Solving Personal Problems vs. Self Help: I humbly offer some thoughts

This is a new topic for me, which I intend to make into a series and which I hope will lead to something bigger than just earning a few STEEM from generous Steemians (but I do appreciate all upvotes, resteems and comments!).

I think my fondness for solving problems was something I was born with though any skill I have at it is certainly something I have developed over time both personally and professionally. Academically, I noticed early and have continued to notice – whether it was grade school or law school or now my professional work – the task of identifying the “issue” was usually at the centre of my tests and assignments. This idea seems so obvious in the context of school or professional practice yet we so often forget about it in our personal lives and get caught up chasing red herrings or hiding from the real issues or problems that plague us.

Here’s an example. I grew up during the dawn of the widespread diagnosis of ADD. While I do not wish to make light of this medical condition, I saw many friends and classmates get diagnosed rather suddenly and without much in the way of forewarning. This was often the result of an individual struggling with bad grades and his parents searching for answers. (“How could our little genius be doing so poorly? He’s certainly not stupid!”) While a few seemed to benefit from treatment and counseling, others seemed to just not be very good at math or French anymore and others were just more interested in meeting girls and playing sports. Many of these individuals had MATERIAL PROBLEMS that were not addressed at all. The mindset of the day seemed to be to fix the person and ignore the problem.

I am a believer that most people need to work on or seek treatment for one or more personal ailments that affect their lives negatively. These could include depression, anxiety, PTSD or alcoholism to name a few. I am also believe wholeheartedly that most people also have some significant material problems that have in no way been caused by the underlying personal ailments mentioned above. For example, if someone gets into too much debt or makes a poor career choice, these problems can quickly become a central part of the person’s existence and need to be fixed for the individual's. They can even have negative impacts on conditions like anxiety.

What concerns me greatly these days is that a major problem can be so easily seen as a symptom of an underlying issue when sometimes it is just a BIG BLEEPING PROBLEM that needs to be solved! I think we are too quick to think that something needs to be fixed at the root each and every time a large problem needs solving. This is not an “either or” issue. It is quite possible that two people could have the same problem for different reasons. Maybe it’s just me but I see a trend in society where it is overly tempting to assume the deep root cause and ignore that in some cases, a problem just needs to be fixed so that someone can move on.

Perhaps the pendulum used to be too far in the other direction when an alcoholic would be told to sober up and get his act together, while mental health issues were ignored. LET’S BE CLEAR ABOUT ONE THING: I am an advocate for people getting whatever self help they need, especially if it is mental health treatment. I am just also interested in further exploring the notion that some people need to solve key material problems in their lives either a) to avoid being affected in a way where they end up needing therapy and treatment; and/or b) to ensure that the material problem does not further complicate their therapy and treatment plans.

I am interested in talking more about problem solving. If you are too, please comment. If you have a post you wish to contribute under #problemsolving, I will humbly offer my resteems, likes and comments. Thank you.

CW