In this series, I dig a little deeper into the meaning of psychology-related terms. This week’s term is stoicism.
Stoicism came up in a book I recently reviewed, You Got This, and I wanted to find out more about it. It means taking a detour from psychology into the world of philosophy.
Stoicism in Ancient Greece
Stoicism began as an Ancient Greek philosophy in the 3rd century BCE. Stoics believed that happiness came from accepting the moment and not being controlled by pleasure or fear of pain. Destructive emotions, thought to arise from errors in judgment, were dealt with by building self-control and fortitude.
Self-control
The aim was not to extinguish emotions, but rather to retain clear judgment and calm. Logic, reflection, and concentration were important for maintaining self-control, and it was important to differentiate between what can and can’t be controlled. One technique that Stoics used was a view-from-above type of visualization in order to gain a better appreciation of the big picture. Negative visualization involved imagining the worst-case scenario, in the hope that by becoming more familiar with what was feared, the fear itself would ease.
The Stoic Epictetus wrote that “we suffer not from the events in our lives, but from our judgment about them.”
Virtues
It sounds like they were early proponents of the idea that actions speak louder than words. Stoicism emphasizes virtue, which arises from a will that’s in agreement with nature and logos (rational structure to the universe). The four cardinal virtues were wisdom, courage, justice, and temperance. Virtue would allow someone to adapt to any situation that arose in a way that allowed them to maintain happiness. Negative situations could thus be reframed as new opportunities.
Stoics viewed all people as citizens of the world and advocated tolerance and mutual assistance, regardless of material circumstances. Because of this view, they would urge clemency toward slaves.
Views on death
Stoics decreased the fear associated with death by emphasizing its inevitability. I found the following lines quite interesting in the Wikipedia entry. I didn’t refer back to the sources cited, but they sounded legitimate.
The Stoics accepted that suicide was permissible for the wise person in circumstances that might prevent them from living a virtuous life. Plutarch held that accepting life under tyranny would have compromised Cato’s self-consistency (constantia) as a Stoic and impaired his freedom to make the honorable moral choices. Suicide could be justified if one fell victim to severe pain or disease, but otherwise suicide would usually be seen as a rejection of one’s social duty.
Stoicism’s later influences
Stoicism later had influences on Christianity, notably the apostle Paul and St. Ambrose of Milan. In modern times, stoicism influenced Viktor Frankl’s logotherapy, and Nelson Mandela read the journals of Stoic Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius.
This philosophy isn’t, and never was, meant to be a treatment for mental illness, although it could potentially help with maintaining mental health. In You Got This, the author drew on Stoicism to handle fear, and I have a better idea now where she’s coming from. “Normal” people (i.e. people without mental illness) face “normal” fears (as opposed to a disordered level of fear) all the time, and I can see Stoic principles being useful in that context. For those of us who aren’t in the “normal” camp, I think the good bits in Stoicism show up in several therapeutic approaches in a slightly different form, but as an overall package, it may not be that helpful.
Is Stoicism something that you’re familiar with or have tried to practice?
There’s a short and sweet overview of stoicism in this TED-Ed video by Massimo Pigliucci.
References
- Ayed, N. (2010). Take it like a stoic: Coping in the time of coronavirus. CBC Radio.
- Daily Stoic. (n.d.). What is Stoicism? A definition & 9 Stoic exercises to get you started.
- Pigliucci, M.. (2017). The philosophy of Stoicism . TED-Ed.
- Wikipedia: Stoicism
The Psychology Corner has an overview of terms covered in the What Is… series, along with a collection of scientifically validated psychological tests.
Ashley L. Peterson
BScPharm BSN MPN
Ashley is a former mental health nurse and pharmacist and the author of four books.
nice post
I am familiar with stoicism. Part of me envies people who are able to be stoical, as I’m very emotional, but part of me isn’t sure. One of the Stoics (I can’t remember if it was actually Epictetus) said, when you see your vase you should tell yourself it is going to break one day, and then you won’t be upset when it breaks. OK, I can see that working. But then he says, when you see your wife and child, you should tell yourself they’re going to die one day, which… I’m really not sure that’s a helpful approach. For one thing, I think I distorted my relationship with my grandparents when I was in my teens by being over-conscious of their mortality. And I think it’s probably not a good idea to be completely stoical when loved ones die. I would want to care. From that point of view, I couldn’t be a Stoic.
I don’t think I could either, and I’m not certain that I’d want to.
I am not familiar with the term stoicism in the behavioral health context. Thanks once again for the education. I hope this feedback is relevant as I am not sure I understood the whole article.
One thing that hit home reading this post was the behavior of predicting the worst-case scenario for an outcome and then adjusting that worst case scenario – “negative visualization.” For me, this behavior as I understand it is largely unproductive. As an ex-project manager, I envision or have envisioned worst case scenarios all the time. For regular day to day coping, envisioning the worst case scenario is not therapeutic for me but collectively sends me over the edge.
Envisioning worst case scenarios takes me out of the present moment which is one issue. Envisioning worst case scenarios all the time becomes a habit that is hard to break. In my book, if you are constantly looking for worst case scenarios you are robbing yourself of little moments of happiness and maybe big ones as well.
I suppose that means I am not a fan of stoicism?
I agree. Envisioning the worst case scenario in a leadership context makes sense, but on a personal level that could start to look a whole lot like catastrophizing.
I think some of the stoic philosophies are becoming ingrained in me. Not all, which means it is good to revisit those ideas a bit more often. Do you recommend any books for further reading?
I actually haven’t done any further reading, so I don’t have any ideas to suggest.
Very good. I’ll have to look it up sometime. Great post!
Hadot wrote much about spiritual exercises in the early philosophers. I am not so familiar with the stoics, but I like the general idea. Contemplating nature is something I could do. : )
Contemp;lating nature sounds very good.
I love Stoicism. I’m working on my understanding, absorbing a reading or two daily and working on implementing the cardinal virtues. It has seriously helped manage my anxiety and depression and it inspired CBT-style therapies. Epictetus has a work called “The Enchiridion”. It’s a handbook, a manual on how to live life. It’s short and there is a modernized version I enjoy called “The Good Life Handbook” by Dr. Chuck Chakrapani. I’ve got a copy and I’ve given away six more – luckily it is relatively inexpensive – $10 in paperback.
Good to know – thanks!
If there had been more killing of the people giving the orders things could have turned out quite differently.
“The Stoic Epictetus wrote that “we suffer not from the events in our lives, but from our judgment about them.”
It sounds like they were early proponents of the idea that actions speak louder than words.”
Just how do you go from A to B here? I see no connection whatsoever…
They weren’t meant to be connected. That’s why they were in separate paragraphs. Sorry if that wasn’t clear.
Wow, it’s kind of me !!! I am a over thinker and get highly emotional as well. Thanks for sharing 😊
Not sure that I’m a stoic and don’t suppose I will ever be. I can be calm and appear emotionless but I’m not – I just hide it well. There’s times I don’t want people to see me full of emotion 🙁
It’s good to be able to control that when needed.
I follow a minor celebrity (Chloe Lukasiak from Dance Moms) who is really into stoicism. I think it can be useful in philosophy, but agree it should not be applied to mental illness.
I think so too.
My goodness I can’t believe this! The DBT book I have then this, my husband is teaching me about stoicism at the moment and I’ve felt pretty negative towards it but am going to give it a chance 😅
I think stoicism probably makes a little more sense as a different way of looking at wise mind.
Definitely so I need to reach a calmer place and then explore it 🤗
I try to practice stoicism but one of the main teachings about not fearing death but embracing it is something I can’t do. I’ve a massive fear of death 🙁
Embracing it seems odd. But I guess it’s along the lines of exposure therapy.
NICELY WRITTEN ,, very different and useful topic
I’m not fond of Stoicism, because I’m not ready for it!
I just think “we suffer not from the events in our lives, but from our judgment about them.” as too simplistic, and I tend to feel invalidated by it. It seems to be the tenet most emphasized whenever my friends praise Stoicism, and I get quietly annoyed.
I got upset with my therapist when she said something similar and asked her if she means abusive events are OK, and that my reactions to abuse isn’t OK. Of course she didn’t mean it that way and I’m aware I’m reactive due to my own baggage – my parents made my reactions to abuse to be “the problem” rather than their maltreatment.
I agree, it’s just not that simple.