Doing Less Without Feeling Like You’re Failing

Week 3: In winter, particularly February, doing less often carries moral weight. Somewhere along the way, effort has become a measure of value rather than a response to circumstance. How to do less without self-blame.

Dr. Richard PomfretFebruary 22, 2026Wintering, Burnout and exhaustion, Self-compassion

When the Threat System Thinks Winter is a Personal Failure

Week 2: Across cultures, winter was never treated as a personal failing. Reduced activity in February was expected. Lower energy was normal. How to save energy and show yourself compassion.

Dr. Richard PomfretFebruary 15, 2026Wintering, Self-criticism, Compassion Focused Therapy

How to Winter Well in a Modern World

Week 1: Wintering well in February might mean adjusting expectations before adjusting behaviour, reducing exposure to self-improvement noise and intentionally creating conditions of warmth, familiarity and rest.

Dr. Richard PomfretFebruary 8, 2026Wintering, Compassion Focused Therapy, Nervous system regulation

February Introduction

At Therapy On the Hill, February is a month we often think about in seasonal terms. Rather than asking how to push forward, we become more interested in how to stay with where we are.

Dr. Richard PomfretFebruary 8, 2026Wintering, Seasonal psychology, Therapy reflections

The Quiet Work That Happens When Nothing Seems to Be Happening

Week 3: February can often be the time when, like many periods in life, progress becomes difficult to see. No breakthroughs. No clear movement. But learning, emotionally speaking, continues even when behaviour slows.

Dr. Richard PomfretFebruary 4, 2026

Values Don’t Need Motivation

If January has left you feeling unmotivated find out how showing yourself some self-compassion can help.

Dr. Richard PomfretJanuary 28, 2026

Pacing – The Most Overlooked Mental Health Skill

By the time January reaches its final stretch, many people are tired in a way that sleep does not fix. Pacing, a rarely talked about mental health skill, may be able to help.

Dr. Richard PomfretJanuary 25, 2026

Self-Compassion Is Not Letting Yourself Off the Hook

Therapy On The Hill tells how, this January, compassion is what allows people to notice when they have drifted without collapsing into self attack. How to create enough safety to turn back towards values rather than running away from them.

Dr. Richard PomfretJanuary 21, 2026