Epictetus, Stoic Philosopher: “People are Disturbed not by Things, but by the Opinions and Notions they Form About Them”

A phrase by the Stoic philosopher Epictetus remains one of the most cited in psychology and personal development: “People are disturbed not by things, but by the opinions and notions they form about them”. The principle suggests that it is not events that generate distress, but the interpretation each person builds around them.

The quote comes from the Enchiridion, the manual of Stoic teachings compiled by one of his disciples. Its distinction is precise: the event has already happened and cannot be changed; the story built around it, however, does depend on the person experiencing it.

What did Epictetus mean by this phrase?

The Stoic philosopher does not deny that bad things happen. He maintains that between the event and the reaction there is a brief but real margin where interpretation operates—and that is the only territory over which each person has control.

Centuries later, psychologist Albert Ellis took that idea as the basis for developing rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT) in the 1950s. Contemporary research calls that process cognitive reappraisal: changing the interpretation of a situation, not suppressing the emotion.

What modern science confirms

• Reappraisal is not repression: reinterpreting reduces negative emotion without the costs of “holding it in”.
• The margin matters: identifying the instant between stimulus and response is a trainable skill.
• Philosophical roots: cognitive behavioral therapy recognizes its direct debt to Stoicism.

How can Epictetus’ teaching be applied in everyday life?

The principle has a practical application: before reacting, distinguish which part of what happened is the fact and which part is the added judgment. That separation does not eliminate distress, but it shortens the time spent inhabiting a story that has already ended.

The approach has a clear limit: not every difficult situation is the product of a bad interpretation. Some things are genuinely bad. Epictetus is not proposing insensitivity, but a more limited question: how much of what is felt is the event, and how much is the comment added to it?

Three questions to apply the Stoic principle

• What exactly happened? Separate the fact from the interpretation.
• What is under my control? Distinguish what depends on you from what does not.
• What story am I building? Identifying it is the first step to changing it.