What is Stoic Philosophy and why do I use it in my practice?

I’ll give you a very short history lesson. Stoicism is a cognitive-based philosophy that gained popularity immediately before the rise of Christianity. It was quite popular from about 300 BC to around 314 AD (over 600 years). Stoicism was actually the state sanctioned “religion” in Rome before Constantine issued the Edict of Milan, formally recognizing Christianity as the state religion.

Stoicism and psychology are interwoven. The foundations of Stoicism are fairly simple: “Flourishing” or the Greek term “Eudaimonia”, is achieved by forming a virtue-centered ethic informed by logic. Eudaimonia is defined as “The purpose for which everything is done, but is not done itself or any other purpose”. Think about this passage. Flourishing is what we do, why we wake up each morning, go to work, interact with others, interact with a world that seems at times to work against us, sleep, rinse, and repeat. We do this day in and day out without thinking about why. If you know what that “why” is, great. But many people are ignorant of what that “why” is. Some see flourishing as making money, taking trips, buying nice things, being promoted or recognized. These are all passionate desires, things not up to us. And once we attain them we want more, or when we don’t attain them we feel horrible. These things are not “good” in a Stoic sense. They cause us to be disharmonious with the world and are distractions from attaining eudaimonia. Thus, the psychology of Stoicism is to live in accordance with nature and be at peace with all that the universe provides by withholding judgment.

Epictetus was originally a slave. He was freed and eventually started his own school. His teachings were key in fostering Stoic principles in perhaps one of the most well known Stoics, Emperor Marcus Aurelius. Now consider this - Marcus, an emperor, learned his ethics from a slave. One could say the ethical direction of the Roman Empire during his reign was of the direct influence of a slave under the same regime some 150 years earlier. Together, they formulated and practiced the fundamental Stoic theme - of the things that are up to us: our judgments, our desires, and our inclinations. You can see how Stoicism and psychology blend - CBT is simply a modern version of Stoic psychology and philosophy, a way of living in accordance with nature:

I provide Stoic psychotherapy. This type of therapy combines the core principles of Stoicism and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy by using Stoic psychology principles as the foundation. If you would like to learn more about this approach and how the psychology of Stoicism can help you break through “stinking thinking”, please call 415-710-9777 for a complimentary 15-minute consultation.