Do you have problems? Or is society telling you that you are a problem? I don't think anyone

walking around in the world these days has any shortage of problems. So today I'm going

to give you four solutions to solve any problem. Welcome back to Savvy Psychologist. I'm your host

Dr. Monica Johnson. Every week on this show I'll help you face life's challenges with evidence-based

approaches, a sympathetic ear and zero judgment. In dialectical behavior therapy or DBT for short,

there are four solutions to any problem that you can use as guidelines for how to approach

life's challenges. I have found through my own life and through the work that I have done with

patients that these guidelines actually work if you're open to applying them. And they can work

for all types of problems, career issues, relationship issues, and issues surrounding identity.

It doesn't matter if you follow these guidelines and tailor them to the nuances of your own life,

they can work. This brings us to our first solution which is actually solving the problem.

That might sound obvious and easy, but here's the rub. Most of us are bad at problem solving

because so much of our behavior is mood dependent. What I mean by this is that you only want to do

what you want to do instead of what is effective and will actually solve the problem.

We get blinded by our emotions all the time and lose sight of our values and our goals.

For instance, let's say you're single and you consider that a problem in your life.

You want to get married and have children. However, you currently have feelings for and engage

in juicy booty calls with Jamie. You want Jamie to realize that you're awesome so you can be

in a relationship with them. But Jamie is not looking for marriage in children.

You come to Goodall, Dr. J and ask for guidance and I look at you and ask,

is your goal to find a healthy, stable relationship or is your goal to be with Jamie?

Because the approaches to these issues are different. At times, we have to get comfortable with our

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