Carl is a 21-year-old college senior and a long-time sufferer of anxiety. It all traces back to his childhood. As Carl struggled in school, he was constantly compared to his older brother by his peers. Unlike Carl, his older brother was a straight "A" student with the ability to handle stressful situations in an easy manner.
Whenever Carl would receive a low grade on an exam in school, his father would shame him and ask him why he couldn't be more like his brother. Carl hated being home because his family constantly belittled him which made him feel on edge. He would have a hard time going to sleep because he knew the next day, he would relive the same criticism from his family.
The pressure that Carl endured all his life followed him when he started college. During his junior year, Carl had a panic attack that landed him in the hospital for heart palpitations. The palpitations were so severe that he thought he was having a heart attack and that he would die.
After Carl had his panic attack, he made the tough decision to take the following semester off. As he was packing up his things from his dorm room he started to panic again because he knew he would spend his leave of absence back at home with his family. This is when a little red ball of fluff popped up on his bed out of nowhere. The ball untangled itself and exposed some arms and legs. It was a little fluffy monster named Bruce.
Bruce, a wise monster who had experienced anxiety understood Carl and knew the challenges he faced in life. Bruce taught Carl breathing exercises and meditation techniques to help soothe his overwhelming thoughts. Bruce recommended that Carl seek therapy, which ended up helping him tremendously.
As Carl headed back to his family's home, Bruce tagged along with him. It was no surprise to Carl that the minute he returned home; his father started yelling at him instead of giving him a warm welcome back. However, once Carl's father stopped yelling, Carl used one of the breathing techniques that he learned from Bruce. The breathing techniques helped Carl steady his heart rate. It made such a difference, and Carl walked away with less tension than what he was familiar with.
After a fair amount of time off, Carl returned to college. When feeling stressed and nervous Carl was now able to practice his breathing exercises with the support from his little monster companion. The new techniques that Carl learned made studying for tests and working on homework easier. Thanks to Bruce's help, Carl graduated with a degree in psychology and thanks Bruce every day for helping him see the color in life. For the first time, Carl was looking forward to the future.