Stoic practice as a toolbox for mental health

Stoicism is often misunderstood in modern pop-culture. But in fact it is an ancient philosophy that can be really helpful to people. It is not about suppressing emotions, as is often thought, but rather about being in control of your emotions. Some of its guiding principles are rather neatly expressed in the so-called Serenity Prayer, which you may know:

Give me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
The Courage to change the things I can,
And the Wisdom to know the difference.

Now I am no longer religious, but there is a lot of wisdom in these lines. I just replace "give me" with "I need..." since there isn't anyone who can give me these. I need to learn how to acquire these skills and virtues myself.

I personally have found it very beneficial to recognize the things I cannot change as such, and learn to accept them and to stop being upset about them. If there's nothing I can do to change them, then it is a waste of energy to try or to be in emotional turmoil. Stoicism in the face of adversity means accepting my fate, once I realize I can't change it.

Of course if there are things I can change, I should apply myself to changing them for the better. This often isn't easy, so it does indeed require courage. But starting with small steps, this is definitely something we can learn.

The key is in the wisdom to know the difference. So from time to time I reflect on things that have happened and try to dispassionately analyze how I handled them. Were there things I could and should have changed but did not? Were there things I could not change but wasted undue emotional energy on? What attitude should I have if something like this happens again?

This article explains more and offers a set of Stoic practices that I hope you will find helpful.

Now having said all this, I do not consider myself a Stoic, tho I am subscribed to the subreddit. I just take the ideas and practices that work for me. I am more of an Epicurean, tho that is a topic for a different post.

Do you think this philosophy and these practices are helpful? What are your experiences?