Facing our inner demons (and finding peace anyway)
This weekend, all four of my grandkids slept over at our house. As you can imagine it was quite lively!
At one point, I walked into our new family room and found them watching K-Pop Demon Hunters.
If you are not familiar, it’s a movie with high-energy music, stage dancing, and fierce girl warriors who battle demons.
And all the music videos they watch are kids in the world doing these K-Pop Demon Hunter dances on YouTube.
The 10-year-old knows the dances, and all the songs.
The eight-year-is fascinated by vampires and zombie movies. They now come in both real-actor and cartoon versions.
This theme shows up everywhere in kids’ entertainment these days—heroes battling dark forces, monsters, and mysterious creatures.
Watching them so captivated by this made me realize “we’re not in Kansas anymore.”
But it also made me reflect on something deeper.
Maybe the reason these stories resonate so strongly—whether you’re eight years old or sixty —is because we all know something about battling demons.
Not the kind that appear in movies or cartoons, of course.
But the kind that live inside our own minds.
The demons we all face
Every human carries internal struggles. Sometimes they show up as fear, self-doubt, regrets or resentments, wounds that haven’t fully healed.
One of the most common—and most powerful—demons many of us battle every day is stress.
Stress sneaks into our lives in so many ways. Pressure at work. Family responsibilities. Financial concerns. The constant pace of our lives. War being waged in the world.
Stress can affect our sleep, our mood, our health, and even how we treat the people we love.
If we ignore it, it can grow into anxiety, burnout, or a sense of dread of what is coming next.
This is exactly why personal growth and self care matters so much.
Working on ourselves isn’t about becoming perfect. It’s about learning how to manage the inner battles with the demons show up to thwart our best efforts.
Healthy Ways to Release Stress
The good news is that we have powerful tools available to help us release stress and restore balance. Here are a few that I personally rely on and often recommend to my clients:
Meditation and Mindfulness
Even five or ten minutes of quiet breathing can calm the nervous system and bring your mind back into the present moment. It’s amazing how powerful simple stillness can be.Exercise and Movement
Our bodies are designed to move. Walking, stretching, yoga, or strength training can help release stored tension and boost mood-enhancing chemicals in the brain.Connecting with Others
Talking with a trusted friend, coach, or supportive community can help lighten emotional burdens. Sometimes just being witnessed is incredibly healing.Creative Expression
Writing, music, art, or even dancing around your kitchen can help move emotional energy that’s been stuck inside.Hypnotherapy
One of the most effective tools I’m now certified to share is hypnotherapy. While in a relaxed, focused state, the subconscious mind becomes more open to releasing old patterns, fears, and limiting beliefs. It allows us to mess up those old internal programs that keep certain “demons” alive and replace them with positivity and self-acceptance.When people experience this kind of inner reset, they often feel lighter, calmer, and more hopeful.
Loving your whole self
But there’s one more important piece to this conversation.
Even with all the tools in the world, some of our shadow parts may not disappear overnight.
And that’s okay.
Part of true personal growth is learning to practice self-love, even when we see the darker or more difficult parts of ourselves.
We all have moments when impatience, anger, fear, or insecurity show up. These parts don’t make us broken. They make us human.
When we approach those inner struggles with curiosity and compassion rather than judgment, something powerful begins to happen.
The inner critic softens.
And the “demons” that once seemed in control, lose their power.
Becoming the hero of your own story
Maybe that’s the real reason this next generation is so captivated by those K-Pop demon hunters.
At its heart, every hero story is really about transformation. Someone discovers their inner strength, faces the darkness, and grows stronger in the process.
Our lives are not so different.
We each have the opportunity to become the hero of our own story—facing our fears, learning new tools, and choosing growth over stagnation.
And the beautiful part is that we don’t have to do it alone.
There are practices, communities, and supportive guides available to help.
So the next time stress, doubt, or an old pattern shows up, remember this:
It’s just another demon asking to be faced with awareness, compassion, and courage.
And every time you do that, you become stronger, wiser, and more at peace.
Wage peace.
Love, Maureen
