How Daily Time in Nature Helped Me Reclaim My Life

I didn’t find myself all at once.

It began with a simple choice: to go outside every day. To be with the trees. To breathe air that hadn’t passed through a vent. To let my body, my emotions, my self catch up with the pace of my life.

At the time, I wasn’t doing well. I thought I was doing the right thing — showing up, giving my energy generously — but day to day, I was giving too much to the wrong things. And in return, I wasn’t receiving what I needed. It felt like I had slowly disappeared from my own life. My days were full, but not fulfilling. I didn’t feel like the person I knew I could be — and I didn’t know how to get back to her.

So I started walking. Sitting. Noticing.

I went into nature like it was a kind of prayer. I wasn’t trying to fix anything. I just needed space to feel.

And it changed everything.

Each time I stepped into the woods or paused under a tree, I relaxed more than I realized I needed to. I felt my emotions return — not as overwhelm, but as truth. I began to notice the mismatch between how I was living and what I actually needed. And in that noticing, I began to choose better. For me.

I found my agency again.
And that shift? That quiet reclamation of self? It was massive.

The Science of Why This Works

There’s a growing body of research that explains what many of us have felt intuitively for years: time in nature helps us heal.

Even just 20 minutes a day in a natural setting can significantly lower cortisol levels — our body’s primary stress hormone. Forest environments have also been shown to lower blood pressure, improve mood, and boost immune function.
(Sources: Park et al., 2010; Hunter et al., 2019)

But beyond the physiological benefits, nature invites us to be present. And presence is the foundation of self-awareness.

When we slow down and pay attention — to the curve of a leaf, the flicker of light on water, the rhythm of birdsong — we begin to hear ourselves more clearly. And that’s where real change begins.

Nature offers us a mirror. And often, a much gentler one than we hold up to ourselves.
It also offers something else many of us deeply need: relationship. The feeling of being seen without judgment. Connection without pressure. A model of secure attachment. Being in nature reminds us that we belong.

This Isn’t Just My Story — It Could Be Yours

I share this not because I think everyone should walk the same path I did. But because I believe so many of us — especially women who give and give until there’s nothing left — need to know that there’s another way.

You don’t have to overhaul your life overnight. You don’t have to have all the answers.

But you can step outside.

You can begin to listen. And be present to the relationships and beauty that surround you in nature.

And that small act — that choice to come back to yourself — is enough to begin again.