How to Manage Chronic Pain like a Roman Emperor

Donald Robertson

It’s a little known fact that the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius suffered from chronic pain.

However, Marcus was one of the great Stoic philosophers, and through his writing, he left many powerful insights into how to manage pain and continue to live a good and virtuous life.

Today’s interview is with Donald Robertson, a cognitive therapist, author, trainer, and specialist in teaching evidence-based psychological skills.

Donald has published many works on ancient Roman Stoicism and how today it’s still useful for facing challenges with grace and courage.

In this talk, we’re exploring a very interesting topic. We’re going to look at how the Roman emperor and Stoic philosopher, Marcus Aurelius, dealt with chronic pain.

Click play to listen

Read Donald’s new book: How to Think Like a Roman Emperor

In this interview, we’ll look at:

  • How the Stoics practiced serenity in the midst of life’s challenges
  • How Marcus Aurelius found great examples of people in his life to model
  • Exact techniques Marcus used to continue governing the empire when he was suffering from pain
  • The principle of ‘grasping the nettle’ and how it leads to a better outcome than trying to avoid suffering
  • And much more…

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