What is Stoicism and why is it relevant to psychological therapy?
In the psychological work I do with people, I regularly reference phrases from Stoic philosophers from the Roman era who existed 2500 years ago - people like Epictetus, or Seneca, or Marcus Aurelius are among some of them. I am particularly influenced by the writings of these philosophers for the reason that Rational Emotive Theory (RET), as it began to be formulated by Albert Ellis in the early - mid 19th Century was heavily derived from the writings of such philosophers. I remember reading that Albert Ellis was a trained psychoanalyst from the Psychodynamic field of psychology created by Sigmund Freud, which was common in that day, and had been for many years before he began to realise that whilst a great many of his clients developed good insight into their issues, and that they were satisfied with that to an extent - he was not! And he was not so, as his clients did not change much of their disturbed thinking or behaviour, and he measured his effectiveness on whether or not they continued to require seeing him for an extended period of time (as is often the case in psychoanalytic psychotherapy - a so called “deep” therapy!) but mainly whether or not they actually changed by resolving their emotional disturbance and developing strategies to replace dysfunctional behaviour.
So, Ellis began to experiment with more active and directive methods due to his research of Stoic philosophy, among other types of philosophy, and, as the Stoics recommended, he began disputing his clients unhelpful or irrational attitudes. Epictetus, AKA “the slave philosopher”, had said that “it is not events that disturb us, but our view of those events”. Ellis then began suggesting to people that they could unhook themselves from their childhood complaints and distress by changing their attitude towards the event. Marcus Aurelius, the great and last Roman Emperor, said that “You have power over your mind - realise this, and you will find great strength”. Seneca said “We suffer more in imagination than in reality”. There was something congruous between what all of these wise people said - that the mind was the, obviously not the only, but main source of emotional disturbance in human beings.
There is a plethora of evidence to suggest that cognition (your thoughts, beliefs, attitudes) is not the only, but the best and predominant proximal indicator of human emotion in any given circumstance. Therefore, if you understand these preconditions laid out above, as Marcus Aurelius said, “no-one can touch your inner sanctum” (i.e. your mind) - that is the last of your human rights, the right to choose how to think. No-one and no situation can technically make you feel something. Instead of saying “She/he/they made me feel so” say to yourself, more accurately, “I made myself feel X when they did Y”. In the final analysis, it is you - whether you like it or not, that has to take responsibility for that. Even if the circumstances are bad or you are suffering the slings and arrows of misfortune. Period!
This principle, of what REBT calls, as “Emotional Responsibility” is the first necessary step any person needs to take if they want to properly and forthrightly deal with a problem they have, whether it be with themselves, another person or group of people, or a situation out of their control, among other things. Tough! Abdicate your responsibility and watch yourself and those around your suffer as you believe that your problems are not your own. Ellis said that “the best years of your life will be when you finally realise your problems are your own to deal with" - then you can take ownership over your life and do something with it other than lament your lot. You can blame the past as much as you like, but that will not really help you in the long run. This does not mean you do not acknowledge the contribution of the past to your current problems, but it means you do not let yourself be defined by what has happened to you.
It seems that the Stoics knew quite a bit about how to manage their emotions and there is a strong correlation with their approach and modern day psychological therapy - especially REBT. Just like Ellis, Stoicism and REBT is my own preferred philosophy of life. It helps me to live a more fulfilled and functional life and I will continue to use it on myself and clients until proven otherwise!
If you would like to have a more in-depth breakdown and introduction to Stoic philosophy please click here. For the record, I do not have a vested interest in the promotion of any material or products associated with this website - it is only suggested for good intentions in order to help people find a useful and practical philosophy to address their emotional problems. Whilst it is helpful for psychological problems, my recommendation of Stoic philosophy should not be misinterpreted as a replacement for psychological therapy if you have a psychological disorder:
