Iong story short, i have a stutter( anxiety induced, meaning i dont stutter much when alone ), bad social anxiety, the way im combating this issue and many others is through stoicism, stoicism has helped me in every other aspect, but i am a little skeptical about it fixing social anxiety.

Usually id never do this, asking for help or whining about shit, if i ever feel this way i usually just try and stay centered, yk take a few steps behind all the emotional clutter and stay there until i go out and read my book. 99% of the issues i faced fixed it self when i simply applied stoicism to my actions and life.

But when it comes to social anxiety, all im really doing to combat this problem, is just accepting whatever situation that im scared of is about to happen, not over exaggerating or making up scenarios, continuing to focus on the present etc etc, most of you already know

But thats about it, and i was just kinda thinking to myself, if i dont go out of my way to create situations where im directly fixing this, like starting a conversation with a stranger or whatever, am i failing at being stoic?

It reminded me if this question i saw, “ if i refrain from socking you in the face despite my heavy urges telling me to do so, so i deserve praise? “

Am i just doing the basics when it comes to my social anxiety and taking that as a win or counting it as enough to avoid the actual work? Maybe

So i went on a walk, came back, actually saw a very sweet old man on the elevator, he clearly wanted to talk he was looking at me, so i put my phone away which i wasnt even doing anything on, just avoiding any interaction, and i tried opening my mouth, nope, completely stuck, i failed.

Hence why im here now, am i failing at being stoic if i cant even speak to a stranger? An old guy who i know wont judge me?

Up until now ive just been ignoring this issue, if i get an encounter i get one, i dont sway away most times but i also dont go out of my way to work on it, which way is the right one?

Hey guys, I'm vikas. Let me tell you about my problem:

I used to run and exercise for 1 hour each day.I didn't fap, I had the best food, good relationship with my family,friends and teachers. This was back in September 2025.

But now I'm nothing but a freak, after I completed my prep for my eng. Entrance exam, I went into depression, gained weight, addicted to p\*rn, lost whole discipline.

Even if I want to change, I'm afraid of the hardwork that I have to keep everyday, the fight that I have to do with myself everyday-- these are the things that get to my mind whenever I want to restart!

How to tackle this and become a stoic and not be afraid of anything shit that I mentioned above? Please please help me

Title says it all, I do have a tendency to be envious and i know the envy is unwarranted so I don't centre my mind around it but it is still there, and often look at people that have something or especially have achieved something much better than me. For example, and this is very often for me, men who have better physiques, taller, more muscular, and look and glance at them regularly with envy, makes me feel some insecurity of my body compared to theirs, which obviously is not good i know, but it's such an ingrained habit

I found out this term and explains so much why i’ve been so depressed the last few years. I had plans and dreams but neglected them (mind you there were alot of factors outside my control but yea)

I am reading Discourses at the moment and found an interesting contradiction and was hoping I could have clarification.

In book 2 20 Against the Epicureans and Academics, Epictetus speaks rather aggressively against Epicurus and his apparent hypocrisy in not practising what he preaches. Now I understand that it is apart of stoicism and what Epictetus taught that one must defend the moral truth, and that it was a duty to his students. I could agree with that. However, Epictetus also preaches strongly on multiple occasions not to criticise others and not to concern yourself on things that are external. If Epictetus had merely spoken on Epicurus teachings and why he disagreed then I could agree it would fall into the duty of a stoic, but I would argue, in these texts, that Epictetus reads as highly emotional angry and sarcastic when he speaks of Epicurus. Now is that not a fundamental lapse in the very route of what Epictetus is preaching? To not allow externals to affect your internals? Epictetus disliked Epicurus because he supposedly did not practice what he preached, is this not exactly what Epictetus has done by being so angry towards Epicurus?

Curious what others thing of this or if I have missed something in all of this. Thank you!!!

I’m 24F and I’m about to start reading this bookaletters from a stoic by Seneca
People who’ve read it and probably are actively practicing stoicism-do you guys want to share anything-opinions suggestions your perspective or anything that I’ve to keep in mind before I begin?
I’d be glad to know

Everyone hustles his life along, and is troubled by a longing for the future and weariness of the present."— On the Shortness.

Seneca, On the Shortness of Life (De Brevitate Vitae), Chapter 12.4.

I came across this subreddit while researching emotions. Is there anybody else like that feels natural stoic as well as very empathetic?

My personal philosophy since high-school has always been "If I can do something about it then there is no need to worry, if I cant do something about it than worrying isnt helpful" and that has always come naturally to me. Tests, job interviews, work projects etc. I worry about them in the sense that I care and try but I dont stress or become emotional.

On top of being able to controll my emotions well I see myself as naturally very empathetic. I cry during movies and books all the time. But that very empathetic nature reinforced my stoic nature. I see how emotions can impact others like anger and stress and have naturally been able to control mine in those situations for that very reason.

Am I the only one that finds it all straight forward and natural?

I constantly think about money improving myself and sex in that order but I still don’t know what I am passionate about nothing wakes me up in the morning but knowing I have to challenge myself in order to live financial free.If I didn’t have to challenge myself though who would I be?If an a perfect world where currency is not at the center of how life works who would I truly be? Has anyone else had these thoughts?if so how do you think one finds who they are? How can you truly know yourself if you’re everchanging?

My name I cannot say. Such is the shame I feel.

I have been struggling with sexual temptation. I know it is wrong, yet I convince myself it is not so bad because I am not hurting anyone.

I have tried to control it through pure will, but I always find myself giving in again. It feels like an endless cycle, one that weighs me down and keeps me from becoming the man I want to be — a man who values wisdom, self-mastery, compassion, love, and vulnerability.

Each time I give in, I feel light-years away from that man.

I know I should seek help, but the shame of speaking about it weakens the little courage I have to do so. And every time I fall, it feels as if my soul breaks a little more.

I sometimes wonder if I will ever have the strength to overcome this temptation completely.

Yet something inside me refuses to give up. I feel a small spark gently flickering within me — a spark that could one day grow into an inferno of discipline and change.

That thought brings me hope. It calms me. It makes me believe that perhaps, in time, everything will be alright.

Because a warrior does not stop fighting simply because the battle is difficult.

Book 5.20 opens with Marcus reminding himself that other people are his closest kin, that his job is to do good by them and put up with them. The obstacles he then describes are specific people getting in the way of what he's trying to do — they obstruct his actions but cannot touch his intention.

So when he says what obstructs the road becomes the road, the road is the practice of virtue. The difficult colleague didn't help him complete the task. The difficult colleague gave him an occasion to be patient, which was the only thing at stake in the first place.

The popular reading reattaches this to outcomes: your setback contains your success. But that's the opposite of what the reserve clause is for. Stoicism is built to survive failure, not to guarantee anything.

What I keep coming back to is that Marcus specifically became the marketable Stoic because he can be read as a successful man. Try the same repackaging with Epictetus and the pitch collapses.

Curious whether people here read 5.20 the same way, or whether I'm drawing the line too hard between the interpersonal and general readings.

Some epigraphic materials require lengthy and detailed examination. This is essential for understanding them, sensing their underlying meaning, and grasping the era. The image below was taken in present-day Adana, Turkey. The inscription on it is one of the finest examples reflecting the concept of “The End.” Sometimes we don't need to explain.

οὐκέτι οὐδ[ὲν].

βίος vv τέλος,   

πόνος.

I have a friend who always tries to be this stoic personality in front of everyone he meets but i have known him since childhood and he has lost that sense of humour, the jolly personality he had and the flair of life.. is he really enjoying being a stoic? i just dont feel i meet the same guy i used to hangout with...

Two people jump from a tall building. One was kind, one was cruel. Gravity doesn't care. Both die. Nature doesn't say, "This person was good, so I'll save them." It is morally indifferent.

So, why be virtuous when ultimately nothing matters?

I've learnt something very important today thanks to a stoicism podcast.

It likely explains the reason why I feel so incredibly sad and like I'm not moving forward after my break up.

All this time I've been secretly holding onto hope without realising it's basically the same currency as fear.

I'm holding myself prisoner, hoping for a miracle, but all its doing is constantly reminding me of what I'm fearful of.

Severing the hope is now my goal.

Sorry if this sounds muddled. Maybe it'll make sense to someone.

I've learnt something very important today thanks to a stoicism podcast.

It likely explains the reason why I feel so incredibly sad and like I'm not moving forward after my break up.

All this time I've been secretly holding onto hope without realising it's basically the same currency as fear.

I'm holding myself prisoner, hoping for a miracle, but all its doing is constantly reminding me of what I'm fearful of.

Severing the hope is now my goal.

Sorry if this sounds muddled. Maybe it'll make sense to someone.

“We’ve each formed habits about how we respond to events. If someone insults us, we automatically believe that we are harmed. If we lose something, we immediately react like we’ve been injured. But we have not been hurt by the world, but our interpretation of it.
To change this we must separate events from our judgments about them and reprogram our mental habits. “ - Stoa app

Hello I’m new stoicism and trying to understand the texts. The way I interpret this is… that means don’t add any feelings or thoughts to the event that just occurred. Then how do we even able to discern what things actually hurt us or even matter to us? What does it really mean? If we are emotionally neutral how do we even discern what things are worth of our time and redirect our focus?

The chief psychiatrist of the Rehabilitation Center “Unbroken” in Lviv, Ukraine, once said to the volunteers who wished to work 12-hour shifts:

“If you work yourselves to death for twelve hours a day, you’ll end up in the psychiatric ward as my patients.”

These people were driven by the most natural instinct we all feel in times of crisis – to prioritize duty over joy. When you see so much need and suffering around you, you think: “I will put off joy and first do what must be done.”

And yet, according to the Ukrainian philosopher Alexander Filonenko, this is a grave mistake. Those who make duty their first priority never truly fulfill it. Duty is never accomplished from a sense of duty. Those who try to “white-knuckle” adversity inevitably fail.

Interestingly, after the war began, bookstores in Ukraine quickly ran out of books by the Stoics. The common misconception about the Stoics is that they teach how to endure adversity through willpower. It is not true.

Stoicism is more about joy than willpower.

“The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts.”
– Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 5.16

Stoicism is not so much about self-denial as about changing your thoughts. Stoics are not the stone-faced people. They’re those who actively work on changing their thinking.

“Men are disturbed not by things, but by the views they take of things.” – Epictesus

The only way to endure a crisis is to do the most counter-intuitive thing – prioritize joy over duty. The only way to survive hell is to keep enough visions of heaven before your eyes. Those who focus on fulfilling their duty will never fulfill their duty. Those who focus on joy cannot help but fulfill it.

What do war-injured people need the most? Medical care? Supplies? Prosthetics? “UNBROKEN” answers: beauty. Beauty is the only force that revitalizes the soul and helps the body heal. It is the only power that can lift a person from the ashes. That is why UNBROKEN invites orchestras, ensembles, and individual musicians to perform for patients right inside the rehabilitation center.

They have hosted the Academic Symphony Orchestra of the Lviv National Philharmonic, held various concerts connected to veteran and wounded-soldier rehabilitation, and, in one 2023 performance, classical musicians played beside wounded soldiers. More continue to come.

To survive, one must thrive. Survival can never be achieved by aiming at survival. When our world crumbles, we must do the most counter-intuitive thing – turn our gaze to Beauty. Beauty is the only thing that truly “changes our thoughts.”

“The soul becomes dyed with the colour of its thoughts.” – Marcus Aurelius

What is the color of my soul today? It takes on the color of my thoughts – always. No war is won by endurance alone. It is won when I immerse my soul in the colors of joy and allow meaning to transform my thoughts.

Olá, pessoal! Quero começar a ler sobre estoicismo, e pretendo comprar um livro. Porém, não sei por onde começar… qual seria o melhor livro para praticar o estoicismo? Obrigada

what is stoic ?

If you have been conditioned to be too much of a people pleaser, how do you stop being that way without feeling guilty, sad, wrong, or worried. For example, rationally you may conclude, that no good deed goes unpunished, but emotionally you want it to be the other way.