As a child, you always feared the monster in the closet. Your imagination would play tricks on you and you would think it was going to come after you as soon as the lights went out. You were never quite certain what the creature looked like or what it would do, but you knew it was after you! It wasn’t until you grew up that you rationalized the ridiculousness of monsters hiding in your closet and realized there is no such thing.

Drug addiction can be a lot like a monster in the closet. You become anxious and agitated, but you don’t know what is causing it. Irrationally, you blame certain things, not realizing that the problem is this addiction. Like a monster in the closet that you don’t realize is there, you ignore it and let it bother you in your subconscious.

In order to beat a monster, you have to face it and defeat it with confidence. You have to challenge your addiction and conquer it with the help of others. Just like you would call on your parents, a sibling or friends to help you fight the monster in the closet, it takes the help of counseling, friends and family to beat an addiction. An addiction can seem like an impossible thing to defeat, much like a fictional monster, but through love and confidence it can be defeated.