Discover how Marcus Aurelius and the Stoics managed anxiety during the Antonine Plague. Learn Stoic philosophy techniques to discard internal stress and chaos.
Anxiety isn't a reaction to the news or your boss or your bank account—it is a judgment you are making about those things. You suffer way more in your imagination than you ever do in reality.
What the Stoics Knew About Anxiety
Marcus Aurelius managed anxiety by realizing it was something he generated internally rather than something the world did to him. Despite leading an empire through the Antonine Plague, famines, and wars, he practiced Stoicism to discard his nervous distress. He believed that even in the face of massive contagion and personal loss, one could find peace by changing their internal judgment of external events.
The Stoic philosophy suggests that anxiety is not a direct reaction to external factors like the news, your boss, or your bank account. Instead, Stoicism teaches that anxiety is a judgment you make about those specific circumstances. By understanding that you have control over your internal perceptions, you can follow the example of thinkers like Epictetus and Seneca to navigate modern challenges and unprecedented times.
We can learn that resilience is possible even under extreme hardship, as Epictetus survived thirty years of slavery and Seneca endured multiple exiles. These Stoics demonstrated that while we cannot always control the chaos of the world, we can control our reactions to it. Their lives prove that Stoicism is a practical map for those feeling like their nervous systems are overwhelmed by the political and social chaos of any era.
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