to convince us of.