At Bayview Park in Pensacola, Michael Turner walks the path most mornings, keeping his phone in his pocket.
"This past year … between inflation, layoffs, just everything in the headlines, I started snapping at people I care about," Turner said. "I wasn't sleeping. I wasn't myself."
One day, Turner walked out of his office and drove to the park.
"I didn't even plan it," he continued. "I just needed air. Quiet. That first time, I sat here an hour. It didn't fix anything, but I could breathe again. It reminded me I was still here."
Psychiatrists said Turner's instinct to walk outside was not just lucky, but it's backed by evidence.
Research published in Frontiers in Psychology found that just 20 minutes in nature led to significantly reduced levels of cortisol, the body's primary stress hormone.
Another peer-reviewed study in Environmental Health Perspectives concluded that green spaces are associated with lower anxiety and depression, even after short exposure.
"Time spent in nature really has a wide range of mental health benefits for us," said Megan Stodard, a licensed psychologist at Harbor Wellness in downtown Pensacola. "From mood-boosting effects to improving our cognition, creativity and problem solving. The research is quite clear here."
Stodard treats clients struggling with anxiety, burnout and dread, much of it tied to the political and economic climate.
"Certainly we're all living there," she continued. "And using this (nature) as a tool, it's a supportive tool. Going outside, time in green spaces, time in blue spaces," Stodard said, referring to places where people can see water.
"Here on the Gulf Coast and the Panhandle we have incredible access to all of those (blue spaces) built in. But also rivers, lakes, little ponds, creeks. Our brain likes to see water. It just likes it. It's really supportive for the foundational components of our well-being as humans," she said.
She noted those foundations often disappear when people need them most.
"It's really hard to be in the mindset for that deeper therapeutic wor k... if those basic building blocks really aren't there" Stodard continued. "And naturally those things are often the first things to go when we're under stress. But we need them more when we're under stress."
"People are worried about what's happening currently. People are worrying about what's happening next. They're legitimate concerns. They're legitimate worries. It's very real. But nature helps regulate our nervous systems. Especially green and blue spaces, those where you see trees or water. They're calming. They slow the spiral," Stodard continued.
She encourages patients to rebuild basic supports, like movement, rest and time outside, before diving into deeper therapeutic work.
"Before we start talking about meaning or values or purpose, I ask 'are you sleeping? Are you moving your body? Have you gone outside today?' These are the building blocks of mental wellness," she said.
For those who need structure, Stodard conducts what she has coined "Stride Sessions" walk-and-talk therapy that take place on Pensacola's trails and beaches.
"We're not just talking about nature's benefits," Stodard said. "We're experiencing them. I've watched clients shift in real time, moving their bodies, slowing their breath, reconnecting to their values. Nature helps us hold complexity: the chaos and the calm."
At From the Ground Up Community Garden, beneath Interstate 110 in Pensacola, lead gardener Elizabeth Eubanks said the garden gives people space to ground themselves — literally.
"I just finished a certificate program at (the University of Florida) in horticultural therapy," Eubanks said. "I will actually be a therapeutic horticulture practitioner. Nature heals, and it makes you feel better."
"Everything that's going on politically and just living life is hard," Eubanks continued. "But I was surprised by the people that really aren't connected to nature and just what it kind of meant to them to just kind of get quiet and smell herbs that we have in the garden."
Eubanks said political frustration and burnout were common themes among volunteers.
"At least 95% of the adults that come into the garden to volunteer … there's always a topic of politics right now and always a topic of what the frick is going on," she continued. "But then just to move on and kind of just sweat a little bit and get dirty and just feel like they're putting things into the ground that are new and can flourish and grow new things instead of, like, focusing on all this other stuff that's going on."
She said the transformation often happened quietly while planting kale or pulling weeds. And that kept her going.
"Even when people come with concern in their voices, they go home with food and peace. I think they feel nurtured because they've nurtured something else. That's what the garden is for," Eubanks said.
Across town at Wild Birds Unlimited, Angie Hamilton observed something similar through backyard bird feeders.
"Nature and these birds, it changes your attitude, the way you look at everything," Hamilton said. "Once you start feeding birds, then you realize they have personalities. They have the most beautiful songs. They wake up and then they start singing first thing in the morning. That just could warm anybody's heart."
Hamilton said many of her customers turned to birds instead of breaking news.
"They turn off the radio, they turn off the television .. and you almost get to this point where you wonder why you ever turn that stuff on," she said. "Because sometimes it makes you feel like there's nothing that you can do. When you're out there feeding the birds, you are helping somebody that needs to be helped. Can make your day so much easier."
On the grounds of Saint Christopher's Episcopal Church on North 12th Avenue, a stone labyrinth winds through a shaded meditation garden. The Rev. Susan Stowers explained how walking the labyrinth helped visitors quiet their minds.
"There's this idea that as you walk, just to simply offer your hope and your desire or your worry," Rev. Stowers said. "You can even pick up one of these stones and kind of walk with it. And when you get to the middle, sort of release the burden ... and walk out. It's not a maze. It's a labyrinth. It's the journey that we walk with the ins and the outs. It's a little thing, but maybe it can help."
Turner ended his morning walk at the same bench that helped him slow down for the first time.
"The headlines haven't stopped, and I still worry about my finances," Turner said. "I still check the news. But now I don't let it hijack my day. I walk, I listen, I come back with a clearer head. My co-workers noticed the difference before I even told them why. But now I have this 30 minutes of peace in the morning. And that helps me show up as someone better. More present. More grounded. I'm not fixed. I'm not pretending everything's fine. But this walk, it reminds me I'm still in control of something."
"And that's enough to take the next step."
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