Stoicism - PART 6 Overcoming Anxiety

 A couple of days ago, as I was going through Marcus Arelius' "Meditations", I realized something that caught my attention. Generally, we view Stoics as people who are able to conquer their emotions and are, in a nutshell, mentally invincible. That being said, Marcus Aurelius mentions anxiety in his quotes more times than you would probably imagine. There's no question that he, as any normal human, suffered from anxiety quite often. (I mean, he was running the biggest empire in the world at the time!)

I also realized that I didn't have a plan or anything to reduce anxiety even though I am often highly susceptible to it. I've gone through the quotes that Meditations has to offer so we can establish a clear path that will potentially prepare us to reduce or even eliminate anxiety from creeping up to us while we go through our daily activities. Before we continue I do want to note that this is a personal analysis and I will be tackling this from a specific perspective according to my situation, I'm not a psychologist so please take this information with a grain of salt.

So, now that that's out of the way, I want to describe where I believe my anxiety and uneasiness feelings come from. I've realized that I am often mentally displaced when doing a specific task, I mean that I will suddenly lose concentration of what I'm doing and begin to think about what I will be doing afterwards, or even what I did before I started the task. For example, if I have an important meeting or need to speak in front of a group of people after completing my current activity, I regularly disconnect completely from the task at hand and begin to hastily recap whatever it is I'm going to be presenting or sharing later that day. It's not hard to figure out that this negatively affects both your current task/activity and the one that your mind is desperately overthinking. The way to prevent this? Focus completely on the task at hand, if you start to deviate due to this reason, reassure yourself that you are prepared to share your thoughts and information in an effective manner, don't try to change what you've already planned at the last minute, it rarely goes well. (Considering that you properly prepared of course! Otherwise, you should analyze your time management and establish priorities accordingly.)

Another way that anxiety has manifested in my life is that I suddenly start to think about what I'd rather be doing at any given time. If I'm spending time with loved ones or family, I'll question myself as to whether I should be studying or recapping information for a meeting, or even a mundane task like doing laundry instead. This is quite tricky at times because occasionally, you will realize that you could have done things differently and it would've given you a better result. Again, focus on the task at hand, if you already scheduled your activities for that day make sure to stick to your plan. There will be time to think about priorities and managing your times later, during your personal free time or at the end of your day. Yes, maybe you could have dedicated more hours to studying, but ultimately due to the anxiety that was created, the valuable time you are dedicating to your family at that moment will be less rewarding or engaging. You always want to get the most out of your time, there will be a moment for you to re-plan, but the time lost will never be recovered. I cannot stress enough how important it is to value and use your limited time here as effectively as possible, not solely because you will be more productive but because those memories, knowledge and engagement will help you reach the maximum amount of motivation and overall positive energy that will make your time here as pleasant as can be!

In conclusion, anxiety is not just unpleasant but failing to address it will cause you to degrade or even lose quality time, knowledge and cherished memories. I decided to keep a journal where I can plan my day, create routines and log notes that will help me evaluate and further improve my schedule structure and make the most out of my time. You can use digital tools to help you with this, but I personally prefer a physical journal that I can carry in my backpack at all times. To finish off this entry I'll leave a few quotes from Epictetus, Seneca and Marcus Aurelius that stood out for me and helped me with this analysis. 

Make the best use of what is in your power, and take the rest as it happens. 

— Epictetus

Man is not worried by real problems so much as by his imagined anxieties about real problems. 

— Epictetus

We are more often frightened than hurt; and we suffer more from imagination than from reality. 

— Seneca

But life is very short and anxious for those who forget the past, neglect the present, and fear the future. 

— Seneca

All you need are these: certainty of judgment in the present moment; action for the common good in the present moment; and an attitude of gratitude in the present moment for anything that comes your way.

 — Marcus Aurelius

If you suffer from more severe anxiety or feel like it is not something you can overcome by yourself, don't hesitate to look for professional help. Here are resources that are more specialized and will help you better understand your situation: https://etherapypro.com/anxiety/

See ya!