Evidence Base: Life Transitions Pathway

What this page is for

This page outlines the research context that informs the Pathway. It also summarises research relevant to nature‑based support for life transitions.

It does not claim to treat menopausal symptoms, mental health conditions, or produce specific outcomes. The evidence base is included to show that the approach is grounded in established research, even where evidence is limited or indirect.

What research exists

Major life transitions, including menopause, relocation, and relationship change are consistently associated with increased stress, identity disruption, and uncertainty.

In this context, this pathway draws on adjacent research examining:

• Life events and cumulative stress
• Stress regulation and nature exposure
• Identity change, meaning, and liminal states
• Place attachment and belonging

Overall, the research is included for context, not prescription.

Key findings from related research

Across multiple areas of study, major life transitions are associated with:

• Increased psychological and physiological stress
• Disruption to routines and social roles
• Heightened vulnerability to anxiety, low mood, and fatigue

In addition, research on natural environments suggests that time spent in low-demand settings is associated with:

• Reduced stress markers (e.g. cortisol)
• Improved autonomic regulation
• Reduced perceived stress

These findings are observed across diverse populations and transition contexts, and they provide useful background for understanding this pathway.

Relevance to life transitions

Periods of transition often involve cumulative change rather than a single event. For example, even positive or chosen changes can tax coping capacity and stress regulation systems.

Low-demand, non-directive environments may:

• Reduce overall stress load
• Support regulation during uncertainty
• Allow reflection without pressure to decide, explain, or resolve

As a result, these qualities are relevant across many forms of life transition.

Menopause: important context

Research increasingly recognises menopause as a whole-body transition rather than a purely reproductive one.

Studies associate the menopausal transition with:

• Increased stress sensitivity
• Sleep disturbance and fatigue
• Changes in mood, attention, and cognitive load

This pathway does not treat menopausal symptoms. Studies show that supportive environments and stress‑regulation approaches can work alongside medical and clinical care.

Identity, meaning, and liminal experience

Life transitions often involve a liminal period — a sense of being between roles, identities, or life stages.

Qualitative research highlights that:

• Transitions may involve grief for what has ended
• There is often social pressure to “move on” quickly
• Non-directive settings can support reflection without forcing narrative or resolution

Nature‑based experiences often feel supportive to people during these in‑between periods.

Relocation, belonging, and place attachment

Research in environmental psychology suggests that relocation is associated with:

• Loss of familiar cultural and social cues
• Disruption to identity and belonging
• Increased stress and loneliness

Research links connection to place, including access to natural environments, with grounding and emotional stability during adjustment periods.

Relationship change and emotional load

Research consistently ranks changes in relationship or marital status among the most stressful life events.

These transitions may involve:

• Grief and ambiguity
• Changes in social roles
• Increased emotional and cognitive load

For some people, low-pressure, non-verbal experiences may feel more accessible during these periods than talk-based or outcome-driven approaches.

Important limitations

• This pathway does not treat menopausal symptoms or mental health conditions
• Researchers note that study quality and specificity vary.
• Individual experiences of transition differ widely.

For these reasons, the Life Transitions Pathway is offered as a supportive, non-therapeutic experience, not as an intervention.

How this evidence informs nature‑based support for life transitions

The research above informs:

• Slow pacing and flexible engagement
• Emphasis on sensory experience rather than discussion
• Respect for ambiguity and not-knowing
• Absence of outcome-driven expectations

Taken together, these principles shape how nature‑based support for life transitions is offered in practice. Participants are invited to engage without pressure to define or resolve their experience.

Selected references

Holmes & Rahe – Social Readjustment Rating Scale (life events and stress)
PubMed abstract for the Social Readjustment Rating Scale (Holmes & Rahe, original measure context):
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38109368/

Menopause and Mental Health – review of menopause & psychological impact
PubMed abstract discussing menopause and mental health:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41269515/

Forest environments and stress physiology
The physiological effects of Shinrin-yoku — forest vs urban environment and stress marker outcomes:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19568835/

Forest bathing and cortisol — systematic review
Cortisol and nature exposure systematic review:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31001682/

Place attachment and wellbeing
PubMed abstract on place attachment and wellbeing (Scopelliti & Giuliani):
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15140632/

Further detail

A full summary of the research context, including references and limitations, is available in the downloadable PDF.

Closing note

Life transitions are often complex, overlapping, and non-linear.
This pathway does not seek to define change, but to offer support while change is unfolding.