On Track Counselling

08/06/2026

We got hit with another virus of some sort last week so I’ve just been trying to recover 😅 taking lots of deep breaths lately…lots of quiet moments sitting out in the sun ☀️hope you can rest too 💛

30/05/2026

Food for thought... what is restorative rest for you?

My entire perspective on chronic illness changed the day my coach pointed out that lying in bed all day during a flare-up is not necessarily productive—or restful.

At the time, I was wrestling with a tremendous amount of guilt over my lack of productivity. I was frustrated that entire days seemed to disappear while I lay in bed.

“I know rest is important,” I vented. “It’s not optional. Our bodies need it, and it’s impossible to function well when we’re exhausted. But I stay in bed all day. All I do is rest!”

My coach smiled and asked, “But is staying curled up in a fetal position in pain truly restful?”

Oh. 😮

Talk about a lightbulb moment.

Because she was right.

Being confined to bed during a flare may be necessary, but that doesn’t automatically make it restorative. Pain is exhausting. Anxiety is exhausting. Spending hours waiting for symptoms to ease is exhausting. Sometimes our bodies are physically still while our minds and nervous systems are working overtime.

That realization changed the way I think about rest.

If you’re living with chronic illness and feeling guilty about your lack of productivity while also wondering why you still feel so depleted despite “resting” all day, it may be worth asking yourself this question:

Is being stuck in bed with a flare truly restful?

Your bed may absolutely be where your body needs to be. Caring for your physical health matters. But true rest is more than the absence of activity. It’s anything that gives your mind, emotions, and nervous system a chance to exhale.

For me, that might look like listening to an audiobook, sitting outside in the sunshine or taking a walk, knitting, having a meaningful conversation with a friend, enjoying a favorite show(without multitasking!!), taking a long bath with calming music, or simply doing something that brings a small spark of joy into an otherwise difficult day. True rest for me requires focusing on only one thing at a time and limiting as much stimuli as possible. 

When chronic illness forces us to slow down physically, it’s equally important that we intentionally build moments of genuine restoration into our lives—not just for our bodies, but for our minds and hearts as well.

~ Emily Elizabeth Anderson

28/05/2026

13/05/2026

08/05/2026

17/02/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/17oQ2M7nqq/

A 16-year-old boy and his mum went to see their GP, Dr Rangan Chatterjee, on a busy Monday afternoon.

That weekend, the boy had been at A&E after an attempt at self-harm, and in his notes the hospital doctor had recommended the teenager be prescribed antidepressants.

“I thought: ‘Wait a minute, I can’t just start a 16-year-old on antidepressants,’” says Chatterjee.

He wanted to understand what was going on in the boy’s life.

They talked for a while, and Chatterjee asked him about his screen use, which turned out to be high.

“I said: ‘I think your screen use, particularly in the evenings, might be impacting your mental wellbeing.’”

Chatterjee helped the boy and his mother set up a routine where digital devices and social media went off an hour before bed, gradually extending the screen-free period over six weeks.

After two months, he says the boy stopped needing to see him.

A few months after that, his mother wrote Chatterjee a note to say her son had been transformed – he was engaging with his friends and trying new activities. He was, she said, like a different boy from the one who had ended up in hospital.

17/02/2026

Sometimes you've gotta do what you've gotta do to stay healthy! There's no shame in that. Actually, quite a lot to be proud of!

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/18NjuWjA1K/

10/02/2026

What a great conversation starter. One of the most common false beliefs we have is that the people who look like they have it all together are not struggling. Everyone struggles to greater or lesser degrees at various points of their life, if not every day. Reaching out for help is the first step towards freedom.

The poster campaign for German su***de prevention foundation, Deutsche Depressionshilfe, aims to make audiences think differently about how depression can look