I didn’t start Travel Not to Escape because I had all the answers. I started it because I was tired of pretending I was okay when I wasn’t. Especially while living what others thought was “the dream.”

I was a digital nomad, hopping countries, posting from waterfalls and jungle co-working spaces. On the outside, it looked like freedom. On the inside, I was unraveling.
Lonely.
Disconnected.
Carrying the weight of intergenerational trauma on my back and pretending it was just a backpack.

I’ve always loved travel. It was the first place I felt like I could breathe. Like I could step outside the roles I was forced into: caretaker, overachiever, fixer. But after a while, I realized I was using movement to outrun my pain. I wasn’t just traveling to explore the world.

I was traveling to escape myself.

And eventually, that stopped working.

What I Was Really Running From

I grew up in a family where silence was safer than honesty. Where emotions were either ignored or exploded. Where I learned early on to shrink, perform, and over-function. Especially as the youngest daughter in a Filipino household.

I carried that pattern into everything:
People-pleasing in work.
Overgiving in relationships.
Fearing rest, ease, softness.
Undercharging.
Binge eating.
Being the strong one and never asking for help.

Travel gave me the space to unravel those patterns. But it also revealed them. Being alone in a new country, far from the people and expectations that shaped me, forced me to confront who I really was underneath the coping.

And when I finally allowed myself to feel the grief, the rage, the longing…

I could finally stop performing and start healing.

Creating What I Needed But Couldn't Find

In every new place, I looked for community. Not just a coworking office or WhatsApp group. Real connection. Conversations about healing, identity, family, mental health. And while I met beautiful souls, I noticed a gap.

The digital nomad world talked about logistics, visas, wifi speeds, and entrepreneurship. But barely anyone talked about the emotional side of this lifestyle. The burnout, the loneliness, the triggers, the coping mechanisms that followed us from home. There was no directory of therapists who truly understood the transient life. No podcast that centered these quiet, sacred conversations.

So I made it.

Travel Not to Escape started as a podcast. Then it became a community. Then a platform. A movement. A calling.

It’s a space for travelers who are done using travel to run, and are ready to use it to come home to themselves.

Travel As A Mirror And A Portal

Now, when I travel, it’s not to distract myself. It’s to deepen my connection to myself.
I’ve hosted mental health meetups around the world.
I’ve spoken on stages about boundaries, burnout, and solo travel.
I’m creating the first Digital Nomad Therapist Directory to make support more accessible on the road.

And I’ve built a community of people who aren’t afraid to talk about the messy, beautiful, human parts of this lifestyle.

Because you don’t have to wait until you’re healed to go.
And you don’t have to go it alone.

Travel can be medicine. It can be mirror, teacher, rebirth. But only when we stop pretending and start getting real with ourselves and each other.

If you're ready to stop running and start rooting, welcome. This space was built for you.

— Geleen Antonio
Founder, Travel Not to Escape

Ready to Go Deeper?

Listen to the Travel Not to Escape podcast for honest stories from solo travelers, community builders, and mental health experts.

Stay tuned for the Digital Nomad Therapist Directory to find support wherever you are.

Or join the newsletter and be the first to hear about upcoming meetups, workshops, and tools for the road.

This is your reminder: You’re not too broken to belong. You’re not alone in this. And your healing is welcome here.