Source: abc.net.au
Complex problems are usually not that complex as they might be perceived in the first sight. They are usually compounded problems that have been built upon over sub-problems that you might have missed the chance of dealing with when they first appeared. Also, not every part of it is actually a problem, though it might look like that. The following paragraphs might help you understand how to deal with them.
First and foremost, it is important to use paper as a system of helping you to think and feel better, especially in dealing with problems that might also hurt you emotionally. When you write down the problem, you will probably feel better and have a better tendency to focus more. Try to deconstruct that problem into smaller parts that it might lose that complexity.
After you have specifically identified the smaller parts that build up the larger problem, see whether you can estimate each problem in terms of its importance and plausible consequences that it might have in the future. After that, try to focus on the most important one. If you are not sure which one is the most important, it might probably be the one that you are most afraid of.
Then, get a new piece of paper which you will use to solve the most important sub-problem. Start to write some small actionable steps that you will go through without hesitation. If you are not feeling motivated to act, it is probably because your action steps are not small enough. When you are done with each action item, cross it off the list. You are probably going to feel better, once you see a full list of action steps that you went through.
After finishing the most important sub-problem of the original problem, from the remaining ones, try to identify the next most important sub-problem and go through the procedure that is described above. Continue this cycle until there are no other sub-problems left.
This might seem a bit difficult and I agree that it might be time consuming, but that can help you a lot in your pursuit to a more relaxed and better life. You might even turn your problems into projects. Remember that your life might not be the perfect example, but you might turn it into an interesting experience once you start to realize that every problem is solvable.
