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Why I Will Never Subscribe to Stoicism and Its Inherent Problems
And yes, I said problems because I find many problems with this philosophy!
I was recently speaking with someone who has a severely adult autistic child, entirely non-verbal, still in diapers, and needs 24/7 care. She seemed unbelievably chill for someone in that position.
She has other children as well, so I figured she could live through their typical milestones like I can through my daughter.
However, she rarely gets respite and has yet to travel in over 20 years, and she doesn’t seem frustrated over it.
I had to ask her how she was so cool with the situation, and she said she used not to be until she became a Stoic.
Stoicism works for her, and I am glad she found something that has, but I would never adopt that philosophy. It goes beyond the challenges of entirely changing your mindset.
Besides, I am doing quite well, as I am much more Zen about things than I used to be. But at the same time, it is much easier to be that way since I am not a caregiver anymore, which almost killed me.
Unfortunately, becoming a Stoic would not have changed that. And I will share some reasons why I refuse to adopt that belief. Before getting into it…