Why Seneca’s anti-stress methods still work today

For the most part, ancient techniques have become obsolete. We no longer use horses and triremes as our principal means of transportation. Neither do we build houses and roads according to the methods employed in Ancient Greece and Rome. However, we can still rely on anti-worry methods conceived by Seneca. Why have they remained effective? Because human nature has not changed since Ancient Rome. The changes in technology have raised our living standards, but many individuals still suffer from worry, preoccupation and other negative emotions. The passage of the centuries has rendered human existence easier, but has not diminished the percentage of the population that is affected by anxiety. #seneca held unorthodox views about worry and anxiety. He regarded those #emotional phenomena as problematic, but didn’t recommend running away from hardship. Instead, he devoted his efforts to severing the connection between hardship and negative emotions. In his 78th Letter to Lucilius, Seneca noted that #hardship can prove helpful if we allow it to #strengthen our mind. Even when we are not to blame for the hardship, it can still prove useful in the future. It can still render us stronger and more resilient. Seneca’s conception of hardship was different from ours. In Ancient Greece and Rome, it meant extreme physical privation or poverty. The concept would also encompass life-and-death threats such as war, shipwreck and severe illness. Training was Seneca’s preferred anti-worry method; he held the view that, if we train ourselves to become tougher, we will not fall prey to despair if bad turns to worse. If we get used to a modest lifestyle, we will not grow depressed if our revenue is sharply reduced. Seneca had followed this practice and attained good results. For instance, after his fiftieth birthday, he adopted the habit of walking barefoot and eating simple, inexpensive food. Those privations, he argued, had rendered his body and mind stronger and more resilient. Here is the link to the original article: https://johnvespasian.com/why-senecas-anti-stress-methods-still-work-today/