‘Now I teach dance in Brazil’
Teresa Keohane, 34, former business director, London

On paper I was a success – a business director at British Gas, aged 32. Only I no longer had the fiery enthusiasm, and my zest for life had gone. I’d spend my salary to compensate for things that were lacking in my life. So I rented out my London flat and followed my passion, dancing. I learnt salsa in Havana, for five months. Staying there, and later Brazil, I saw the power that dance had to transform people.

I noticed that there was a lack of dance schools for tourists, so I set up a project called Jingando in Rio de Janeiro, where visitors learn to dance and also help in favelas, with profits funding community activities.
Details: 020-8877 1630, www.jingandoholidays.com.

‘Kiliminjaro gave me perspective’
Anita Goldsworthy, 40, specialist nurse, Cumbria

My breakdown came soon after I was promoted. I took a new role as a specialist NHS nurse in Cumbria. There was no support for the new post and pressure kept mounting. The stress became unbearable. I hit rock bottom, living in a prison of depression, stuck on medication. I had to gain perspective somehow, and travel seemed the solution.

My first stop was an animal sanctuary in Namibia. You were able to walk so close to cheetahs that you could stroke them, and cross paths with a giraffe on an evening stroll. Later on I climbed Kilimanjaro, which gave me a huge feeling of accomplishment.

I travelled on to India, Thailand and Australia, where I stayed on a ranch, branding cattle. By then I’d reached saturation point. There are only so many amazing experiences you can take. I cut my trip short from nine months to six months, and came home.

I would urge anyone to go travelling, but wait until you feel positive about life. You only take issues with you, which remain when you come back. My trip gave me back my self-belief.
Details: Year Out Group (www.yearoutgroup.org); Real Gap Experience (01892 516164, www.realgap.co.uk).

‘I’m godfather to 150 children in Peru’
Duncan Goose, 39, former board director, London

There I was in a high-profile career: a board director at an advertising agency. My relationship fell apart and I hit crunch point.

Then, after reading a book called Jupiter’s Travels by Ted Simon, I sold everything, bought a motorbike and went abroad. It was more the idea of driving across miles of open space that appealed. I had no big plan, just Machu Picchu, and Niagara Falls on my checklist. In the end, I didn’t see either. I helped carry out aid work after Hurricane Mitch hit Honduras in 1998, and then stayed in a village in Peru called Racchi Ayllo. After I left the village I was given the honour of being godfather to 150 children. I rode my bike to Australia, India and Pakistan.

When I came home I wanted to do something different. Now I manage a brand called One water: every bottle sold buys a bottle of water in Africa. Before, I was on a six-figure salary; now I pay myself £6,000 a year. Travelling taught me to appreciate things. I used to eat out every week, now it’s once every few months.
Details: www.onewater.org.uk.

‘I found freedom in Canada’s outdoors’
Chris Schofield, 50, former cycle shop owner, Hull

I was becoming the person I’d feared as a child. The one people point at and say: “Isn’t he miserable?” I’d been running a cycle shop for 23 years. My solace was to remember the inspiration that came from ski holidays in Canada. The attitude to the great outdoors is so enlightening there. They believe that nature is there for everyone to appreciate. I looked into immigration, and signed up to qualify as a ski instructor with a company called Snowskool, training in British Columbia. Now I’ve given up the cycle shop to teach skiing in Canada.
Details: 01962 855138, www.snowskool.co.uk.

Times recommends

• The Green Spaces Travel Awards, 2008 - the winners
• Britain's 12 best winter walks
• The insiders' guide to bohemian Paris