STOIC PHILOSOPHY AND MODERN PSYCHOLOGY
The Stoic Mind
A free practical course on Stoicism for anxiety.
Learn to step back from anxious thoughts, prepare for difficult situations, and act according to your values even when you feel uncomfortable.
I’m Donald J. Robertson, author of How to Think Like a Roman Emperor and How to Think Like Socrates.
Read the main written lessons free on Substack. Optional paid membership adds guided audio, worksheets, and further course material.
Practise a different response to anxiety
Having an anxious thought is not the same as having to believe it. Feeling nervous does not mean you have to abandon something that matters to you. These distinctions are the starting point for The Stoic Mind.
The lessons invite you to notice your reactions, try a practical exercise, and reflect on what changes. The aim is not to become emotionless or to insist that everything will turn out well. It is to practise responding to uncertainty and discomfort more wisely.
You will work with anxious thoughts, mental rehearsal, catastrophic judgments, coping models, and the qualities of character you want to express in daily life. Short exercises, reflection polls, and discussion prompts help you put the ideas to use.
Explore the lessons
Start with Lesson 1, then work through the available lessons in the order below. You can return to the exercises as you practise.
1. How to Detach from Anxious Thoughts
Distinguish the thoughts and feelings that arise automatically from how you respond to them. Practise a short meditation and explore ways to step back from anxious thoughts rather than treating them as facts.
2. How to Mentally Rehearse Coping
Bring a manageable challenge to mind and practise accepting the feelings it evokes. Learn how mental rehearsal can become an opportunity to practise coping, rather than another form of worry.
Bonus: How to Decatastrophize the Worst-Case Scenario
Examine the judgments you add to feared events and consider alternative perspectives. This bonus includes a free 15-minute guided audio exercise and Worst-Case Audit worksheet.
3. How to Cope Wisely with Anxiety
Imagine how a wise and resilient person would respond to your situation. Build an inner mentor and rehearse useful coping responses, without expecting yourself to feel perfectly calm.
4. How to Find Strength in Your Own Character
Clarify the qualities you value and explore how to act on them when anxiety pulls you toward avoidance. Consider the different paths your habits can take over time.
Still to come: a lesson on the View From Above and a paid-only final synthesis bringing the five techniques together. New installments will appear in the Substack course collection.
What readers noticed
In an early Lesson 2 poll, 46 readers answered: What changed most during the exercise? These were the two most frequently selected responses.
85%
Reported immediate benefits
39%
Better tolerance of feelings
Voluntary reader feedback reported on 1 September 2026, not a clinical study or a measure of lasting improvement.
See the full poll results and context
The other responses were more confidence in coping (35%), less intense anxiety (11%), little or no change (13%), and more intense anxiety (2%). Respondents chose the main change they noticed, so these figures do not measure every change they may have experienced.
This was a self-selected group of 46 respondents, not all course readers. Percentages are rounded. The figures describe that early snapshot, not the latest cumulative results.
Read free. Go further with guided practice.
Free lessons
- The main written lessons and their in-post exercises.
- Reflection polls to help you notice your own responses.
- The bonus lesson, including its guided audio and Worst-Case Audit worksheet.
Paid membership
- Guided audio exercises accompanying the numbered lessons.
- Downloadable worksheets, reference guides, and paid lesson sections.
- The final synthesis when published, plus access to the newsletter’s paid archive.
Paid access is included with a subscription to Stoicism: Philosophy as a Way of Life on Substack, rather than a separate one-off course purchase. Already a paid subscriber? The course resources are included in your membership.
Before you begin
Where do I take the course?
The lessons are hosted on my Substack publication, Stoicism: Philosophy as a Way of Life. Follow the lesson links above to read and practise there. You can also browse the full course collection.
How should I work through the exercises?
Begin with Lesson 1 and choose a manageable situation to work on. Several lessons include a short five-minute activity. Give yourself time to try the exercise, reflect on what you notice, and practise again rather than rushing through the series.
Is this psychotherapy?
No. This is an educational course for learning and practising skills, not psychotherapy, diagnosis, or a substitute for individual mental-health care. Start with mild, manageable worries; seek guidance from a qualified mental-health professional for severe distress or trauma-related difficulties.
Start with one anxious thought
The first lesson explores how to create some distance from anxious thinking and become more aware of the responses you can choose. Read it, try the short exercise, and see what you notice.