Join me in this live two-hour class and discover the Five Things I’ve Learned from the wisdom of the ancient Stoics about coping with anxiety and developing emotional resilience.

Hello! I’m Donald J. Robertson, a cognitive-behavioral therapist and author of How to Think Like a Roman Emperor. I have been studying the lives and ideas of the ancient philosophers for nearly four decades, and over the years I’ve discovered time and again that –  like us –  they also spent a good deal of time thinking about life’s uncertainties and the persistent anxieties our uncertainties bring about.

As I encountered more and more accounts of the psychological techniques used by great thinkers like Socrates and the Stoics to manage anxiety and build emotional resilience, I began to wonder: Could it be that the key to coping with our modern worries lies in the wisdom of ancient Stoic philosophy? I started using these techniques for myself and later taught them to my psychotherapy clients. Now, I want to share some of the most useful practices I’ve learned with you.

As I’ll explain, I specialize in the treatment of anxiety as a cognitive-behavioural therapist. My first degree was in philosophy, but I was fortunate enough to do my masters at an interdisciplinary centre for the study of philosophy and psychotherapy, which launched my career as an author bridging the gap between ancient philosophy and modern evidence-based psychotherapy.

A Practical Guide, Not a Lecture

Now, in this live two-hour workshop, Five Things I’ve Learned about Ancient Wisdom for Modern Anxiety, I’ll guide you through five powerful, practical techniques that have been used for centuries to cultivate calm and build lasting emotional resilience. This won’t be a history lesson. It won’t be a philosophy lecture, either. It’ll be a practical guide to applying these profound ideas to the challenges of your daily life.

In it, you’ll learn how to:

  1. Put Your Problems into Perspective. Discover a powerful Stoic meditation technique that helps you gain a “cosmic” vantage point. You’ll learn how to put your everyday worries into a much larger context, reducing their emotional impact and allowing you to see the bigger picture.
  2. Prepare for Adversity. Explore a counterintuitive but highly effective method for building resilience by calmly contemplating future challenges. This isn’t about worrying; it’s about systematically reducing your fear of the unknown and developing the confidence to handle whatever life throws your way.
  3. Detach from Anxious Thoughts. Learn this core technique from modern Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT), inspired by the Stoics, that teaches you how to observe your anxious thoughts without getting entangled in them. You’ll gain the ability to create a space between you and your worries, giving you more control over your reactions.
  4. Find Strength in Your Own Character. Understand how the Stoics found an unshakable source of confidence and tranquility not in external events, but in their own character and values. You’ll learn how to focus on what you can control, making you less vulnerable to the things you can’t.
  5. Make Wiser Decisions Under Pressure. Discover a practical method for navigating difficult situations by creating an “inner mentor” based on the wisdom of figures like Socrates and Marcus Aurelius. This technique provides a clear framework for choosing more rational and resilient behaviour, especially when you feel anxious or overwhelmed.

I’ll also share a takeaway resource to summarize strategies you can use to manage anxiety in the moment and build healthier coping habits over time. 

I’m looking forward to hearing about your struggles with anxiety and the methods of coping that you’ve found most helpful. I hope participants will learn from each other’s experiences as well as from the psychological exercises for building emotional resilience that I’ll be teaching you how to use.

I very much hope to see you there!

Cheers, Donald