From June 23 2002
What I’m reading:
The Consolation of Philosophy, by Boethius. This work, written when the author (a 5th century Roman noble in the service of the Gothic king Theoderic) was imprisoned and awaiting execution, is the inspiration for the recent popular book by Alain de Botton. Is philosophy really a consolation in times of suffering? I don’t know, but I also don’t know of anything better.
John Quiggin 
I prefer the philosophy of the stoics who provide ways of dealing with suffering and pain. They avoid sunk costs – they avoid worrying about pain that is inevitable. They also offer techniques for ameliorating pain such as “negative visualisation” of states that are worse than your current situation. Thus if you are down to possessing only a loincloth think about how much better you are than not having even that. Boethius flirted with stoicism but mainly through his Lady Philosophy. The stoics saw philosophy as a tool for living with the inevitable. An example was Socrates (not really a stoic) admonishing his followers for their tears as he faced imminent execution. Instead he optimized with respect to the inevitable and suggested they go out for a joyful lunch.
Philosophy of the stoics abound.
https://3quarksdaily.com/3quarksdaily/2023/06/stoicism-just-wont-go-away.html#more-235780
https://3quarksdaily.com/3quarksdaily/2023/05/stoicism-as-symptom.html
https://harpers.org/archive/2023/05/meditations-marcus-aurelius-stoicism/
An excellent modern treatment of stoicism is William Irvine’s, A Guide to the Good Life, also available as an audiobook. Epictetus’s, Manual for Living, Is a lively classical treatment that formed the basis for modern theories of positive psychology. The theories are easy to understand but take a lifetime of practice to utilise fully.