Every Storm Passes: Meeting Life’s Troubles with My STORM Model

A reflection by Dr Shiam Chuttoo, with my STORM Model for meeting life’s troubles.

I have weathered a few storms

I have met trouble in every part of my life: at work, in the family and in my own health. Some storms came slowly and some arrived overnight. I will not pretend they were easy. What I can say, with my hand on my heart, is that I came through each one, and I came through clear-headed and still hopeful.

I did not do it alone. My immediate family surrounded me with understanding, and nothing knocked us over for long. I also learned that listening to people who had walked the same road helped me more than any leaflet. When someone says, “I have been there too,” the load gets lighter.

Nobody is above crisis. Every one of us, rich or poor, young or old, will meet a storm. Each of us meets it in our own way, and that is where the real lesson lies.

This piece gathers what those storms taught me into a simple model, joined with two ideas from psychology that I used for years as a nurse, social worker and lecturer.

My STORM Model

© Dr Shiam Chuttoo 2026. Five stages for meeting a problem, with an action for each.

S, See it clearly: name the problem in one plain sentence. Ask the people close to you what they see, because others often notice what we miss.
T, Tell someone you trust: say it out loud to family, a friend, your GP or a helpline. A trouble shared stops growing in the dark.
O, Open your ears to others: seek people with similar experiences, through support groups, faith communities or friends. Their stories give you a map.
R, Root yourself in resilience: emotional and spiritual roots hold you when the wind is strongest. Rest, routine, prayer, meditation or quiet reflection, whatever steadies you.
M, Move forward and make meaning: take one small action today, then ask what this storm is teaching you, and whom you might help with it later.

Learning to learn. The most valuable thing a storm leaves behind is a lesson for the next one. After each trouble, sit down and ask three quiet questions: what helped, what did not, and what will I do sooner next time? Answer them honestly and every storm makes you a wiser climber.

The Johari Window: what the storm can see

In 1955 two American psychologists, Joseph Luft and Harrington Ingham, drew a simple window with four panes to show how much we know about ourselves and how much others know. I have used it in classrooms for years, and it fits troubled times well.

Open pane, known to you and to others: plan together. Talk openly with family about the problem and share the load.
Blind pane, seen by others, missed by you: ask for honest feedback. Loved ones may notice tiredness, low mood or warning signs before you do.
Hidden pane, known to you, kept from others: choose someone safe and tell them. Hidden worries grow heavier with time.
Unknown pane, unseen by anyone yet: discover it through new experiences, reflection, counselling or a journey. Strength you never knew you had often lives here.

Every action in my STORM Model makes the open pane larger. The bigger that pane, the less any storm can surprise you.

Merrill and Reid: four ways people weather a storm

In 1981 David Merrill and Roger Reid described four social styles. They explain what I have seen all my life: nobody is above crisis, yet people in the same family face the same storm in very different ways, and one kind of support does not suit everyone.

Driver: wants action and control. Support them with clear next steps.
Expressive: needs to talk and feel heard. Support them by listening, without rushing to fix.
Amiable: values harmony and closeness. Support them with steady reassurance and company.
Analytical: needs facts and time to think. Support them with clear information and patience.

Know your own style, and the style of those around you. Then you can ask for the help you need and offer the help they need.

Faith as an anchor

For me, faith has been the deepest root of all. I have travelled to many holy places in India and attended the Kumbh Mela, the vast pilgrimage held in its full form every twelve years, with the Maha Kumbh said to come round only once in 144 years. Standing among millions of pilgrims at the river’s edge, I felt part of something far bigger than my own troubles. I truly feel blessed.

Your anchor may be a different faith, a set of values, nature, music or the people you love. Research on coping suggests that a sense of meaning and belonging helps many people recover from hardship. Find what anchors you, and hold on to it when the water rises.

Where to find support

Your GP: for worries about physical or mental health.
NHS Talking Therapies: in England you can refer yourself for free help with anxiety and depression.
Samaritans: free on 116 123, at any hour, for anyone who needs to talk.
NHS 111: for urgent advice, or 999 in an emergency.
Peer and faith groups: people who share your experience, locally or online.

Questions to sit with

What storm am I facing now, in one sentence?
Which pane of my Johari Window is the problem hiding in?
Who could I tell this week?
What is my style in a storm, and what support suits me best?
What anchors me when the water rises?
What did my last storm teach me, and how will I use it next time?

See it. Tell it. Listen. Root yourself. Move forward. Every storm passes.

Read more on my blog, and subscribe to receive each new piece by email: drshiamchuttoo.com/blog

A word of caution. This piece is for education and personal reflection. It is not medical, psychological, religious or legal advice, and it does not replace care from a qualified professional. Please understand any technique before you use it. Anyone who uses these ideas does so by their own choice and is responsible for their own actions. If worry, low mood or a health concern stays with you, talk to your GP or another health professional.

© Dr Shiam Chuttoo 2026. The STORM Model is the original work of Dr Shiam Chuttoo. The Johari Window is credited to Joseph Luft and Harrington Ingham (1955), and the social styles to David Merrill and Roger Reid (1981). Credit: STORM Model, created by Dr Shiam Chuttoo. You may share or use this model only with my permission, or with clear credit to me as its author. Contact: shiamduth@outlook.com. Work record: Ref DSC-2026-STORM-01. Title: Every Storm Passes. Author: Dr Shiam Chuttoo. Created 15 October 2026. All rights reserved.

How I prepare my work

I write as a life coach, lecturer, nurse and social worker, and as a Mauritian who has made his home in Britain since 1988, carrying Kreol, French, English, Bhojpuri and Hindi with me. My aim is to inspire, to transform and to get you thinking actively. I think divergently: I take an idea from one world, merge it with another, and see what new shape it takes. Every piece begins in my own notebook, with my own sayings, my own models and the lessons of my own life.

Why do I turn ideas into models? People learn in different ways and at different speeds, so I teach eclectically, drawing on many fields of knowledge. I then shape what I find into a short model with an acronym, such as SPRING, STORM, QUEST or HOME, because a few letters are easy to remember and easy to carry into daily life. Over the years my students have told me this is what stays with them. As the old saying goes, give a man a fish and he eats for a day; teach him to fish and he eats for a lifetime. Each of my models is my way of teaching you to fish.

To research, check and shape each piece, I use every tool I can put my hands on: books, libraries, my training notes, Google, Microsoft Word, and AI assistants such as Claude and ChatGPT. I name them openly because honesty matters to me. Some people will say a piece is copied, or that a machine wrote it. Few see the hours behind it: reading, researching, checking sources, testing each idea against my own experience, and rewriting until the message is clear. The tools help me search, sort and polish. The ideas, the models, the stories and the final word are mine, every source I draw on is credited, and I take full responsibility for what I publish.

If you spot an error, please tell me and I will put it right. And if this is not for you, that is perfectly fine. I have no wish to force anyone to read it. The door stays open for anyone who wants to come in.

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