How does one deal with troubles? Meet them head on and try to solve them, by complaining about them, or just by trying to forget them.
Find a solution
The most sensible answer is to try to solve them as best you can. Then put them aside. Not all problems can be easily tackled. Return another day and make another foray to find a solution.
Complain
Or complain bitterly and continuously about how unfortunate you are. Give everyone within your hearing a long litany of your woes, and add in a few more for good measure.
Other People’s Troubles
Listen to other’s troubles. You temporarily forget your own. But your problems don’t go away.
Alcohol
Some people try to forget their troubles by drowning their sorrows in alcohol. Not only will this approach not work, you actually compound your troubles: if you get into trouble with the police for drink driving, if your money is drained away by drink, or if you suffer the longer term consequences of alcoholism. This is akin to borrowing money from illegal money lenders to solve a money problem.
I find that Mediacorp sitcoms usually depict those with troubles as drowning their sorrows in alcohol. I think this is setting a bad example to our impressionable youth.
Tight shoes
Wear tight shoes! They are so uncomfortable you can’t think of anything else, including your problems. But, tight shoes can only take your mind off your problems momentarily. It is a facetious solution. It is not a genuine solution, it is just a distraction. This approach reminds me of the practice of counter irritation, something I learnt in medical school. You use a superficial irritation on one part of the body to relieve irritation on another part.
Don’t Create Problems
Only you can find the solution to your problems. The wisest thing to do is to avoid the problem from arising in the first place. As a public health professional, I believe in prevention. Live wisely. Live within your means. Don’t be combative and get into arguments, fights and squabbles. Manage your time wisely. Live within the law. Drive safely. Live a healthy lifestyle. And the list goes on…..
Wearing tight shoes is definitely not a solution.
lingsinglin
Dr Ling Sing Lin is a medical doctor by training. She worked in MOH HQ for many years, in policy making and administrative positions, until her retirement.
