confront one's demons

present singular third person confronts one's demons · participle present confronting one's demons · participle past confronted one's demons · past confronted one's demons

1. idiomaticTo work through past experiences that have left emotional scars.

   But a personal and almost menopausal crisis brings him back to an Edinburgh he hardly recognises. As if in a Sergio Leone film, Renton has an obscure need to return, to confront the demons of his past, in particular the three guys he ripped off after a drug deal at the end of the last story.

   2017 January 19, Peter Bradshaw, “T2 Trainspotting review – choose a sequel that doesn't disappoint”, in the Guardian

   Synonyms: face one's demons, meet one's demons