Hacker News Reader

CBT is pretty much a scientific interpretation of stoicism. If you want it to work, then you have to be dedicated to that mindset and lifestyle.

It's not a simple bandage over a cut. It's the sort of thing that a parent or religion might teach to a child over years of growing up.

View on HN

I've heard about this correlation before as well. When I went through CBT therapy I saw how logic could be used to re-frame issues to not assume the worst in a situation, i.e.: my boss doesn't hate me, he very well could be having a bad day today. However, I think CBT lacks the negative visualization aspect of Stoicism where you think pessimistically about the future in order to be prepared for the worst. This is definitely useful for someone strong enough to handle that and not get depressed, but to the average person with depression it probably won't help much if they aren't ready for it. I personally feel like the Stoics were on to something that is more helpful as a long-term solution rather than just getting by battling the current day's depression.

I had a session of it for OCD. I had personal issues with the therapist and I didn't care for all the writing things down (seemed like bureaucratic busywork, it seemed meaningless). And yet from the few times he talked me through doing things that made me uncomfortable, it improved things then, and also taught me how to do it for myself. I wasn't 100% afterwards, but I slowly improved myself over time.

Bottom line: sometimes half-assing it can still have decent results.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com