Here I explain the basic argument in Epictetus' Handbook as well as link to another site where I discuss the argument in some detail.
The main point is that in order to live a good life, we should try to bring our own feelings and desires in line with the universe. Recall that Epictetus says that just as a target is set up to be hit, the world is ordered well and in a just manner, meaning that nothing bad happens in the world. Because it seems that in order to be happy we must have things go the way we want, and we cannot make anything go the way we want except our own thoughts and feelings, we should only try to control our own feelings and should either want nothing or want everything to be exactly as it is.
Stoic philosophy has applications in mental health and can help people to deal with trauma. This link to NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) explains how cognitive therapy embraces some of the same principles of stoicism in a way to help people deal with various disorders.
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