A Discourse on Fear, Motivation, and Harry Potter

        Almost every kid and teen, and even adult, in the United States and the United Kindom, if not the entire world, has read, or at least heard of, the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. While there is ongoing discussion on the morality, possibility, etc. of magic, it cannot be denied that these books have topped the best-sellers lists multiple times. They speak to people because they are something we all can relate to, even if only in our imagination. They are interwoven with positive messages, paradoxically hidden and obvious, that can be applied to real-world situations, behaviors, and emotions.
        One of these most prominant messanges can be found in the third of the seven-book series, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Askaban. In this installment, Rowling introduces creatures, or more accurately monsters, called dementors. These being feed off of happiness and optimism, leaving one with only his or her worst memories and feelings:

"Dementors are among the foulest creatures that walk this earth. They infest the darkest, filthiest places, they glory in decay and despair, they drain peace, hope, and happiness out of the air around them... Get too near a Dementor and every good feeling, every happy memory will be sucked out of you. If it can, the Dementor will feed on you long enough to reduce you to something like itself...soulless and evil. You will be left with nothing but the worst experiences of your life."

        It is important to understand Rowling's young adult life when engaging in an analysis of the dementors. She was a young, divorced, single mother, struggling financially and emotionally when she began to write the books that would change her life. I've read that the dementors are supposed to be depression incarnate, this debilitating psychological illness if it were to be manifested in a bodily form. I am here to suggest that, for the moment, we substitute fear or anxiety for depression, since overcoming both these disorders can take on similar forms.
        In Askaban, thirteen-year-old Harry is taught by his Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Remus Lupin, to repel and/or banish dementors in the form of a patronus:

"A Patronus is a kind of positive force, and for the wizard who can conjure one, it works something like a shield, with the Dementor feeding on it, rather than him."

In order to conjure such a force, however:

"...you need to think of a memory. Not just any memory, a very happy memory, a very powerful memory… Allow it to fill you up... lose yourself in it... then speak the incantation 'Expecto Patronum'."

        Now, we are saying that dementors stand for fear, maybe in the form of a phobia or obssession.  Now what about a patronus? Motivation.  Instead of a happy memory, however, we need a reason to not want to be afraid anymore. And not just any reason will do either. It has to be a good reason. A strong reason. According to Harry in one of the later books (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix):

"Make it a powerful memory, the happiest you can remember. Allow it to fill you up… Just remember, your Patronus can only protect you as long as you stay focused… Think of the happiest thing you can."

If the motivation for beating your fear isn't strong enough then the fear will win.  Every time.
        It may take time to decide on how you're going to create your fear-patronus; I'm still thinking. Take your time, and remember that this is a very difficult thing to do -- even Hermione has trouble with it! But keep at it and don't give up, because giving up means that the fear has already won adn you've already lost. Without a fight. So don't make it easy for your dementor; make it fight for control. Your victory will only be sweeter...especially if you celebrate success (Which includes just trying!) with some chocolate!

NOTE: Thanks to the two Harry Potter books that I've quoted from as well as harrypotter.wikia.com for letting me copy and paste the quotes so I didn't have to look them up and type them out.