Skip to main content

Natural Awakenings Northwest Florida

Sally Forth

Oct 01, 2020 11:27AM ● By Daralyn Chase

Surprise! I’m here!” Sally said, as she decided to drop in on our area as a Category 2 hurricane. None of us had expected her arrival. We’d all been holding our breath as we followed the weather reports. But as the hours passed, there was that familiar, creeping realization: We were in the crosshairs of yet another potent and damaging storm—sixteen years to the day after Hurricane Ivan, a Cat 3 hurricane, followed exactly the same trajectory, and just about two years after Michael, a Cat 5, devastated Panama City. Living on the Gulf Coast is an incredible privilege, but Mother Nature makes sure that it’s never boring. The Gulf is beautiful and serene, yet within hours it can become a raging tempest, not to be trifled with. Perhaps Mother Nature also wants to ensure that we never forget our shared vulnerability as human beings. 

We were putting the finishing touches on this issue in the wake of Hurricane Sally, and it was impossible to miss the thematic parallels between what we’ve endured so many times as a Gulf Coast community and what we’re enduring as a country. As publishers, our goal is always to be positive and uplifting, and that’s particularly true now, when stress and negativity threaten everyone’s physical and emotional health. Our feature article, “Calm Down: Taming the Flames of Stress-Related Illness,” page 26, offers many techniques to quell what researchers have identified as a contributor to many chronic conditions, including hypertension, heart disease, kidney disease and diabetes. Recent surveys have shown that teens are especially stressed right now. If you’re the parent of a teen, you should assume this is the case. Turn to page 38 for some tips on helping your teen manage stress in this challenging year.

If there’s good news about these times, it’s that every day there are more clinically proven ways to manage our health, including stress and its physiological effects, through natural therapies and technologies. For example, local acupuncture physician Pamela Purser has written a feature article on page 24 about the Traditional Chinese Medicine approach to rheumatoid arthritis, a painful, often debilitating inflammatory disease affecting 1.3 million Americans. And on page 20, we have a feature story on cryotherapy and the other healing technologies offered by CRYO850, in Destin. While super-cooling chambers have become popular with athletes as a way to soothe overworked muscles and sports injuries, cryotherapy also has many other physical and mental benefits when it’s part of a regular health and wellness regimen.

We’re delighted to give a special shout-out this month to Ever’man, which for 45 years has been a stalwart not just in the local healthy living community, but also in the entire Pensacola area. Even before Sally hit, many folks were struggling with the effects of the pandemic and the economic turndown. Ever’man has stepped up to help in so many ways, including regularly donating part of its proceeds to local charities. Turn to page 11 to learn more. 

 As we begin healing from another unexpected storm, remember that we’re always strongest—as a community and a country—when we put aside our differences and work together. 

Here’s to staying strong and calm,


Global Brief
Health Brief
Connect with the Community