Having an issue?

Per request here are some thoughts on the use of the word issue, as in, "She has some issues."

Groups of people meet and discuss certain pertinent topics (issues) that must be addressed and dealt with. News sources present to us issues that politicians are trying to work through, some new ones like the oil disaster and old or ongoing ones like civil rights. Often they are the result of disagreements or complicated, diverse viewpoints, or a conflict in belief systems.

A personal issue is similar in that it is something that hasn't been completely resolved and must still be worked through. Resolution would involve some sort of mental process such as acquiring new info, changing perception, forgiveness, or letting go.

And on an individual or personal basis, issues are more related to the emotional response - whether or not we are aware of what the emotion is - to what is happening to us or around us. We have emotional responses to just about everything, and while some are mild and fleeting, other emotions affect us profoundly in disturbing ways causing us to develop an issue. Having an issue with something may be another way of saying, "I was hurt by, upset with, traumatized by, had a bad experience with, haven't recovered from..."

Individually we may feel conflicted or ambivalent about something until we have thought through it, talked through it or whatever works best for us, until we have figured it out. A solution may be the end of one issue but at the beginning of another. Sometimes we think we have resolved an issue and then something happens to bring it back up.

"Issue" has a somewhat negative connotation, as if it stifles or prohibits a person from going forward or interferes with relationships, but it can be a good thing in that if acknowledged provides an opportunity to lead to more understanding and acceptance.

I suppose an "issue" can turn into a conflict and then a battle and then a war whether it is raging in one's psyche or waged between countries.