A Stoic Take on Mental Health: concluding successes and setbacks

As I conclude this passion blog with this final post, I wanted to reflect on the journey we’ve taken throughout the past 10 blog posts in depicting moments throughout stoic philosophy and its application to mental health. We’ve seen the ancient Roman philosopher Marcus Aurelius’s book Meditations applied to our understanding and perspective of time, pain, change, and even pleasure in our lives. In reflection, though, I have found it hasn’t been applied much in my life – but rather just gained more clarity and awareness of my place within the world around me. 

Is that wrong? Have I failed with the use of the philosophy? In this reflection, I have paralleled this to the business term “strategic inertia” more commonly known as analysis paralysis. Throughout this semester, I have analyzed philosophical approaches within Meditations but never took any of its concepts into my life. This same idea can be applied to how I develop strategies and systems for productivity: all lasting for a couple of days and fizzling away. 

It’s an almost ironic paradox that many of us face — by understanding, strategizing, and learning more; we become more hesitant to act. That’s where I had gone wrong this semester, not that I hadn’t created great plans or strategies, but I failed to act on the philosophies I prided myself on knowing so well. After 10 blogs and thousands of words of analysis, I propose that to be the biggest flaw within philosophy as a whole. The likes of Marcus Aurelius, Plato, Socrates, and many others are known as the greatest “thinkers” but what change does that bring to the exterior world around them? Amidst understanding my mental health through the lens of philosophy, I failed to actualize my findings into externalized practice. 

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“I think, therefore I am.”

A highly popular phrase coined by a French philosopher. To think may, in a way, be to become. But in adding my own interaction to this: to think is to develop a framework (an outline) of yourself – but action is the concrete component that we become through. The same is true for mental health, a therapist can only do so much – you may have more clarity on health issues but without any action, they will not change. 

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Although I may have not entirely changed my life through these blog posts and research, I am confident I have gained a wider perspective on philosophy and my mental health through the process. Now, it’s up to us to continually take action on what we find in philosophy and our life experiences in reflection. 

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By Ethan McCarthy, Penn State University | ENGL 137H

A Stoic Take on Mental Health: The Lion & Cave 

Something that I’ve grown to be extremely passionate, and borderline obsessed with, is the idea and relationship between pleasure and pain in our lives. It’s something from my experiences that I have attempted to parallel and understand more of. Looking generally, pain is “bad” and pleasure is “good” At least that’s what our brains receive it as. Our brains, which receive our pain and dopamine (pleasure) responses are understanding these chemicals in regard to our survival instincts hardwired into us as a species. Thousands of years ago, when we would run away from the lion or predators and towards food, security, and shelter in a nearby cave – that was the core specification of the pain/pleasure relationship as we run from pain and towards security through pleasure. It has kept us alive as humans for all of time, but why has this, in the 21st century, become such a problem? Well, we aren’t running away from Lions to begin with; the lion is our exams, societal pressures, and college midterms. In a 1st world country such as ours, those human needs are taken care of and exceeded with a consumption-based society. Our “cave” is social media, McDonald’s, fast fashion, travel, and a multitude of constant dopamine stimuli. 

A key pillar of stoic philosophy is the relationship between pain and pleasure – rejecting pleasure in its dangers more prevalent in our society today than ever. In book 9 of Marcus Arelius’s book, Meditations, he described this relationship: 

“ … Moreover, he who runs after pleasures as goods and away from pains as evils commit sin; for being such a man he must necessarily often blame Universal Nature for distributing to bad and good contrary to their desert, because the bad are often employed in pleasures and acquire what may produce these, while the good are involved in pain and in what may produce this…” 

What does this tell us? Maybe scrolling Instagram and Starbucks are indeed the lion and not the cave. This reveals, from Marcus’s perspective, is that we quickly define pleasure as goods and pains as negatives in our society – whereas pain may provide the best “good” in our lives. 

From me, and many of you, that reverse ideology may be very accurate. Studying for an exam is painful but good; running brings lactic acid, but is good; eating healthy doesn’t bring the same dopamine response, but is good. With respect to our mental health, it’s imperative to remember to be intentional and logical when defining the lions and caves of our lives. More importantly, defining what really is “good” and “bad” in the process. 

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Ethan McCarthy, Penn State University, 11/9/23

A Stoic Take On Mental Health: Relationship Aftermath

In the midst of midterms and heightened academic pressures and closing into Thanksgiving break, my friends and I always seem to find time to give eachother advice. With that, on one particular evening, a friend struggled with closure after a long-winded relationship. I gave her some advice regarding the situation from a podcast I had recently listened to. The idea behind the quote was that by reacting to individuals’ actions, in any given emotion or situation, you’re giving them power and control over you. Even if it’s justified, or absolutely deserving to hear your wrath and frustration, you giving them the power over the situation. Ironically, as I have this advice from a recent podcast, I realized that this advice was exactly what I needed to hear in my life. With that, I began researching the stoic philosopher’s interpretation of our willpower/energy and its relationship with the world around us: 

“2. On the occasion of each act, ask yourself: ‘How is this related to me? Shall I repent of it? But a little while and I am dead and all things are taken away. What more do I require, if my present work is the work of an intelligent and social creature, subject to the same law as God?’”

Stoicism is all about perspective, even if it’s extremely daunting and straightforward. In the case of Marcus’s above statement, he reminds us that our willpower limits need to be considered with the fact we are living a very limited life with the potential that “I am dead and all things are taken away”.

In other words, if we are to gossip about someone and we pass away later this evening, would that be an adequate use of our willpower and energy? Especially in situations where we are dealing with individuals who have backstabbed us, broken us, hurt us to the core, do they deserve our anger, thoughts, and words? 

Although willpower and our energy may seem easily accessible and reimbursable, it’s emphasized in philosophy and science that may not be the case. Psychologists have researched an idea called “ego depletion” which is the idea that willpower is interconnected with our mental energy which is, indeed,  finite. 

But what does this mean for our world today as college students? This means we need to bring more intentionality into our lives across all aspects. Whether it is scrolling social media and making subtle comparisons cussing out our family members, or even to a more positive light obsessing over an celebrity, all of these deplete our energy and allow external variables to determine our mental health internally. This is an objective of mine as I navigate my freshman year here at Penn State, we should all ask ourselves every day: to what extent am I giving external variables and individuals control over my internal stability and health? 

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Ethan McCarthy, Penn State University, 11/9/23

A Stoic Take on Mental Health: The River 

An ancient Greek philosopher, named Heraclitus, once said “Change is the only constant in life” – I couldn’t find that to be any more realistic to our lives today years later. We are constantly learning, understanding, seeing, challenging, moving, running, all over the place through our busy lives in college. Aside from the major life transitional change of moving into college, life even aside from academia moves faster and faster each day. With club involvement, spending time with friends, and everything else. 

With the changes we see in our lives, we reflect back on all of the circumstances and choices that have led to this moment and all the changes we hope to have in the future. From my experiences, this is such an integral part of what anxiety is that we all deal with – not living and appreciating the moment. But with major changes, anxiety and stress are completely understandable – but it’s important to put them into perspective. 

Marcus Arelius’s book (chapter) 6 of Meditations depicts and reveals a perspective on change in our lives: 

“15. Some things are rushing into existence, others out of it. Some of what now exists is already gone. Change and flux constantly remake the world, just as the incessant progression of time remakes eternity. We find ourselves in a river. Which of the things around us should we value when none of them can offer a firm foothold? …” 

What insight can this bring to us? If we use Marcus’s analogy of a river towards our perspective towards change it makes sense. With one lens, Change is the river, which is a completely natural thing we cannot control our go against the tide. In another sense, the river itself is our lives with respect to time – and the tide moving us forward is the change that continually happens. 

From stoic philosophy alongside the chapters of Meditations, I’ve realized more than the stereotypical & clique phrase “accepting change” but rather embracing it as the present moment and living confidently within it. Change really is our only constant in life. To conclude, later in book 7 of Meditations we see Marcus tie in another universal statement that relates back to the relationship between change and time: 

“37. If you’ve seen the present then you’ve seen everything – been since the beginning, as it will be forever. The same substance, the same form. All of it.” 

As I remind myself that this idea around change’s relationship with time, has been instrumental for me personally as of lately. 

I would argue that stoic philosophy could also do the same for others; Remembering that change is natural and instrumental to life itself helps bring clarity and perspective to our lives through the river of time and currents of change. 

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Ethan McCarthy | Student at Penn State University | 10/31/23

A Stoic take on Mental Health:      The Blanket Covers 

Fall has arrived: Bringing with it chilly mornings and a beautiful barrage of true colors. It’s now time for hot chocolate, sweaters, movie nights, and relaxation. What is most interesting, I’ve found, is that as the weather shifts with the seasons – a spike in stress and mental health concerns in the world of academia for college students. This season, with the iconic contradiction of external beauty and internal struggle with motivation and life as a whole, has struck my life. As I have with each and every past passion blog, I ask myself what insight could ancient roman philosophy do to provide insight into these struggles in my life. 

Opening book (chapter) 5 of Marcus Aurelius’s book Meditations, I am met with a message that is so profound with its exigence. 

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“1. At dawn, when you have trouble getting out of bed, tell yourself “I have to go to work – as a human being. What do I have to complain of, if I’m going to do what I was born for – the things I was brought into the world to do? Or is this what I was created for? To huddle under the blankets and stay warm?”  

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What do we gain from this statement from Marcus? We learn first and foremost, that through it being almost a self-reflective journal, he is demanding this from himself – not to others. Even as a highly powerful and respected Roman Emperor and philosopher, he struggled to get out of bed just as we do. 

As I’ve, coincidently, slept through the majority of my alarms this week, this brings into perspective putting meaning behind such a seemingly simple and non-consequential action of hitting snooze on the alarm. But what if meditations and stoic philosophy is proposing that even the smallest of actions can have major implications in our lives? 

But Marcus isn’t implying to be hyper-disciplined or gritty, but rather being intentional about what it means in our small actions with respect to our meanings in life. 

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(1. continued) “But it’s nicer here (referring to the bed) … So you were born to feel “nice”?” 

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In my life, as well as yours as a college student, sometimes it’s more effective to instead of finding motivation – looking for perspective and clarity can actually bring more enthusiasm than anything else would. 

All throughout stoic philosophy, we are called to respond, see, view, and act upon the events of our life in the 3rd person’s viewpoint rather than the first. To behave in a high-tension situation as you would advise your younger sibling to. To not overreact to a bad grade, acting as an older more understanding version of yourself. 

With that, maybe tomorrow morning consider your purpose and intention before pressing that snooze button – although it’s as tempting as ever. 

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Written by Ethan McCarthy | Student at Penn State University | 10/26/23

A Stoic Lens on Mental Health: The Rock & Waves 

There’s no sugarcoating it: college is challenging. For all our individual reasons, it comes from various places of struggle and tribulation. As for me, the past couple of weeks of college have been a tornado of trucks, buses, and airplanes thrown at me through a tornado as I’m struggling to run forward. I’ve taken a short break back home this weekend to reflect on my struggles to make some sense out of them. Coincidently, my brother and I are both freshmen, him in high school, who is dealing with similar stressors. In my regular big-brother disposition, I advised him on what to do to work through his struggles. Yet, what I found myself telling him was in fact exactly the advice I needed to hear.

I told him that the internal and external adversity he is facing is an opportunity in disguise, that there’s objectively nothing we can do to change the circumstances but shifting perspective is all that matters. As I read book 4 of Meditations, by Marcus Aurelius, it’s even more imperative that this message is needed for me at this time. 

“So remember this principle when something threatens to cause you pain: the thing itself was no misfortune at all; to endure it and prevail is great good fortune” 

What is this “stoic” viewpoint on adversity? And how could this help us amidst the middle of the college semester? 

Most of what defines Marcus’s perspective on the negatives of life is taking a step back and looking at its relation to time. He explains “Our lifetime is so brief … Three days of life or three generations: what’s the difference” This may seem quite blunt of a statement, but it provides perspective on the issues we may be facing, providing us the opportunity to ask ourselves: does this stressor really matter?

Marcus was a man no less of high anxiety in his life. As emperor of Rome, he dealt with an arsenal of logistical complexities, politics of high power, and constant battles occurring. As I have advised my brother through his struggles, similarly, Marcus’s writings were not intended for others but rather for his own needs. This reminds us that even a notable philosopher and emperor delt with similar struggles mentally as we do today in college. 

So in that way, it’s truly about perspective. 

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“Suppose that a god announced that you were going to die tomorrow “or the day after”. Unless you were a complete coward you wouldn’t kick up a fuss about which day it was – what difference could it make? Now recognize that the difference between years from now and tomorrow is just as small” 

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But now, I ask Marcus this: This doesn’t change the fact of the matter of the unbearable weight of our stress, struggles, and problems of this world. It’s hard. Really hard at times, and sometimes feels hopeless. 

But what Book 4 leaves us with is a metaphorical statement that illustrates my follow-up question. 

“To be like the rock that the waves keep crashing over. It stands unmoved and the raging of the sea falls still around it.”

To be the rock; standing strong and optimistic admits all of the exterior struggles of our world. Why? Because that’s all we can do. Life is too finite to believe and act any other way. I know it’s hard, as I’ve told myself and my brother. But even if a more difficult perspective to take on, it’s honorable no matter the outcome of our struggles and pursuits. Then we realize, what is “hard” isn’t the waves of our life, but rather how tall we stand amidst them. 

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Written by Ethan McCarthy | Penn State University

Stoic Take On Mental Health: Hurry!

When I told my friends and family I deleted all of my social media outlets this week, I received a wide variety of responses and reactions. In confusion and misunderstanding, some disregard my choice as inconsequential to success. Others are proud of the seemingly difficult feat of letting go of our Instagram updates and the latest TikTok trend. 

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Although one of the main reasons for this was providing an opportunity for better use of time during midterms and completing case competitions, I’ve found the most worthy reason for this is providing an opportunity to clear head-space in an extremely stressful time. 

 

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As I read In Carnuntum, I found some interesting similarities to my current struggle with social media. In book (chapter) 3 of Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, he develops similar introspective observations of time and the relationship around us. 

1. Not just that every day more of our life is used up and less and less of it is left, but this too: if we live longer, can we be sure our mind will still be up to understanding the world … But getting the most out of ourselves, calculating where our duty lies analyzing what we hear and see, deciding whether it’s time to call it quits … So we need to hurry Not just because we move daily closer to death but also because our understanding – our grasp of the world – may be gone before we get there. 

As I read this, I realized how important the decision was to delete social media. Marcus, as he is reminding himself of this in writing, is affirming to us the scarcity of time we have. But more importantly, even in appreciation of that time, as I am attempting to optimize it is not always guaranteed to “grasp” the world. 

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With that realization earlier this week, I began a consulting style “market sizing” of the time I am actually spending, typically, on social media. 

4 hours a day – 17% of each 24 hour day 

28 hours a week – equivalent to a part-time job 

120 hours a month – 5 entire days of the month 

1460 hours annually – equivalent to roughly 2 months of nonstop social media use 

Most staggeringly, if I continue this similar habit for the rest of my life assuming I live until I am 70 years old, I would spend 102,200 hours (11.5 years) entirely on social media. 

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That statistic, as demoralizing as it is, is our modern depiction of the urgency Marcus and stoic philosophy present to us. We don’t have time for anything aside from what is moving us toward self-actualization and betterment. 

As many of my friends have reminded me, it’s hard to center our attention, say no to opportunities, delete, unfollow, and to focus on what really matters; but isn’t that exactly why we should? 

In a world full of mental health struggles, distractions, opinions, continual political polarization, and information saturation – Stoicism may provide an unconventional opportunity to improve our approach & lives through understanding the scarcity of time and energy.

To conclude, here is one of Marcus’s final quotes from book 3 within thought #4: 

… For we carry our fate with us – and it carries us. 

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Written by Ethan McCarthy – Penn State University – 10/5/23

A Stoic Take on Mental Health: Soul & Flesh

Although many stoic philosophers, the practice as a whole, and even Marcus Aurelius would not directly argue for practicing religion within stoicism, there’s no doubt that they recognize a greater “god” as a role within stoicism. With religion in mind, we see a startling similarity between Christianity and Stoicism with “body, soul, and spirit” within the bible and “flesh, soul, and intellect” within Meditations. 

Why in the world are we talking about religion, Ethan? – you may be asking yourself. From dissecting On the River Gran, Among the Qiadi (the second chapter of Meditations), I’ve found some particularly useful philosophical ideas in regard to flesh, soul, and intellect that can be, hopefully, impactful as you cram for midterms as I am. 

Similarly designed to Marcus’s first chapter, the chapter is broken into numbered snippets of introspection to himself. 

2. Whatever this is that I am, it is flesh and a little spirit and an intelligence … Instead, as if you were dying right now, despise your flesh … Think of it this way: You are an old man. Stop allowing your mind to be a slave, to be jerked about by your selfish impulses, to kick against fate and the present, and to mistrust the future. 

Despise your flesh? Marcus, that’s a little intense. At first glance, this 2nd idea of 17 from the chapter seems obstinate and blunt, but he is coming from a place of care and understanding; At the beginning, he is defining the components of himself and all others, but then stating that our flesh is the least of our importance – in which he refers back to with “stop allowing your mind to be a slave” and “kick against fate and the present”. 

Out of frustration, Marcus is writing to himself that there is an divide, within ourselves, of how we interact with the world around us. In that, if we act as if we are an “old man” we are not enslaved to our peer pressures and struggles as young college students. 

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What this means, from my interpretation, is that Marcus is demanding himself to categorize himself separately into three: flesh, soul, and intellect. In that, you can grow individually within any of these areas, but also disregard it as well … 

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6. Yes, keep on degrading yourself, soul. But soon your chance at dignity will be gone. Everyone gets one life. Yours is almost used up, and instead of treating yourself with respect, you have entrusted your own happiness to the souls of others. 

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To me, as it may to you, entrusting my own happiness to the souls of others sounds extreme but very accurate to what happens in our present world today. We entrust our happiness to social media, our friends, and the world around us. This is why we seek constant external validation. Marcus in thought #8 goes on to state: …But if you won’t keep track of what your own soul’s doing, how can you not be unhappy?

Marcus’s introspective perspective on flesh, intellect, and most importantly soul are foundational components of what stoicism truly embodies: comprehensive self-accountability for your relationship with yourself and the world around you.

Take this into your life, reflecting on stepping away from our flesh and acknowledging our soul’s place in the world 

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by Ethan McCarthy | Penn State University Student | 9/28/23

#2 A Stoic Take on Mental Health: The Mirror 

We are all dealing with something.

Whether it’s impeding anxiety for a deadline, family issues, or even more long-term issues like depression. With that, everyone deals with these emotions and interactions in different ways. Our coping mechanisms are straightforward and easy to recognize, such as physical exercise,  meditation, drugs, and parties. In stoicism, the question of what vantage point to analyze your emotions is much more important. In struggling times, therapists, counselors, and most stoic philosophers would argue to look introspectively to understand. Yet Marcus Aurelius, the author of Meditations, would argue otherwise. 

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In this blog post, we will look to break down the chapter of Marcus’s book titled: Debts & Lessons. But more importantly, we will ask ourselves how this chapter can be applied practically to the unusually high stress from that upcoming economics exam. 

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The beginning of Debts & Lessons opens with a list of names of individuals important to Marcus such as his grandfather, mother, teachers, notable philosophers, siblings, and even god. Under each name, pinpoints what qualities he has taken into his own life; in the process “thanking” each individual indirectly. 

4. My Great-Grandfather  – To avoid the public schools, to hire good private teachers, and to accept the resulting costs as money well spent

Going from #1 his grandmother to #17 to the gods, he develops an interesting picture of himself, yet looking externally at the world around him. We have developed, as readers, a stronger understanding of the qualities Marcus strives to possess but more important the roots of them in his life. 

15. Maximus  – Self-control and resistance to distractions Optimism in adversity – especially illness A personality in balance: dignity and grace together …

If we were to create a list in a similar fashion to Micheal’s it would develop an interesting conversation and questions; What qualities, and unfavorable tendencies, have you gained from your family? What does your circle tell you about yourself? Are there struggles from that are parallel with you and your list? 

How has the people around us become a mirrored reflection of ourselves? 

With this in mind, without Marcus directly providing any philosophical ideas, we can begin the process of understanding ourselves through the world around us. In my personal life Instead of looking for medical alternatives for my struggles with anxiety, I’ve started to look back on my relationships with my father and other figures to see where they could stem from.

As we enter into this journey exploring stoicism from Marcus’s unique perspective, Debts & Lessons invites us to understand the roots of what makes us ourselves – in all of its beauty and ugliness – to understand how to continually improve it. 

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Written by Ethan McCarthy, Student at Penn State University. Quotes taken from Meditations by Marcus Aurelius translated by Gregory Hayes

A Stoic Take on Mental Health: Navigating the modern mental health crisis through Marcus Aurelius’s Meditations. 

Hello there! My name is Ethan McCarthy, currently a freshman at Penn State University in Schreyer Honors College and the Sapphire Academic Leadership program. I’m from Bentonville Arkansas, and I know … It’s far away and no, it’s not just cornfields, country music concerts, and cowboys. Why pick a college 18 hours away from my friends and family you may ask?  An integral component of my college choice was Penn State’s opportunities to individualize my college experience through the opportunity to share passions, as I am here today to introduce my passion blog. Through this process, I hope you learn a bit about me, philosophy, and yourself; But most importantly, that you can apply this blog to life experiences as these concepts continually help me as we explore them together. 

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Stoicism: “the endurance of pain or hardship without the display of feelings and without complaint” – Oxford Dictionary

Stoic philosophy is much more intricate than this generalized Google definition; Stoicism is a form of philosophy originating in ancient Greece by an individual named Zeno in 300 BC. Zeno’s teachings and other following Stoics agree that the philosophical overarching theme of Stoicism is developing an introspective relationship with our thoughts, interactions, and emotions. Following Zeno’s origination of Stoicism, a multitude of notable philosophers followed his lead by writing philosophical essays and theoretical principles.

Yet in 161 AD, Marcus Aurelius took an unconventional approach with his practice, perspective, and structure of his philosophical ideas. Amidst military strategic meetings and duties as emperor of Rome, Marcus began to habitually journal daily thoughts and emotions through his own personal journal; These private notes, oftentimes heavily self-examination and analysis,  later became publicized to the world by breaking the ideas into 12 books called the Meditations.

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The purpose of the writings is an ongoing stream of self-reflection and introspection, rather than an external exposition of stoicism, providing a uniquely authentic approach to the practice of stoicism. Furthermore, Marcus’s writings often provided a unique perspective of the experience as emperor, struggling with decisions and dilemmas in such a powerful position.

Yet, you may be asking yourself, what does ancient philosophy have anything to do with my barrage of Canvas assignments, stress from impending deadlines, and transitioning to college? With an exponential increase in suicide and depression among college students, It’s imperative to find alternative ways to combat this national mental health crisis. In our world today, stoic philosophy has been translated strictly into the self-improvement genre through recent books and articles – I believe this is a misinterpretation of stoicism.

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Through this passion blog, I will argue that Marcus Aurelius Meditations can be applied as therapeutical to struggling college students like ourselves. Most philosophers take a third-person theoretical use of philosophy, but Marcus takes a more pragmatic approach by focusing on its day-to-day application. Through dissecting Meditations through a modern lens, as Marcus did thousands of years ago, each blog post will provide actionable concepts to utilize with an objective to become more stoic in our lives today.

Written by Ethan McCarthy. email: eam6451@psu.edu