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Medicine for the Mind: Donald Robertson on Ancient Therapies for Modern Stressors

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Manage episode 483881077 series 1485860
Content provided by Larry Weeks. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Larry Weeks or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://podcastplayer.com/legal.
There’s something strangely reassuring about knowing people were wrestling with the similar issues we struggle with over 2,000 years ago — even if they wore togas and wrote with a chisel. Donald Robertson is a cognitive-behavioral psychotherapist, acclaimed author of How to Think Like a Roman Emperor, and one of the world’s leading voices on Stoicism. He’s also the founder of the Plato’s Academy Centre in Athens, and a founding member of the Modern Stoicism nonprofit. On this pod, we talk about the wisdom literature and how it can help with emotional distress; specifically, the idea of Stoics as ancient psychotherapists. Donald explains how Stoicism wasn’t just a philosophy of life, but also a clear system of psychotherapy in ancient Greek and Roman thought. Some episode highlights:
  • How shifting definitions shape our understanding of mental illness
  • On the paradox of growth through adversity
  • Struggle and transformation
  • Experiential wisdom
  • Fortune and the bitch goddess of success
  • Stoicism as an ancient psychotherapy
  • The philosophical roots of cognitive therapy
  • On anger, and the art of self-mastery (Seneca, Galen)
  • On Worry and rumination
  • Marcus Aurelius
  • Stoicism’s broader vision
  • On the “view from above” and the liberation of perspective
  • How time expansion mitigates worry
  • The complex relationship of thoughts and emotions
  • The core proposition of both Stoicism and CBT
  • How complaining signals resistance to reality
  • Acceptance and the dichotomy of control
  • How to reconnect with what’s essential in a noisy world
This isn’t motivational fluff; it’s a toolkit for anyone who’s ever gotten tangled in their own head.
  continue reading

86 episodes

Artwork
iconShare
 
Manage episode 483881077 series 1485860
Content provided by Larry Weeks. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Larry Weeks or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://podcastplayer.com/legal.
There’s something strangely reassuring about knowing people were wrestling with the similar issues we struggle with over 2,000 years ago — even if they wore togas and wrote with a chisel. Donald Robertson is a cognitive-behavioral psychotherapist, acclaimed author of How to Think Like a Roman Emperor, and one of the world’s leading voices on Stoicism. He’s also the founder of the Plato’s Academy Centre in Athens, and a founding member of the Modern Stoicism nonprofit. On this pod, we talk about the wisdom literature and how it can help with emotional distress; specifically, the idea of Stoics as ancient psychotherapists. Donald explains how Stoicism wasn’t just a philosophy of life, but also a clear system of psychotherapy in ancient Greek and Roman thought. Some episode highlights:
  • How shifting definitions shape our understanding of mental illness
  • On the paradox of growth through adversity
  • Struggle and transformation
  • Experiential wisdom
  • Fortune and the bitch goddess of success
  • Stoicism as an ancient psychotherapy
  • The philosophical roots of cognitive therapy
  • On anger, and the art of self-mastery (Seneca, Galen)
  • On Worry and rumination
  • Marcus Aurelius
  • Stoicism’s broader vision
  • On the “view from above” and the liberation of perspective
  • How time expansion mitigates worry
  • The complex relationship of thoughts and emotions
  • The core proposition of both Stoicism and CBT
  • How complaining signals resistance to reality
  • Acceptance and the dichotomy of control
  • How to reconnect with what’s essential in a noisy world
This isn’t motivational fluff; it’s a toolkit for anyone who’s ever gotten tangled in their own head.
  continue reading

86 episodes

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