Finding Steadiness in a Shaken World: A Somatic and Nature-Based Approach to Stress

It’s no secret that the world feels heavy right now. News cycles bring stories of war, disaster, and division into our homes and our minds almost daily. Many of my clients—and myself at times—have felt the toll of carrying these events in our bodies. Stress, worry, and even a sense of helplessness can begin to feel constant.

While we cannot control the events happening in the world, we can work with how our nervous system responds. Two powerful tools for this are somatic experiencing and nature-based practices.

Stress Lives in the Body

When we experience overwhelming news or traumatic events—whether personally or through the media—our bodies often respond as if danger were right in front of us. Heart rate rises, muscles tighten, breath becomes shallow. This survival response is natural, but when it lingers, it can create anxiety, fatigue, and disconnection.

Somatic Experiencing (SE) offers a gentle way of helping the nervous system settle. Rather than pushing feelings away or getting stuck in them, SE helps us pendulate between places of tension and places of calm in the body. This back-and-forth builds resilience and helps the body learn it doesn’t have to stay frozen in stress.

Nature as Co-Regulator

Nature gives us a steadying rhythm when the human world feels chaotic. Being outside, even briefly, can help our bodies reset. Research shows that time in nature lowers cortisol (a stress hormone), supports immune function, and improves mood.

But beyond the science, nature reminds us of cycles and continuity: seasons change, rivers flow, trees root deeply even through storms. When we connect with these rhythms, our nervous system can borrow some of that steadiness.

Practical Tools You Can Try

1. Orient to Your Environment
   Step outside and slowly turn your head, letting your eyes land on trees, clouds, or even the horizon. Notice the shapes, colors, and textures. This signals to your body that it is safe in the present moment.

2. Ground Through the Senses
   Place your feet firmly on the ground and notice what’s beneath you—grass, dirt, or even the firmness of your floor. Imagine the ground holding you up. You don’t have to hold everything by yourself.

3. Pendulation Practice
   Bring awareness to a place of tension in your body (a tight jaw, clenched fists, fluttering chest). Then gently shift attention to a place that feels more neutral or comfortable (hands resting in your lap, the softness of your calves, the warmth of sunlight on your skin). Go back and forth a few times. This helps your body remember it is not only the tension—it also contains calm.

4. Breathing with Nature
   Sit near a tree or plant and match your breath to the rhythm you imagine it keeping—slow, steady, life-giving. Inhale deeply, exhale gently. Let the plant remind you of the natural balance between giving and receiving.

Giving Yourself Permission to Pause

In times of collective stress, it is easy to feel guilty for stepping away from the news or for seeking peace. But tending to your nervous system is not selfish—it allows you to show up with more clarity, compassion, and groundedness in your daily life and community.

Healing doesn’t mean ignoring the pain of the world. It means learning how to hold it without letting it consume us. Through somatic awareness and connection with nature, we can find places of rest, balance, and resilience even in uncertain times.

✨ If you are feeling overwhelmed, remember you don’t have to navigate this alone. Therapy, support groups, and time in safe community can help you find steadiness and strength.