COURSE

10 Stoic Tools For Dealing With Toxic Relationships

In this 10-day course, you will learn how to thrive in any type of relationship by using a combination of ancient Stoic techniques and modern relationship research principles. You will go on a journey where you’ll discover the classic signs of toxic abuse, the right way to deal with conflict, how to discard insults like a Stoic master, the most important tools for great communication, how to develop true compassion for yourself and others, and exactly what your next step should be regardless of the situation you’re in. This is course is designed to radically transform your relationships and the way you interact with others.

Compassion Resilience Wisdom Psychology Secular Mindfulness Compassion Meditation Contemplation Mindfulness Self-Observation Relationships Health & Happiness Science Secular

Meet your Teacher

Jon Brooks

Cardiff, United Kingdom

Jon Brooks is a Stoicism teacher and, most importantly, practitioner. His Stoic meditations have accumulated thousands of listens, and his ancient technique breakdowns provide a unique take on an otherwise outdated approach to this beautiful philosophy. Jon continues to thoroughly research the philosophy of Stoicism but also draws on his own life experiences, such as his background in martial arts, expertise in relationship psychology, and understanding of the science of effective learning, to innovate these ancient ideas, creating a true Stoic training program, which he believes is a missing component in the modern teachings of Stoicism.

10 Days

3.0k students

4.9 stars

16 min / day

Compassion

English

Lesson 1

What The Ancient Stoics Can Teach Us About Flourishing in Our Relationships

In this lesson, we take a look at the social lives of some of the great Stoic masters like Epictetus and Seneca to see if there is anything we can learn from them and apply to our current situation. From here we can start getting introspective about our own relationships and come to terms with our intentions and goals for changing this area of our life. We grapple with the question of whether we should change other people or ourselves if we want to thrive in our social interactions.

Lesson 2

Marcus Aurelius’ Morning Meditation That Prepared His Mind for Adversity

Marcus Aurelius, as emperor of Rome, was the most powerful man in the world. But that did not stop him from having to deal with a difficult son, a lazy co-emperor, and many others who tried to antagonize him or overthrow him. His days were filled with difficult social moments. In this contemplation we practice the exact morning meditation Marcus did each day to prepare his mind for whatever came his way.

Lesson 3

The 3 x 3 Relationship System to Decode The Social Matrix

Relationships are wide-ranging and complex. There are so many different types of personalities and nuances in any dynamic, things can get complex very quickly when we try to wrap our heads around what exactly is going on. The 3 x 3 relationship system will provide you with a very simple and accurate way to access all of your relationships so you can make informed decisions under pressure about the best way to respond.

Lesson 4

Escape Analysis Paralysis with The Relationship Action Plan

In lesson 3, we looked at how we can categorize our relationships to best make sense of our situation. In this lesson, we expand on the 3 x 3 system and begin coming up with a game plan for how we can start improving our relationships. Having a plan helps calm a chaotic mind and provides a sense of certainty so we can escape feelings of being stuck and hopeless and start taking the right action.

Lesson 5

10 Secret Strategies of Emotional Abusers and How to Avoid Them

Sometimes abuse is very obvious and direct, like a blatant insult. But the most dangerous type of abuse is covert abuse. This is the type of abuse that creates confusion and erodes the self-esteem of the victim. In this lesson, we look at 10 subtle forms of covert abuse that expert manipulators use so you can start armoring yourself against their tactics. This lesson will make the invisible visible.

Lesson 6

How to Survive Toxic Relationships When You Feel Stuck

Toxic relationships are a very unique category of relationship where the ordinary rules don’t apply. The first step is to see what’s going on, but knowing about the tactics of toxic people is not enough to protect you from them. In this lesson, we look at the methods you can use to heal yourself and survive toxic relationships even when you feel paralyzed by fear or guilt.

Lesson 7

The Stoic Blueprint to Transmute Insults into Wellbeing

The ancient Stoics realized that our inner tranquillity can be greatly disrupted by difficult individuals who say things to us with the intent to cause harm. They developed a series of techniques and ideas to counter insults and sleights that are just as effective now as they were 2,000 years ago. In this lesson, we take a look at the best of these techniques and run through a Stoic insult simulation to start practising with them.

Lesson 8

Master The Art of Skilful Communication

Knowing how to deal with toxic people and navigate insults is only one side of the relationship coin. We must also learn to express well ourselves in a way that leads to more connection and intimacy. Often we blame others for our relationship problems but don’t examine how we are speaking to others. In this lesson, you will learn the step-by-step method for expressing well and handling conflict wisely.

Lesson 9

Stoic Loving Kindness Practice to Level Up Your Social Tranquility

Stoics frequently get misinterpreted as cold and hyper-rational. But the Stoics actually placed great emphasis on working harmoniously with our fellow humans. In this practice, we cultivate compassion for ourselves and others using Stoic loving-kindness meditation so we can learn to respect ourselves enough to value our own opinions, and tolerate others even when they act in ways that irritate us.

Lesson 10

The View (People) From Above Exercise to Overcome Social Stressors

The view from above Stoic meditation is arguably the most important and transformative exercise in their toolkit. In this meditation, we practice zooming out from our current situation and practice seeing our relationship from above. This will allow us to let go of resentment and focus our minds on the things that matter most, which can be hard to detect when you are in the midst of conflict or clouds of thought.

4.9 (178)

Recent Reviews

Jen

February 12, 2026

Sincere gratitude for these lessons. Looking forward to moving past and working through present toxicity with grace and compassion. Many Blessings ☮️💓✨️ Jenny Choose Love Always All Ways

Cheryl

January 23, 2026

I’ve learned and recognized so much about myself while taking this course. It has enriched my viewpoint on many levels. So much so I am certain I will repeat the course and continue learning and practicing Stoicism.

Kalyani

September 15, 2025

Excellent, thank you! I am rally enjoyed the history and perspective of the Stoics and how that can be applied to today.

Craig

March 25, 2025

Truly mind blowing !

Val

March 16, 2025

Rooted in ancient wisdoms and truths, beautifully structured course in an all-inclusive way. Great content well and authentically spoken. Thank you 🙏🏻.

Kim

February 23, 2025

Well structured, informed, clear and pragmatic. A fantastic course. Thank you. I’m keen to practice the techniques but a bit daunted about how to structure the practice (daily evening reflection may be?)

Lori

January 17, 2025

This course is rich! It was very eye-opening & validating for me. I appreciated the stoic stories & quotes, as well as the thought-provoking exercises & meditations. I feel I have more tools in my toolkit for navigating relationships. Thank you, Jon! I love hearing your wisdom & am truly grateful for your guidance. 🙏🏻

Mark

January 8, 2025

Very instructive and insightful program, Jon. Thank you!

Melinda

January 6, 2025

Such a skillful and compassionate teacher. This course both opens the eyes to relationship dynamics while supporting us to make changes for the better.

Mark

December 13, 2024

Jon was able to provide practical tools I can use in dealing with difficult family members. Thank you Jon!

Todd

December 6, 2024

C-PTSD. I never knew. There are names for what is wrong. There are directions to find what is right. There are people to avoid. There are people to run away from. I want to meet the people who have love, dreams, happiness, joy, and might need an old man to help fix a broken heart. But the horse is still in front of the cart… thats a future unknown. Time to find myself. Ive been MIA for a very long time. Baby steps. Just before jumping out the airplanes open door. THANKS FOR THE RESERVE CHUTE!

Deneen

December 4, 2024

Fantastic course! I have added new tools to my toolkit and new ways of viewing things. I’ve also subscribed to your podcast. Thank you for sharing! Namaste’.🙏

Alison

November 17, 2024

What an incredible and very valuable course. Thank you, Jon for your clear, concise and empathetic approach to teaching me how to better deal with my relationships.

Dan

October 25, 2024

excellent content: accessible, interesting, useful. I really enjoyed this and am using this. thank you

Torie

September 27, 2024

This course was so helpful towards helping me understand and navigate with difficult people. It has helped me to learn how to navigate those situations . Thank you for sharing .

James

September 26, 2024

For years I didn’t realize that I was dealing with a toxic person. Taking this course prevented me from taking actions that would make it worse ➖ just today ➖by aggravating the toxic person in my life❕ ℹ will re-listen to the entire course several times to gain new insights. Thank you ➖ times ten thousand‼️

Ellen

September 21, 2024

Lots of helpful teachings

Dawn

September 4, 2024

Great class with helpful tools on dealing with toxic people.

Lynelle

April 18, 2024

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