Anna Lewandowska-Bernat - Psychotherapy & Coaching

01/10/2025

Pain is real. But suffering? That’s optional.

Pain is part of life. It’s woven into our human experience — loss, heartbreak, setbacks, disappointment. We can’t avoid it, and we don’t need to pretend it’s not there.

But suffering… that’s different.
Suffering is the story our mind tells about the pain.
It’s the looping thoughts — “This shouldn’t have happened. I’ll never get through this. Why me?”

Pain hurts.
But suffering makes it heavier than it needs to be.

Here’s the truth: we don’t have to believe every thought that shows up.
We can feel the pain, let it move through us, and choose not to cling to the stories that make it worse.

Pain is enough to carry.
Let’s not add suffering on top.

✨ Today, notice the thoughts that make your pain feel heavier.
And try this: let them go. Gently. Kindly. Again and again.

You’re stronger than you think.

09/09/2025

We often ask ourselves: should I follow my head or my heart?
But life isn’t about choosing one over the other.

Our thoughts help us analyze, plan, and protect.
Our feelings show us what matters, what moves us, and what we truly need.

Both are essential. The art is in learning to use them together — to pause, notice what each is telling us, and then decide: Which voice do I follow this time?

It’s not about silencing one. It’s about integration. That’s where clarity, balance, and authenticity are born.

08/09/2025

September is often a month of transition.

For many, returning to everyday routines after summer can feel heavier than expected. For others, the summer itself might have been challenging, bringing realizations or shifts that now stay with us.

Every change in rhythm — whether it’s slowing down or speeding up — can awaken something new in us. That’s why September can sometimes feel unsettling: it asks us to adjust, to reorient, and to notice what is changing both around us and within us.

If you find yourself moving through this month with a sense of challenge, know that it’s a natural part of transition. It can help to take things slowly, to observe with curiosity rather than rush into “fixing” or forcing yourself forward.

How has this September been for you so far?

11/08/2025

"Not every thought is the truth.
Some are just echoes of old fears wearing new costumes."

Your mind can be convincing — it’s been rehearsing these lines for years. But you are allowed to question the script.
Next time a thought tells you “you’re not enough” or “it’s too late”, try asking:

💭 Is this fact… or fear?

Small shifts in how we talk to ourselves can create huge changes in how we feel.
Which thought are you ready to challenge today?

30/05/2025

What are your plans for the weekend?
Just a reminder:
Rest isn’t a reward—it’s a necessity.
If you don’t choose to slow down, your body might choose for you—through burnout, anxiety, or illness.

You don’t need to earn your rest.
You’re allowed to pause.
To breathe.
To do nothing.

Take the break you need—before you have to.
Rest. Now.

21/05/2025

“You treat a disease, you win, you lose. You treat a person, I guarantee you win—no matter the outcome.” – Patch Adams

Thank you, and for reminding us of this amazing quote.

15/05/2025

✨ “Don’t aim for perfection. Aim for consistency.” — Atomic Habits

When we want to change something—whether it’s a behavior, a habit, or how we respond to stress—we often overthink it.
We ask: What’s the perfect method? What’s the fastest way to be better?
And then… we try once or twice, it doesn’t go as planned, and we tell ourselves: “It doesn’t work.”

But real change doesn’t happen in big, perfect leaps.
It happens through repetition. Through showing up again and again—even when it feels like nothing is changing.

Trying to deal with panic attacks? You probably won’t feel better after the first time you practice a new technique.
Or even the third.
But it’s not about instant success—it’s about doing the things that help you just a little bit, over and over again.

Because consistency rewires the brain.
That’s how new habits are formed.
That’s how you become someone who responds differently—with more calm, more clarity, more strength.

💬 So next time you want to give up, ask yourself: Can I try again—not perfectly, but consistently?

30/04/2025

Sometimes what we’re searching for isn’t really a new job, a new city, or even new people.

Sometimes, we’re simply searching for a way not to feel.

Not to feel the discomfort of uncertainty.
Not to face the fear of not being “enough.”
Not to sit with the silence that reveals what we’ve been avoiding.

It’s easy to stay in motion—updating résumés, researching neighborhoods, swiping through introductions, looking for a new partner, constant to-do list —because movement feels like progress and control. But not all change is growth.

What if, instead of running, we paused?

Just for a moment.
Just long enough to ask, “What is this feeling trying to teach me?”
Just long enough to listen.

Because sometimes the breakthrough isn’t in the next big move.
It’s in the stillness.
It’s in feeling—really feeling—what’s real right now.

Growth begins when we stop outrunning our emotions and start honoring them.

Anna Lewandowska-Bernat Psychotherapy & Coaching. Welcome to my practice. Explore a supportive, judgment-free space for psychotherapy, coaching, and counselling services. Achieve deeper insights, make informed choices, and build healthier relationships. Whether you seek short-term solutions or long-...

23/04/2025

The paradoxical theory of change says that true change doesn't happen when we try to become someone else... but when we fully accept who we are right now.

In therapy, I often see that breakthroughs come not from striving to be a "better version" of ourselves, but from gently turning toward what’s already here — the mess, the discomfort, the confusion.

Change isn’t something we force.

Change is what happens when we show up with awareness and compassion.

Sometimes, the most powerful step forward… is to pause.

💭 What feeling are you trying to change instead of allowing it to be?

15/04/2025

Sometimes coaching isn’t about changing anything.
It’s not always about improving, growing, pushing further.

Sometimes it’s about embodying how well you’re actually doing.
About taking a breath, looking at your life, and realizing:
“I’ve already come a long way.”

In a culture that constantly whispers “you could do more”,
it’s powerful to stop and say:
“I’m proud of where I am.”

Coaching can be a space not just for striving,
but for appreciating.
For letting yourself land.
For owning your success.
And feeling at home in it.