Chronic Pain, CBT, Stoicism and Marcus Aurelius

Donald Robertson is a Cognitive Behavioural psychotherapist and author of ‘How to Think Like a Roman Emperor and ‘Stoicism and the Art of Happiness’ He explains the origins of stoicism and its importance as a philosophy in the world today supporting emotional resilience. As a hugely experienced and knowledgeable CBT psychotherapist Donald also explores cognitive theory and the separation of the emotional response and the physical experience of pain for those who suffer from chronic pain. This is an all-absorbing and fascinating insight into both stoicism and CBT and that has something for everyone who wants to understand more about the ways to take a problem-solving approach to their chronic pain. KEY TAKEAWAYS Cognitive theory is all about the ways our values and beliefs shape our responses. if you can take greater responsibility and ownership for the things you can control then you will be more adaptive and healthier. The language used to describe emotions is very simplistic and this can prevent us from distinguishing between different elements of chronic pain. Thoughts and feelings are intertwined and when you are able to articulate your underlying beliefs and patterns of thinking you are able to begin to ask yourself is this actually true? When you recognise that feelings are thoughts something magical happens that means you can access a huge range of cognitive protocols. If you are focusing on and thinking about a particular pain it can seem amplified For those individuals who believe and are aligned with stoicism, it can offer clients something that CBT or any other type of psychotherapy can’t ever offer them Stoicism can offer something far bigger and far more radical to the individual, a philosophy for life. CBT is diagnosis-specific whilst stoicism approaches things in a more a generic way. In psychology, there is a distinction made between emotional coping and practical problem solving coping. You can either deal with the external problem or how you are responding to it. If you have to live with pain then you may as well learn to live with it wisely. Separating the emotional response is key in being able to problem-solve to cope with pain. BEST MOMENTS ‘When talking to yourself about your pain being as objective and factual as possible is beneficial’ ‘Stoicism is a philosophy but CBT is a therapy’ ‘It’s amazing that this was thought about 2000 years ago and is being used now’ VALUABLE RESOURCES The Back Pain Podcast The Back Pain Podcast recommended products affiliate link Donald website https://donaldrobertson.name Donald’s Courses https://learn.donaldrobertson.name All Donald’s Publications https://learn.donaldrobertson.name/p/publications/ HOW TO THINK LIKE A ROMAN EMPEROR https://amzn.to/33k0Cbm Stoicism and the Art of Happiness https://amzn.to/3nXmSzA 
The Philosophy of CBT 
https://amzn.to/3me8C5c Twitter Donald Robertson Twitter Instagram How to think like a Roman Emperor Instagram ABOUT THE HOSTS Dave Elliot Dave is the owner of Advanced Chiropractic, a chain of Chiropractic and massage therapy clinics in Essex, UK. Dave still sees patients during the week but has been working hard to talk to as many experts in the field of back pain as possible to help distil all the information and bring it to you in this awesome podcast. You can find Dave on any of the Advanced Chiropractic social media platforms, or you can contact him at hello@thebackpainpodcast.com if you have any questions for him. -Instagram Rob Beaven Rob owns and runs a multidisciplinary clinic, The Dyer St Clinic in Cirencester Gloucestershire. His team of Chiropractors, Physiotherapists, Osteopaths, Doctors and podiatrists all collaborate on thousands of back pain patients every year. Alongside Dave, he has worked hard to bring to the table experts across all industries to give you the low down on back pain, with steps you can implement today to start feeling better. -Instagram -Twitter CONTACT METHOD Instagram Twitter Facebook hello@thebackpainpodcast.com Support the show: https://thebackpainpodcast.com