How to Cope With Fear and Anxiety, the Stoic Way
The Stoic response to fear and anxiety turns around two core principles: the "dichotomy of control" and the "principle of assent."
The Dichotomy of Control
If we are not to suffer from fear, hope, envy, and other negative emotions (or “passions”), we must learn to distinguish between those things that are within our control and those that are not.
Anything external to us is not within our control, or, at least, not entirely within our control. The only thing that is entirely within our control is our own mind.
When it comes to things over which we do not have complete control, we play our part, we do our best, but we do not fret over the outcome—which, if we have done our best, is no reflection on us.
Thus, we seek to be loveable, not to be loved, because the one is within our control whereas the other is not. Or, we seek to write well, not become a bestselling author, because the one is within our control whereas the other is not.
The Principle of Assent
The ability to assent to, or reject, impressions is, in the final analysis, the only thing that is fully within our control.
Our highest concern should be to reject any impression that fails the test of objectivity, notably by being more aware of our value judgments and postponing our response to passionate impressions. For instance, we might be “impressed” by the purple of the imperial robe until we remind ourselves that it is no more than a piece of cloth that has been dyed purple in the foul-smelling excreta of sea snails
The Stoic Response to Fear and Anxiety
Putting two and two together, if we are anxious or fearful, it is deep down because we wish to control things that are not in our control or not fully in our control. In other words, it is because we wish for things to turn out in a certain way, instead of understanding or accepting that they will turn out however they turn out.
Given that the future is not in our gift, both hope and fear are redundant. More than redundant, they are counterproductive in that we would do better to concentrate on the things that are actually within our control so as to increase the probabilities of a favorable outcome.
In the words of Seneca, “More things frighten us than really affect us, and we are more often afflicted in thought than in fact.”
Source; https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/hide-and-seek/202203/how-cope-fear-and-anxiety-the-stoic-way
Reflection;
What do you think about stoicism?
#Stoicism #Anxiety #Fear #MentalHealth
@comfortableNight4463 According to Oxford Language, the definition of stoicism is "the endurance of pain or hardship without the display of feelings and without complaint." According to this definition, I don't believe in stoicism at all. Why do we feel the need to not complain or talk about if we are struggling? There's no need to hold it in and struggle alone in my opinion. We should be there for each other and bring each other up. We are in a day and age where it's okay to struggle with our mental health and we shouldn't be afraid of having others help us out.