Imagine yourself sitting across from a therapist, discussing some anxious thoughts that have been keeping you up at night. Your therapist listens and says something like:
- “Is there any evidence for these concerns, or might they just be your interpretation?”
- “Picture your anxious thoughts as leaves on a stream. Notice them, then allow them to drift away.”
Both approaches feel modern and would not be out of place in a psychology textbook or a therapist’s office today. But their roots stretch back over two thousand years to a Greek philosopher named Epictetus and other Stoics.
Understanding the origins of these ideas may change how you think about treatment, whether as a patient or a practitioner, and how you approach your own mental health and wellbeing in daily life.
How Stoic Philosophy Shaped Cognitive Therapy
Around 100 AD, Epictetus taught his students a core tenet of Stoic philosophy: it is not events themselves that disturb us, but our judgments about them. He taught his students to pause before reacting, examine their initial response to an event, and then ask whether their emotional response matched reality, or whether their mind was just constructing a story about it.
That insight sat largely in philosophy classrooms until the 1950s, when psychologist Albert Ellis stumbled upon it at the start of the “second wave” of cognitive therapies. Ellis openly credited Epictetus and the Stoic philosophers as foundational influences when he developed Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy, one of the first cognitive approaches to treating emotional distress. Later, one of the founders of cognitive behavioral therapy, Aaron Beck, traced CBT’s philosophical origins to the same ancient Stoic traditions.
The Stoics also taught about the “dichotomy of control,” the practice of distinguishing between what is within your power and what is not, then redirecting your energy toward what you actually have control over. This parallels the acceptance-based strategies used in several modern therapies, including Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).
Some of the most impactful figures in modern therapeutic practices arrived at the same conclusion: the Stoics figured out something universal about human thought and flourishing, long before psychology existed as a field.
The Stoic Roots of Modern Mindfulness
While Stoic philosophy directly influenced the development of modern cognitive therapies, the ancient Stoics also practiced something that looks remarkably like modern mindfulness (long before that term existed).
The Stoics had a practice called prosoche: focused, non-reactive attention to one’s own inner thoughts and impressions. Rather than allowing the contents of one’s mind to be swept away by an anxious thought or an emotional impulse, Stoicism taught that one should notice the thought, examine it, and only then choose how to respond. This is strikingly similar to the practice of mindfulness meditation, which was a key component in the “third wave” of cognitive therapies, including Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT).
Note that this does not mean that Stoic philosophy directly influenced modern mindfulness in the way that it influenced cognitive therapies. Mindfulness practices trace back more directly to Buddhist contemplative traditions. But the parallels are striking, and indicate that the foundations of wellbeing have been discovered independently across time and cultures.
Where Stoicism and Mindfulness Come Together: MBCT
While cognitive therapies and mindfulness trace their roots to different ancient traditions, there’s a modern psychological treatment that brings them together: Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy, or MBCT.
Developed in the late 1990s, MBCT combines cognitive frameworks from CBT with formal mindfulness practices. Its key innovation is a subtle but important adjustment: rather than trying to change the content of difficult thoughts (classic CBT), MBCT teaches people to change their relationship with those thoughts: to observe them and study them, rather than either being swept away by them or trying to change them.
There is significant clinical evidence for MBCT, including a major meta-analysis, which found that people who received MBCT were about 31% less likely to relapse into depression over a 60-week follow-up compared to those who did not. The UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommends MBCT for people who have experienced multiple depressive episodes, citing it as being among the most evidence-based treatments for relapse prevention.
What Stoicism Actually Means — And Why It Matters for Mental Health
In common usage, ‘stoic’ typically describes someone who tries to push through hardship by suppressing or hiding their emotions. That is quite distinct from what Stoic philosophy teaches. Stoicism is about paying close attention to one’s own thoughts and feelings, then choosing how to respond in a way that aligns with one’s values and goals.
And the importance of this distinction has been demonstrated by empirical research showing that behaviors consistent with Stoic philosophy are associated with better mental health outcomes. In contrast, behaviors consistent with the more common interpretation of “stoic” (emotional suppression) are associated with worse outcomes.
The ancient Stoics weren’t teaching people to stop feeling emotions. The goal was to pay closer attention to those emotions, and then to make one’s response an explicit choice rather than an automatic reaction.
How to Practice Stoicism for Better Mental Health
Direct research into the effectiveness of traditional Stoic practice as a standalone therapeutic approach is still limited. One controlled study found that eight days of Stoic exercises reduced rumination in people prone to worry.
But whether or not direct Stoic practice proves effective as a standalone therapeutic approach, the modern cognitive therapies that it inspired are among the most well-studied and evidence-based treatments for mental health and wellbeing. And Stoicism offers many techniques that can be practiced in daily life:
- Focus on what’s in your control. If you notice yourself spiraling over something you have no control over, focus instead on what you can actually change.
- Practice mindfulness. The Stoic practice of prosoche involves observing thoughts without being swept up by them, a foundation of modern mindfulness practices.
- When something upsets you, pause before reacting. Don’t allow your automatic responses to drive your behavior. First, ask yourself whether it’s worth your emotional energy, then act with intention.
- Prepare yourself for adversity. The Stoic practice of premeditatio malorum involves visualizing potential negative outcomes or difficult situations, with the goal of building resilience and maintaining perspective in the face of minor daily setbacks.
And if you are working through CBT, MBCT, or a related approach with a therapist, it may comfort you to know that you are drawing on tools that people have been practicing and refining for over two thousand years.
About the Author: Timothy Rubin has a PhD in psychology and has worked in the fields of cognitive science and artificial intelligence. He’s the founder of Wellness Technology Inc. and creator of Wellness AI, a mental health support app that combines AI therapy conversations with personalized meditations crafted uniquely for each user. Wellness AI is rooted in evidence-based cognitive therapies and mindfulness techniques.
Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko: https://www.pexels.com/photo/close-up-of-a-statue-6714846/
The opinions and views expressed in any guest blog post do not necessarily reflect those of www.rtor.org or its sponsor, Laurel House, Inc. The author and www.rtor.org have no affiliations with any products or services mentioned in the article or linked to therein. Guest Authors may have affiliations to products mentioned or linked to in their author bios.
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