Barna Counselling & Consulting

28/12/2025

In 2025, I read 65 books!

If you were to tell that high school dropout back when I was 16 that I'd be covering that content, he'd have laughed at you.

2025 was a big year for me ... and not just in books: I had a baby (yes, that's him sleeping while we travel to Bali for a quick getaway—thanks wife!), expanded my private practice, took on another leadership position at a national org and had much less time to sit down and write. But I did read. In fact, one thing I feared before bubs came on board (and, yes, it was a genuine fear!) was that I'd read less. The opposite was true. I read more books this year than in each year of the past decade.

If you're keen on knowing what I read this year, check out the link.

Blessings for you and the family—as Dickens says in his Christmas Carol, "God bless us, everyone!"

https://barnacc.com/2025booklist

26/08/2025

I recently celebrated my birthday...

And today I want to celebrate with YOU!

I'm giving away FREE COPIES OF ALL MY BOOKS, no strings attached. If you're into any of my publications, check em out and email me requesting which one you'd like.

Right now, there's no time limit on this opportunity.

But I might change my mind. In any case, I look forward to hearing from y'all.

emil@barnacc.com

07/08/2025

Since 2016 , I’ve kept a log of the books I’ve read. Looking back at it, I can see over 300 books on the list.

And I feel dumber than ever…

It’s weird that the more I learn the more I realise how much I don’t know.

“As the island of knowledge increases, so too does the shoreline of ignorance.”

That quote has never been truer than now…

12/06/2025

Most people don’t realise they’re practising how to feel.

The moment you replay the argument in your head? The self-judgement you slip into at night? That imaginary scenario where all goes devilish?

You’re training your brain to feel that way again. Your emotions aren’t just reactions but rehearsals.

Follow us for more insights on trauma, neuroscience, and healing

09/06/2025

Some books hit harder the older you get.
‘On the Shortness of Life’ by Seneca is one of them.

I started reading this when my cousin, someone I grew up with and liked a lot, died. He was in his early thirties. Sudden. Heartbreaking.

Seneca’s stoicism has no fluff in it whatsoever. Unlike Marcus Aurelius’s ‘Meditations’ which was written for himself, Seneca wrote for others.

He wastes no time.

It reads like it was written yesterday, not 2,000 years ago. You’ll want a pen. A drink. And a minute to sit in silence before, during, and after.

Here are a few quotes that stuck:

“You are living as if destined to live for ever; your own frailty never occurs to you; you don’t notice how much time has already passed, but squander it as though you have a full and overflowing supply – though all the while that very day which you are devoting to somebody or something may be your last.”

“How late is it to begin really to live just when life must end!”

“… unproductive idleness nurtures malice, and because they themselves could not prosper they want everyone else to be ruined.”

“The performer must always be stronger than his task: loads that are too heavy for the bearer are bound to overwhelm him.”

“You must set your hands to tasks which you can finish or at least hope to finish, and avoid those which get bigger as you proceed and do not cease where you had intended.”

It’s a short book that leaves a long echo. Read it. Let it bother you. Then go live better.

07/06/2025

Big interview or job application coming up?

Here’s a neuroscience-backed tip:
Schedule it for a sunny morning (a sunny day also works as opposed to a dreary one) or just after lunch.

Why? Because people, no matter who, are affected by light and blood sugar and their mood.

Research shows:
– Interviewers are more favourable under these conditions
– Even judges grant more parole after lunch

It’s not just about your performance but also when you’re being evaluated. Timing matters more than you think.

(Source: Lisa Feldman Barrett, How Emotions Are Made)

07/06/2025

If you don’t have an option, whatever you gotta do is inevitable. And if it’s inevitable you might as well enjoy it.

Go to work. Do your homework. Go to the gym. Clean up the dog sh*t.

Whatever it is—If you gotta do it, don’t b*tch about it, do it with a happy face.

“If everybody only did what they love to do, a lot more of us would be unemployed,” Matt McConaughey’s brother would say.

There's so many things in life that we have to do that we don't want to do. So, if we can't always do what we like to do, let's at least try and enjoy—what we have to do.

Why?

​ helps you deal with difficult situations and keep cheerful in the tough times. screw your over sometimes.

​Those who accept their negative mental experiences experience better psychological health as they do not react to all stressors, avoiding making the situation worse.

(Sources: Matthew McConaughey’s Lyrics of Livin’ newsletter, Brett Q. Ford (et al.’s) ‘The Psychological Health Benefits of Accepting Negative Emotions and Thoughts’)

30/05/2025

PTSD isn’t just a bad memory—it’s a full-body (& brain) survival response, on repeat.

People with PTSD feel like they’re reliving the past right now, even when they’re safe.

Here’s what's not always understood...

Flashbacks aren’t always visual—they can be physical. “Avoidance” isn’t weakness; it’s protection. The brain literally shuts down speech when you're in threat.

This post walks you through:

Core symptoms.
What’s happening in the brain..
Evidence-based treatments that actually help...

(Info drawn from the integrative trauma therapy work we do at Barna Counselling & Consulting.)

👉 Slide through to learn more.

Follow us for more.

20/05/2025

If you’re on LinkedIn, check out my content. I’m much more active there than Facebook, and post about all sorts of therapy related stuff.

If that’s your gig, follow me there on https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilbarna

20/05/2025

Wondering about or ? Here's my stab at explaining...

Let me know what you think.

What would you include? What would you disagree with?

Why?

20/05/2025

U.S. Navy SEALs use this technique (also called Square or Box Breathing) to stay calm and focused during high-stakes operations.

Like other deliberate breathing interventions, this one helps regulate the amygdala, activates the prefrontal cortex to help you focus and make good decisions under pressure, balances out your autonomic nervous system (shifting from fight-flight or freeze dominance to a relaxed rest-and-digest dominance), modulates vagal tone, and increases heart rate variability.

In my clinical practice, I’ve seen it reduce people’s breathing rate from over 40 breaths/minute to about four in as little as 1-2 minutes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeL5kzesDVs

hashtag # neuroscience

U.S. Navy SEALs use this technique (also called Square or Box Breathing) to stay calm and focused during high-stakes operations. Like other deliberate breath...

15/05/2025

I get a rush of adrenaline and look for what's happening around me. My body tends to be drawn to (physical) danger and I run towards it when there's a loud noise or knock or scrape.

It happens by instinct.

And it's not always the best go...

What's your reaction?

Credit: from my recent book on techniques.