Stoicism is About Emotional Regulation, Not Emotional Repression
Stuffing your emotions means you are destined to be run by them
The philosophy of Stoicism originated in ancient Greece and Rome. It was a popular philosophy, and although not necessarily practiced by everyone in the Hellenic world, it was seen as a vehicle for achieving “a life well-lived” by engaging in the virtues of wisdom, courage, moderation, and justice.
Many Stoics — such as Seneca and Epictetus — emphasized that because “virtue is sufficient for happiness,” a sage would be emotionally resilient to misfortune. The Stoics also held that certain destructive emotions resulted from errors of judgment, and they believed people should aim to maintain a will (called prohairesis) that is “in accordance with nature”. Because of this, the Stoics thought the best indication of an individual’s philosophy was not what a person said but how a person behaved. To live a good life, one had to understand the rules of the natural order since they believed everything was rooted in nature.
Stoicism was about emotional maturity and resiliency. It was about managing yourself so that you were never swept away or controlled by your emotions, but rather were able to approach life in a more steady, and measured way. For example, delight and elation were viewed…
