When I was a child I was VERY VERY AFRAID.

One of my MANY fears was the monster under my bed.

My heart would THUMP like a DRUM and my mouth would feel like cotton and glue as I thought of his HUNGRY, SNARLING, GROWLS.

I made many PLANS, PATHS and SCHEMES with witch to trick the monster.

...but my tummy still hurt.

Eventually, I also felt GUILTY.

I worried about hurting the monster's feelings.

What if it felt ugly, lonely or embarrassed?

What if he wished he wasn't a monster at all?

What if it wanted a friend?

So one day, I did the VERY BRAVE THING...

In a show of good faith, I took a DEEP BREATH and dangled my little feet off the bed.

Which meant, of cores, that we were friends.

The Monster would sit beside me- Patient, scary and invisable and I would tell him stories.

I would make him laugh and make up stories and tell him about things that made me feel confused or bad or sick.

I grew Up.

I was diagnosed with some fancy alphabet letters;

*ASD, ADHD, CPTSD and MDD.

I was told that these alphabet letters could make my brain very loud and tired sometimes.

*ASD is for : Autism spectrum disorder, ADHD is for: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, CPTSD is for : Complex PTSD & MDD is for major depressive disorder

But it's ok because, I have kept my promise.

That is, I know very well how to be patient and kind with monsters.

Even when it feels as though you may be swallowed up, GULP!

So, if you would like a friend, you could do a lot worse than a worry monster...

Even though you are VERY, VERY brave.