Problem solving

Sounds simple enough, right? Well, not always.

Sometimes life just strikes you in the groin with a big power-punch. Best thing to do is stand up straight again! Being down, being depressed (I'm not referring to clinical depression- as I am not a medical doctor) can be quite debilitating. The worst part about that is, this is when we need the most strength. Being sad or depressed is always a temporary state of mind!!! Some people benefit from selective serotonin, selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (these two classes of drugs prevent neurological messages from being taken up from where they were sent) or dopamine agonists (dopamine is a neurotransmitter, and agonist means [loosely} to amplify or cause activity).

Do not ask me for recommendations. It is against the law for me to directly advocate or prescribe any medication. This article is only intended to help people find another alternative to being depressed or feeling hopeless. It is not diagnostic, nor am I offering a cure.

Try thinking differently. Instead of dreaming of some flowery nonsense. Do not >procrastinate!!!<The longer you wait to solve a problem the more you increase the chance another may come along.

I tend to put myself into a very well defined situation. If 1+1=2, then I know how much I have. If I'm in financial dire straits, I know A is all I can make, B is what I spend, and C is what I'm short. C is the problem, it's that finite! That's assuming A and B are that clearly defined.

"The best way for something to seem impossible, or insurmountable, is to believe it so. We may not be able to accomplish every single thing that we set out to do, but failure is inevitable if you believe it so."

Above is just a simple catch-phase that you can recite in your mind. The use of mantra has been around for millenia. Even that stupid, annoying Little Engine that Could knew that. Taking an optimistic perspective is the fist step. If something's impossible, it's not possible. Chances are, you're just in a temporary predicament.

Let's look an example of a temporary problem- "I cut my fingernails too short on my left hand." For most people, it's not even worth noticing. For a guitarist, it's a major pain in the ass!

Two people, same problem, different impact. There's one more similarity that may not be obvious straight away. This is a temporary condition! Many problems, no matter how big or small, are going to go away sooner or later. Start here. Form a phase that you feel good about. Something that will cause you to"wake up" and see "this too shall pass". You must be able to sell yourself!!!!

Next, selling yourself.I've never subscribed to the mamby pamby "think of your happy place" theory.That's just plain stupid! If you were in "your happy place" you wouldn't have the problem to begin with, would you? This is just self destructive denial. It's a form of weakness! When's the last time you ignored a problem and it went away?

I tend to be a very logical thinker. If I can arrive at a concrete starting point, I start to feel a little better already. That's hope! A temporary issue, a place to begin, and there you have it-- you're on your way to defeating whatever obstacle or hardship lies ahead. There's a multifaceted advantage here. You'll gain some of the energy that you need to win. You'll allow yourself to s more clearly. If you don't believe me, or maybe don't understand-- think of two popular figures of speech- "worried sick" and "I was so nervous (angry, afraid, hurt) I wasn't thinking straight". Our state of mind, as well as our state of being all intermingle to affect the way we perform (or don't) in a given situation.

Any incarnation of the foregoing may help you keep a positive frame of mind.

The following capsules will offer some more clear-cut thought patterns to help you devise your own plan of attack.