Stoic Anxiety Coping Techniques That Actually Work

                  "Man conquers the world by conquering himself" - Zeno        

                                              

           We live in what modern philosophers would describe as "The Age Of Anxiety." The issues that what we are experiencing – pandemics, terror attacks, political and economic unrest, existential angst, and we could stop right there – is unique, unprecedented, unchartered. News headlines, tweets and emails and texts – you hear and see it everywhere – the world has never seen something quite like this... hope you're well during these unprecedented times... leaders facing unparalleled challenges... some feel like there's no playbook for this. I've got some good news for you; a playbook does exist and its called Stoicism. Stoicism is basically an ancient philosophy with some serious modern practicality. Sometimes the solution to your problem can be found by looking to the past.

           Before we dive any deeper into stoicism lets talk about what Anxiety even is. Anxiety is often defined as being worried, uneasy, or afraid. It may be caused by something happening around you, or by something inside you. There is nothing worse than a sinking sensation in the pit of your belly. It’s a physical feeling, but it’s also psychological. You can literally feel something in your gut, tying up your insides. In the United States, nearly 1 out of every 5 adults suffers from some kind of anxiety. It affects men and women equally. The average person experiences symptoms of anxiety at least once a week, and almost everyone has experienced anxiety at some point in their life.

 

        Now its important to remember that there is nothing wrong with being anxious In fact, life without anxiety would be impossible. Evolution gave us anxiety as a survival tool. However you need to learn how to control your reaction to this emotion and not let it control you.

6 Stoic Cures For Anxiety

Name your fear

        In an effort to make sense of the world around him, Marcus turned to philosophy. He understood that his perceptions—his thoughts, feelings, memories, and emotions—were not reality, but rather just illusions. And yet, despite the fact that these things seemed so real, Marcus knew that they were only constructs of his mind. So Marcus decided to focus on what was truly important. He focused on living life without attachment. He didn’t attach himself to money. He didn't attach himself to power. He didn't set himself to fame or fortune. He set himself free.

          Anxiety is overwhelming and confusing. It can be so deep as to make us immobile. Doubts, uncertainties, fears, worries, pressures, nervousness—they whirl around inside us and we feel confused about how to deal with them. We don't know where they come from or when they'll end. The first step to overcoming something like this is to name it.

         The simple act of labeling something can calm the emotional centers of our brains. When we're told what it is we're feeling, we show reduced activity in the brain regions responsible for triggering emotions, and increased activity in the brain areas responsible for thinking things through. In other words, telling someone what we feel helps us think about how to deal with those feelings.

 

Focus on the now.

      We all feel pulled to do more. To go further. To achieve more. We are driven to push ourselves harder. To get ahead. To outdo our peers. And so we fall into the trap of comparing what we have done today, against what we can do tomorrow. Or what someone else has already achieved. Or how far we might have got if we had started earlier.  

              Happiness is an emotion. And emotions manifest physically. They can make your body feel light and relaxed, or heavy and tense. Emotions aren't always positive; they can bring out feelings of anger, sadness, jealousy, and so forth. But happiness is something else entirely. Happiness feels good because your brain is actually changing how you're thinking. When you experience happiness, your mind shifts into a state called flow. Flow is where you lose track of yourself and everything around you—you forget who you are and what you're doing. You start to zone out, and you're absorbed in whatever you're doing. Your focus narrows until nothing matters except the task at hand.

                 Marcus Aurelius was very clear about one thing: Don’t let your mind wander off into the past or the future, or wherever it might go. You should pay attention only to where you are right now. So he said ‘be here, and be here now’. He didn’t mean be here and then forget about being here later, but rather be here and remember to be here. Think of him as an example of how important it is to be aware of where we are in space and time. We can’t control whether the events of our lives happen today or tomorrow, so we should be mindful of where we are in relation to them.

 

Take a hard look at what you really want.

“When I see an anxious person, I ask myself, what do they want? For if a person wasn’t wanting something outside of their own control, why would they be stricken by anxiety?” Epictetus

The anxious father, worrying about his children. What do they want? A world that's always safe.

A frantic traveler – what does she want? For weather to hold and for cars to part so she can get to her plane.

Anxious investors? That stocks will rise and that investments will pay off.

All of these examples share one thing in common. They're all out of your control. You can't force the world to work the way you'd like it to; nor should you try. When you feel anxious, take a step back and look at things rationally. Ask yourself: "Why am I feeling this way?" and then decide whether those feelings deserve your attention. Are they worth it?

Don't do nearly as much

Marcus Aurelius Explains it perfectly

“If you seek tranquility,” he said, “do less.”

He continues to write to himself with some added clarification "Not nothing, less. Do only what is essential." He proceeds to say "Which brings double satisfaction, to do less, better."

               Today and every day I follow this advice and I get through my life without doing things that aren't essential. I do them because they're habitual, because they're instinctive, because they're comfortable. I do them out of laziness and I do them out of greed. And then I wonder why I'm so anxious or why my performance is suffering or why my heart isn't really in it. Of course it's not. I know deep down there's no point. But if I could do less unnecessary stuff, I'd be able to better do the essential stuff. I'd be able to experience that peace Marcus talked about. A double pleasure.

Enjoy a still moment.

        Marcus Aurelius was a philosopher who led an entire empire. He was occupied with reading, writing, lawmaking, hearing cases, leading soldiers, and much else. He dealt with his affairs, just as we deal with ours. He was also constantly thinking and talking about what mattered most. At times, he spoke eloquently and movingly about taking small moments of tranquility and peace.

       Have you ever experienced such an occasion? If so, you'll understand how precious those moments are. To live them fully means to concentrate on the present moment; only then can one spend the time in tranquility. In order to do so, however, we must learn to "let go" of our worries about the past and future. Letting go brings inner peace. This is why Marcus wrote that taking moments of stillness helps us live "what can be lived."

     Take those moments, every opportunity they arrive. You deserve them more than you know.

Study on Mental Health and Stoicism

 

Take A Different Approach With Money

       Even in his own era, Seneca was criticized because he preached stoicism while accumulating an enormous fortune. Some historians think that major loans he made in what is now Britain caused an incredibly bloody uprising.

       Seneca’ s answer to this criticism is pretty straightforward: he may not need money, but he certainly doesn’t mind having it. He’s not dependent on it or addicted to it. And, despite being rich, he hasn’t been branded as one of Rome’s biggest spenders and pleasure seekers.

    Whether his rationalization were true or not (or if he were a tad hypocritical), his approach is a decent prescription for steering clear of our materialistic and wealth driven society, and the anxieties that come when money looms too large in our lives.
    The Stoics were not interested in financial gain. They considered money an obstacle to living a virtuous life. Marcus Aurelius was fond of saying that he owned nothing because everything belonged to everyone. He lived simply, without luxuries, and spent much of his time meditating.
 
    We live in an age where materialism takes hold of our minds. So much so that we forget what life was really about. Money is no longer seen as something precious. Rather, it becomes one big burden that keeps us trapped in cycles of working and working just to survive. And if we do manage to escape that trap, we find ourselves living in a world filled with anxiety and worry, constantly having to work hard to earn enough money to keep us afloat. But it doesn't have to be that way. Try to remember that humans, by nature can be happy with very little. I'm not saying you should pitch a tent in down town and give up; however do not let the natural constant urge for more define your happiness. Find time to stop and enjoy the little things, that way if something out of your control prevents you from buying a Bugatti, you can still find joy and comfort in the more accessible things in life.

 

 

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