By: Flavio Guzman, M.D. @
Looking to enhance your decision-making skills or ease anxiety and worry?
This guide delves into the benefits of problem-solving. It introduces a 5-step approach that can help you tackle problems with confidence and ease.
Also, it delves into a real-life case study that demonstrates how you can apply these problem-solving techniques in different situations.
Benefits and background
Why problem-solve
Problem-solving skills are a valuable skill to have, regardless of whether or not you suffer from excessive worry or anxiety.
Problem-solving skills are part of an adaptive response that will help you reduce anxiety and worry. Also, being able to problem-solve can provide you with a confidence boost.
When to use problem-solving skills
Problem-solving skills are of greater benefit to situations or worries you may have control over.
Some of these include:
- personal finances,
- addressing interpersonal conflict,
- time management and productivity,
- and general household organization.
Sometimes postponing worry is helpful too. You can add it as an additional tool.
How to problem solve: The 5-Step Approach
Here are five steps that can help you develop your problem-solving skills.
Step 1: Define the Problem
The first step in solving any problem is to define it clearly.
Focus on the facts and ensure your definition is based on observable facts.
A way of thinking facts is as who, what, where, and when.
The more specific and concrete your definition, the more helpful it will be.
Step 2: Formulate a Goal
Once you have defined the problem, set a concrete and specific goal. Goals can vary in scope and complexity.
Personal goals include losing weight or learning a new skill. Business goals may consist of increasing sales or expanding operations.
A helpful way of thinking of goals is through the SMART acronym.
In business and therapy settings, referring to SMART goals is common practice.
- S: Specific
- M: Measurable
- A: Attainable
- R: Realistic
- T: time-bound.
Goals can also be short-term or long-term, depending on the desired outcome.
Goals are crucial for success. They give direction and focus to individuals and groups.
Step 3 – Unleash Creativity: Brainstorming Techniques to Generate Multiple Solutions
You have probably heard of brainstorming before. It can be an effective way to come up with solutions.
In step 3, your goal is to generate as many ideas as possible without any judgment or criticism. Brainstorming follows three main principles:
- Defer judgment – don’t dismiss any ideas immediately because they might lead to new ones.
- Generate many potential solutions – the more options you have, the more likely you are to find a solution.
- Generate different types of ideas – don’t restrict yourself to one solution.
Step 4: Make a Decision
After generating potential solutions, weigh the pros and cons of each option.
Think about how each solution might make you feel you implemented them. Then, choose one that fits your goals best.
Remember: no solution is perfect.
Step 5: Implement the Solution and Assess Its Effectiveness
You’ve chosen a solution. Now it’s time to implement it. Then, you can start planning clear steps for effectively carrying it out.
Assess its effectiveness by verifying if it’s working as intended or if you need to modify it for better results.
Writing out clear steps will help you avoid procrastination and make the implementation process smoother.
Navigating Friendships After a Layoff: A Case Study
Let’s bring problem-solving skills to life by discussing Emily’s situation.
- Emily recently lost her job due to a company downsizing.
- She is 32 and has worked at the same company for five years.
- Emily had formed close relationships with some of her coworkers.
- She feels anxious about losing those friendships and becoming socially isolated.
Step 1 – Define the problem: The Fear of Social Isolation
In Emily’s case, the problem is that she’s worried about becoming socially isolated from her work after being laid off.
After defining the main problem, we can move on to the brainstorming phase.
Step 2 -Unleashing Creativity: Brainstorming Multiple Solutions
In this brainstorming step, Emily focused on the quantity and variety of possible solutions.
- Quantity is the number of solutions you can think of
- Variety is how different each solution is from the other.
Below you can find a list of solutions in no particular order.
- Emily can plan regular get-togethers.
- She can join a local interest group or take up a new hobby.
- Emily can attend networking events related to her professional activity.
- Volunteer at a local organization.
- Taking classes or a workshop in a subject of her interest.
As you can see, some solutions from this list are better than others. Emily thinks that too, but at this point, she doesn’t rule out any solution. She knows she’ll have time for that later.
Step 3: Pros and Cons
Step three involves evaluating the pros and cons of each solution. Here you can consider things like:
* How practical is the solution?
* How much effort does it require?
* Is it aligned with my values?
Now, let’s go through each of the solutions and their pros and cons.
- Plan regular get-togethers.
- Pro:
- It can provide a sense of continuity during a time of change.
- Cons:
- It can be a bit awkward or even uncomfortable.
- It may be challenging to coordinate schedules.
- Pro:
- Join a local interest group
- Pro:
- It provides opportunities to meet new people with shared interests
- Con:
- It may require significant effort or cost to participate
- Pro:
- Attending networking events to meet new people
- Pros:
- It can provide specific opportunities to meet new people in a professional context.
- It can help build confidence and social skills.
- Cons
- Significant effort or cost.
- It may also feel uncomfortable.
- Results might take time.
- Pros:
Step 4: Pick one solution
The next step is to choose the best solution, but how? Think if you can answer some of these questions.
- Which solution is the most likely to reduce the feeling of social isolation?
- Which solution aligns with your personal values and preferences?
- Which one is most feasible?
Under those criteria, Emily chose to attend networking events to meet new people.
This solution is the most likely to reduce the feelings of social isolation. Who knows, maybe this can even lead to new career opportunities.
Step 5: Implement a plan
Step 5 is to create a plan. This may sound complicated, but it just means breaking down the chosen solution into actionable steps.
Here Emily might define what events specific events she will attend.
Conclusion
- Developing problem-solving skills helps manage anxiety and worry and enhances decision-making abilities in various aspects of life.
- Setting SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time-bound) goals provides clear direction and focus, increasing the likelihood of success.
- When making decisions, consider the practicality of each solution, its alignment with personal values, and its feasibility for achieving the outcome you’re looking for.
References
The books below were used as source material for this guide.
- Craske, M. G., & Barlow, D. H. (2006). Mastery of your anxiety and worry: Workbook (2. ed). Oxford University Press.
- Abel, J. (2018). The Anxiety, Worry & Depression Workbook: 65 Exercises, Worksheets & Tips to Improve Mood and Feel Better. PESI Publishing & Media.
- Seif, M. N., & Winston, S. (2014). What every therapist needs to know about anxiety disorders: Key concepts, insights, and interventions. Routledge.