Hello. I want to be your friend.

I promise I am very reliable and persistent.

When you're feeling low and vulnerable, I will keep you company. I will give you words of advice. I promise to remind you of the possibilities of what could be in the future.

When you're feeling great, I will make sure to stop by. I want to be with you, always. I want to remind you that I am your friend. I give you words of advice, and I want you to listen.

I sound pretty great, right? We could be best friends.

Now that I have your attention, let me introduce myself.

Hi, my name is Fear, also known as anxiety or doubt, but that isn't important.

I am co-dependent. I need you, and I need you to need me too. I want to wrap myself around you and consume you. I will tell you everything you want to hear so you will trust me and let me into your life, but let me tell you what my words really mean.

I feel low and vulnerable, and I would like you to be too. My words of advice I give you are not words of advice at all. The words I say are negative, demeaning, and are meant for destruction, not hope. The possibilities I show you, are not of the successful future I know you will have, but of the empty and desolate place, I will forever stay in. I want nothing more than for you to stay in this miserable place with me, but I know you won't.

You have light. You have hope. You have a future.

So you're religious? Do you have a friend named God? I know our friendship is bound to end because where God is, I am not. You see, he is light, but I am darkness. You begin to find joy, and begin to let me go. I cannot stand the thought of being forgotten and left alone. I need you. You make me happy because when we are together, I am not alone in my misery.

I am filled with nothing but jealousy and disdain for you because I know you are happy. I am going to do what I can to remind you I am still here, waiting and lurking. I am seeking any opportunity I can to give you my words of wisdom "You are weak. You are undesired. You need me." I know my words aren't true.

You are strong. You are worthy. You are enough.

I know this friendship was never meant to last, but I always wish it would. I want you. I need you. I am addicted to your pain and I love to see your misery. I will try to make you forget, but I know you will always rise up and move on. You have a friend in God, something I will never find.

Hi, my name is fear, also known as anxiety and doubt. I'm not really your friend.

Now. Let. Me. Go.