The Tribune

By JEFFARAH GIBSON

Tribune Features Writer

jgibson@tribunemedia.net

TRAVEL is often marketed as escape. A break from routine. A reward. But from a mental health perspective, travel can be something else entirely. It can regulate the nervous system, disrupt emotional patterns and create clarity that daily life does not allow. That reality became especially clear to Bahamian therapist Christina Johnson during her recent trip to Antarctica, a place defined not by activity but by stillness.

Johnson is an individual, couple and family therapist, mental health consultant, speaker and certified life coach. She recently completed a rare personal milestone by visiting every continent on Earth. Still, she is careful not to frame Antarctica as a professional exercise or therapeutic retreat.

“I don’t wear my therapist hat anywhere besides on the job,” she said. “I was there as Christina on a well deserved vacation.”

Yet even without intention, the mental impact of travel was unmistakable. Antarctica offered what many people unknowingly crave but rarely access.

“I knew I would feel grounded, regulated and deeply at ease,” she adds. “I’ve always loved silence and stillness and Antarctica is a stunning example of stillness.”

Unlike most destinations, Antarctica offers little stimulation. There are no crowds, no schedules and no noise competing for attention.

She said there was no sensory overload and no constant stimulation, and “it felt like being wrapped in permission to just exist.”

From a mental health standpoint, that matters. Johnson believes much of what people experience as internal mental noise is shaped by their surroundings.

“It was a great demonstration of how much of our mental noise is shaped by our environment, not just our inner world,” she said.

Her experience stands in contrast to another major journey she completed last year, trekking to Everest Base Camp, Nepal. That trip demanded endurance, mental stamina and perseverance.

“The Everest Base Camp trek and Antarctica met two very different psychological needs for me,” she said.

The trek required constant effort and self trust. Antarctica required nothing at all.

“There was no proving, no pushing and no striving. It was about presence rather than performance.”

Those two forms of travel serve different mental functions. Achievement based travel strengthens confidence and resilience. Stillness based travel supports regulation and introspection.

“Trips like this remove external markers of success and force you to sit with yourself.”

Clinically, Johnson explains that the nervous system is deeply attached to predictability. Familiar routines create a sense of safety and conserve emotional energy. When those routines disappear, the nervous system initially becomes alert.

“If the environment feels safe, the parasympathetic nervous system engages and allows for rest, reflection and emotional processing,” ahe said.

“I’m not a big napper, but being away from my twelve hour work days, PhD studies and the rhythm of my everyday life, I napped every day. That level of rest was unfamiliar but deeply needed.”

At home, people are surrounded by cues tied to roles, responsibilities and habits. Travel disrupts those cues and creates psychological distance from stressors.

“When you are no longer reacting to familiar triggers, your brain can reorganise information differently.”

That is why insight often emerges when people step away from their routine. Even small changes in environment can shift perspective.

Not all travel affects mental health the same way. Johnson explains that vast open spaces like Antarctica often soften the nervous system, while heavily stimulating environments keep it on alert.

“Vast spaces create what is known as the small self effect…you feel tiny, but in a grounding way.”

In contrast, she recalls that the trek to Everest Base Camp was overwhelming for her nervous system.

“The sensory overload made my nervous system feel unsafe and I felt anxious and dysregulated,” she said.

She stresses that travel can sometimes surface unresolved emotional issues by removing familiar coping structures.

“Our routines, social supports and comforts disappear once we get on that plane. That can be freeing and it can also be destabilising.”

Johnson encourages travellers to pay attention to warning signs such as irritability, numbness, headaches, digestive issues and muscle tension.

She is also clear that travel is not a substitute for therapy.

Travel aligned with mental wellness tends to expand emotional capacity. Avoidant travel may feel good in the moment but often leaves people depleted.

Completing a major life goal adds another psychological layer. Johnson explained that the brain is wired for pursuit.

“When the chase ends, people can feel joy followed by emptiness. The mind has to integrate the experience into identity.”

For Johnson, visiting every continent brought fulfilment and reflection.

“Ability is not who I am,” she said. “Meaning does not come from how far I go, it comes from how deeply I live because of it.”