Interesting post on the relationship between CBT and Stoicism

[Au Naturel]

The practice of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy and the ancient Greco-Roman philosophy of Stoicism is explored in an interesting article.

Stoicism: You Always Have a Choice

 

[Neonatal RRT]

I've always had the experience that emotions cloud the brain,...as I've rarely had a good experience with them. Emotions,...for me,...means a decoupling of the rational side of my brain. I feel out of control, and usually means me saying or doing something that is irrational, embarrassing, and/or regretful,...and I feel it puts me in a bad light with other people. I am, for the most part, quite Stoic. However, this is not without some drawbacks,...if, by denying myself of some positive emotional time, it leads me to feel less happiness overall,...I am not as happy as I used to be in my youth. I don't have a good handle on modulating my emotional responses,...it's sort of like I have this 2 step controller switch in my brain,...either "low" or "high",...when others, it seems have a tuner knob that allows for fine tuning of their emotional state. I either am not outwardly responding at all to things,...drives my wife a bit nuts,...OR,...I have embarrassing emotional outbursts that have others staring at me like I'm some sort of weirdo. I can't win,...so, better for me to just do my best to be neutral and in control. I think better and have more rational thought processes.

 

[Gerald Wilgus]

Right now I'm reading A Guide to the Good Life [the ancient art of stoic joy]. I am seeing a lot of commonality to Buddism. This February on my trip to Thailand, I'm planning on a monastery visit for a Yak Sant tattoo.

 

[watersprite]

I just finished reading Greek Buddha by Christopher Beckwith.
It’s fascinating. Lots of ideas whichlead me to other books to read.

Also, I joined a Stoicism study group, which is held sort of locally. (Local during good westher, as per Montana standards) I dropped the Tibetan Buddhism meeting, only because Stoicism meshes better - I think - with the way my brain works; (& I am not interested in learning the Tibetan language).

 

[Nervous Rex]

I read Man's Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl about 30 years ago and found it to be life-changing. I didn't know that idea was called Stoicism, but I very much agree with it. It seems very similar to the Serenity Prayer.

Being able to look at situations and consciously decide how much I am going to let it affect me is very powerful (when I am able to stop and think clearly enough to do it right - I'm nowhere near 100% on this). It also seems somewhat reminiscent of one of Stephen Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People - being proactive instead of reactive.

The fact that so many different sources (Frankl, Covey, the Serenity Prayer) point to the same idea indicates that it is a very powerful concept.

 

[Tom]

I get confused with all the acronyms out there, so initially thought the title was about that marihuana extract and stoicism. People seem to use it for everything these days. Like Bacon.

 

[Au Naturel]

For myself, as I get older I am getting to be less of a Stoic and more of an Epicurean. Forget about the modern notions people apply to the terms and look at the original Greco-Roman concepts.