‘People are disturbed not by things but by their view of things’

 ‘People are disturbed not by things but by their view of things’

This often quoted phrase of Epictetus (Stoic philosopher) is at the heart of the Ellis model. 

The intent behind Ellis’s work and his theory was to:

• Help people clarify their emotions, behaviour and goals.

• Identify the unhealthy beliefs that are at the heart of their emotional problems and 

that sabotage their goals.

• Dispute them and replace them with their healthier version in order to get better 

through consistent and constructive action.

• Finally, to generalise the change to other areas of life.

Epictetus’s quote can be conceptualised by the ABC diagram which follows.

It is not the event, but the belief or view you hold about the event, which is at the heart of 

emotional states. Emotions, thoughts and behaviours can be healthy and functional, or unhealthy and dysfunctional. The event can be something that has happened in the past, 

something that is happening now or something that could happen in the future. It can also 

be real, imaginary, internal or external. Internal events can be thoughts, images, memories, 

physical sensations or emotions.