Stoicism and Overcoming Anxiety and Depression (Essay Sample)

Following my usual routine, I sat down surfing the web for information when I suddenly came across something known as stoicism. For a person like me who didn’t know anything about it if you would’ve asked me what it was, I would’ve probably said an electricity supplier, but little did I know it was a cure to anxiety and depression and when I found out about it did, I then realized that It really is a pirate’s treasure such that not many people know about it and the value it holds is beyond imagination. “Stoicism in its meaning to achieve the state of everlasting tranquility, joy, mental fortitude, and excellence of character.” (Jordan Bates). It is a blessing for teens of today’s age struggling with anxiety and depression.

The first reason is because it helps with stress. Teens of today struggle under pressure situations and mount themselves with intense levels of stress and pressure. This is where the stoic mindset comes in. You see one of the teachings of stoicism is knowing what you can control and what you can’t. The urge to display oneself as the best has taken a toll on teens for the worst. To display perfectionism teens, disregard their mental health and take difficult tasks with high levels of stress. A survey of adults and teens was conducted online on behalf of APA by Harris Interactive Inc. The results were concerning. Teens reported that their stress levels during the school year far exceeded what they believe to be healthy (5.8 vs. 3.9 on a 10-point scale) and topped adults' average reported stress levels (5.8 for teens vs. 5.1 for adults). "It is alarming that the teen stress experience is so similar to that of adults," says APA CEO Norman B. Anderson, PhD. This is where the stoic mindset comes in. When teens learn to realize that there are some things that are in their control and some simply aren’t they will start to take less stress on the tasks they work on leading to a happier work-life balance and a lot of stress therapy free of cost.

Another miraculous impact of stoicism is believe it or not, it is a free of cost cure of depression. One of the major problems that teens face today is depression. Depression may be caused due to several reasons, the main being not living up to a person’s expectations, loss of a dear person, rough times in life or even breakups and I think the latter makes up a large amount of percentage. A college survey conducted by the American College Health associations comprising of 26,000 college students found that 40-60% of them have reported significant episodes of anxiety and stress, an increase in 10% from the same survey conducted in 2010. Another study by Pew Research Center found out that the total number of teenagers who recently experienced depression increased 59% between 2007 and 2017. The rate of growth was faster for teen girls (66%) than for boys (44%). These numbers should be enough for anyone to know how grave of a impact depression has on teens. This can all be reversed by stoicism. “Stoic thinking can help by teaching willing students how to separate past from present in the mind.” (Andrew Overby). 

Andrew Overby believes that stoic habits turn a depressed individual turn his overly critical self-awareness into a valuable asset. A clear vision of things with losing tranquility is a strength only possessed by those who practice stoicism. Accepting reality as it is instead of imagining it is a skill people with a stoic mindset should acquire. A very valuable Stoic practice is that of negative visualization. This exercise is about visualizing all the bad things that could happen, all the things that could go wrong, every wound that might be reopened, every point of vulnerability, every secret exposed to sunlight, every mistake turned into a major faux pas. For a depressed person, this might feel more like putting names to faces seen before, I think, than an entirely new experience. I imagine many others would find this exercise somewhat morbid, but I suspect many depressives would appreciate it. Thus, by imagining all the possible negative outcomes of a situations one feels relieved and expels all the negative thoughts which help him combat depression.

Last but certainly not least is stoicism helps teens battle with another major problem that has grasped the teens of today which is known as anxiety. According to the National Institutes of Health, nearly 1 in 3 of all adolescents ages 13 to 18 will experience an anxiety disorder. These numbers have been rising steadily; between 2007 and 2012, anxiety disorders in children and teens went up 20%. According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), teens have higher levels of anxiety as compared to adults. NIMH found that 19 % of all US adults have suffered from an anxiety disorder in the last year, as opposed to nearly 32 % of teens. “Man is not worried by real problems so much by his imagined anxieties about real problems.” (Epictetus). One of the teachings of stoicism is “Memento Mori” which translates to “remember you must die”. This might seem depressing at first but is actually motivating. We must live a life of virtue, explore our full potential, hold nothing back as we must realize we will die one day or the other. This along with reading more about stoicism motivates a person to expel all the negative thoughts and focus on the blessings a person has thus eliminating the vice of anxiety depression and stress and leads to the production of a happier and a mentally stable individual.