“Nothing, to my way of thinking, is better proof of a well-ordered mind, than a man’s ability to stop just where he is and pass some time in his own company.”

I first read these words two-thousand years after they were written by the Stoic Roman philosopher Seneca and realized I had far from the well-ordered mind he was describing. I was a college sophomore and had been drinking alcoholically fairly consistently for the previous 18 months. At the time, I was taking general college credits for a bachelor of arts degree and as required reading in Western Civilization, my class had been assigned to read selected entries in Seneca’s Letters from a Stoic.

I read Letters with a general sense of discomfort, as I found the writings to be entirely incompatible with my drinking and partying behaviors. In Letters, Seneca extolled temperance, tranquility, and humility. Letters is replete with suggestions on how to live a virtuous and serene life by not giving in the temptations to overreact and not allowing one’s reason to be conquered by external situations and challenges. This was not advice I was ready or willing to hear. I recited what the readings contained, got my grade, and left Seneca, Letters, and Stoicism to the academics for the next 15 years of my life.

Fifteen more years of alcoholic drinking followed and when I was at my bottom, I began my process of recovery from alcoholism. In the early stages of recovery/sobriety, I think it is pretty common to look for help wherever one might find it. For me, that meant reaching out to family and friends and also joining Alcoholics Anonymous. I got a sponsor right away and I dutifully did my step work. I read the AA literature and wondered if there were other writings I could turn to in order to make my sobriety more likely to succeed and also more joyful.

I remembered Seneca and his Letters. I read it cover to cover and found in it an absolute treasure trove of thoughts and advice that were applicable to my recovery from alcohol addiction. I have continued to read it and the works of other Stoic philosophers for the several years I have been sober and I am constantly reminded of the applicability of this way of thinking and the comfort it brought me as I learned to live a sober life.

As far as I know, Seneca’s Letters were not written with a particular view to rehabilitating an alcoholic, though there are certainly passages in Letters regarding the importance of temperance. Despite the fact his writings and the writings of other Stoic philosophers were not directed exclusively to recovery from addition and/or alcoholism, I think they are wonderfully useful precepts for how to train one’s mind to live a sober life and avoid relapse into active addiction and despair.

Dear Reader, perhaps you are an active addict. Perhaps you are a recovering addict. Perhaps someone you love is an addict or a recovering one. It is my earnest hope to bring to you the words of wisdom and solace that have provided me so much comfort and enrichment on my path to sobriety. As a recovering alcoholic, I carry what I consider to be the solemn responsibility to help others in need, as was so freely given to me.

I do not mean to be anyone’s exclusive way of working through their sobriety. I am not an addiction counselor. I am not a physician. I am not a counselor. I’m just a recovering alcoholic who thinks there is help and wisdom for people like us in the works of Seneca, Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, and other non-Stoic philosophers, such as Socrates and Artistotle or modern Transcendalists such as Emerson and Thoreau. We alcoholics and addicts have much to learn about living a sober life and can obtain that knowledge from applying these principles to our recovery.

Why should this be surprising, that ancient and modern philosophers who were not explicitly discussing recovery would give guidance to the struggling addict and alcoholic? Philosophy literally means “love of knowledge” and the central goal of every philosopher I have ever read has been to identify the highest ideal of human experience and provide ways of thinking and living that are compatible with obtaining a happy, virtuous, and useful life.

To me, that is what sobriety is: to recover not only my ability to live my life without drugs and alcohol, but also to take the balance of my life and apply it to the development of higher ideals. The most important of these is to provide comfort and guidance to those who are looking for help.

So, let’s pass the wisdom of these philosophers through the lens of addiction and let’s identify what lessons we can take from their words and apply it to living a happier and more fulfilling life in joyful sobriety.

Updates to this cite will contain passages from these philosophers with my commentary, applying their words to sobriety strategies designed to help the Reader improve his or her sobriety.

I look forward to writing it and I hope you will enjoy reading it. By way of disclaimer, though, please be mindful that none of this is a substitute for medical attention, where needed. An individual in need of detox or acute medical care should seek it.