Everybody is troubled by something from time to time. Some people are always worrying about their troubles, while others usually appear to be carefree most of the time. Any time personal problems occupy some of your cognitive capacity, they necessarily interfere with academic pursuits. Hence, the purpose of this chapter is to urge you to deal realistically with problems when they arise. The philosophical basis for this pragmatic approach is the saying:
The first step in solving personal problems is to get the facts so that you know that there really is a problem, how big it is, and whether it can be solved. Because it is unlikely that you have invented a new problem, it is likely that the college library will contain a wealth of relevant information. Replacing fallacies with knowledge often suffices to bring a problem down to a size that can be managed.
A brief introduction to logic and problem solving is given in Appendix D. The same strategies apply to personal problems as apply to more practical ones. In every case, you need to identify the alternative courses of action and follow the one most likely to succeed. Occasionally, the best solution to a problem depends on what caused it, in which case, you have to discover why the problem arose. But in most cases, the best approach is simply to deal with the problem.
There are two classes of solutions to personal problems: change the environment or change your behavior. For example, if you have a neighbor whose loud music disturbs your studies, you have to convince the neighbor to lower the volume or you have to change your own study habits. As a rule, the environment is less susceptible to change and hence problem solution usually requires behavior modification. Note that "behavior" includes your private thoughts as well as your public actions. To change your behavior, you need to practice new behavior.
Do not be misled, however. Old habits are never "broken" in the sense of being completely eradicated; they persist as potential problems in the future. You can keep old habits suppressed by new, better habits. If your undesirable habits are strong, you may need help in overcoming them. Do not be too proud or too shy to seek professional help. Student Health Center and other agencies are available to help you deal with depression, addiction, and eating disorders. There are suicide, rape, and crisis centers to help you survive long enough to regain your own cognitive powers.
Similarly, professors, department chairs, deans and counselors will help with academic problems. Don't miss out on your education because of personal problems. You can sometimes rely on self-help methods if you understand the nature of a problem but you may need a trained person to help you get started.