De Vuurproef
Painful…
and liberating

 

De Vuurproef:
shaped by lived experience


Prior to my burnout, I willed myself to be the strongest. I never permitted myself to ask for help. If it couldn’t be perfect, I felt it wasn’t worth doing. I was a chameleon: I became quite good at being anyone…except myself. And talking about emotions? I was queen of pushing them aside or ignoring them. But after so many years of living this way, the person I had become, disappeared. On the 18th of August 2014, I fell apart. What remained was a shell of the person I thought I once was. Inside I felt only a painful void and an uncontrollable will to survive.

Recovery for me became a quest to discovering who I was. The biggest obstacle? Myself. It was scary to let go of the person I thought I was. Uncovering and unlearning old patterns, having my masks revealed to me and allowing myself to let them go was a cauldron of trials and tribulations. Incredibly painful to go through, but how liberating to discover that everything I needed to live differently was inside of me.

These days, my ‘imperfections’ are the things I find most interesting about myself: endless curiosity, a proudly sensitive person and long past feeling shame for this part of my past. Although the packaging was pretty ugly, my burnout turned out to be the most valuable gift of my life. It is this experience which has motivated me to help others along their journey to recovery.


How can I help you?



Let’s chat and get a feel for each other. Without obligations.


Does it feel like a good fit? Let’s start on this journey together.

Before we get started, let’s talk about what has brought you to this point. Recovery is a process of growth and can begin only when there is nothing standing in the way. Only you can plant the seed. If we both have a good feeling that the time is right, then we can start on this journey together.

De Vuurproef: shaped by lived experience

Your daily "Spark"

  • "See the light in others and treat them as if that is all you see."
  • "You are under no obligation to be the same person you were 5 minutes ago."
  • "Any fool can know. The point is to understand."

  • "I now see how owning our story and loving ourselves through that process is the bravest thing we will ever do."

  • "When I becomes WE, even illness becomes wellness."

  • "Energy goes where the attention flows..."

  • "The truth is, unless you let go, unless you forgive the situation, unless you realize the situation is over, you cannot move forward."

  • "What would you do if fear is removed from the equation?"

  • "Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees is."

  • "Love takes off the masks we fear we cannot live without and know we cannot live within".

  • "Some beautiful paths can't be discovered without getting lost."
  • "The goal is to surround myself with folks who remind me of who I am, not make me forget."

  • "Everyone wants happiness, no-one wants pain. But you can't have a rainbow without a little rain."

  • "The moment a little boy is concerned with which is a jay and which is a sparrow, he can no longer see the birds or hear them sing."

  • "Travel not to find yourself, but to remember who you've been all along."

  • "Saying nothing sometimes says the most."

  • "Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the staircase, just take the first step."

  • "You can't heal what you can't feel."

  • "He who knows all the answers has not been asked all the questions."

  • "The bravest sight in the world is to see a great man struggling against diversity."

  • "Fear needs nourishment to be sustained. What's on the menu today?"

  • "Exercise because it's good for you, even if every step weighs a thousand pounds."

  • "Waking up to who you are requires letting go of who you imagine yourself to be."

  • "The only difference between a flower and a weed is judgement."

  • "Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves."

  • "This is how you get unstuck. You reach."
  • "Discomfort is the price of admission to a meaningful life."

  • Alan Watts
    "No amount of anxiety makes any difference to anything that is going to happen."
    Alan Watts
    Quote
  • Pablo Picasso
    "The meaning of life is to find your gift, the purpose of life is to give it away."
    Pablo Picasso
    Quote
  • Randy Pausch
    "Experience is what you get when you don't get what you want."
    Randy Pausch
    Quote
  • Carl Jung.
    "I am not what happened to me, I am what I choose to become."
    Carl Jung.
    Quote
  • Unknown
    "You cannot heal the world until you heal yourself."
    Unknown
  • Michel de Montaigne
    "My life has been filled with terrible misfortune, most of which never happened."
    Michel de Montaigne
    Quote
  • Ru Paul Charles
    "If you can't love yourself, how in the hell you gonna love somebody else. Can I get an 'amen'?"
    Ru Paul Charles
    Quote
  • Emma
    What will you do differently today?
    Emma
    Reflection
  • Cheryl Strayed
    'No' is golden.
    Cheryl Strayed
    Quote
  • Loesje
    "Every now and then you have to turn your life upside down to see if there is more at the bottom."
    Loesje
    Quote
  • Dante Alighieri
    "A mighty flame follows a tiny spark."
    Dante Alighieri
    Quote
  • ...
    "The struggle is part of the journey."
    ...
  • Ingspire
    Choose with your heart, your mind is to understand choices, not make them.
    Ingspire
    Quote
  • African proverb.
    "If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together."
    African proverb.
  • René Descartes
    "Doubt is the origin of wisdom."
    René Descartes
    Quote
  • Aristotles
    "Waar de behoeften van de wereld en jouw talenten elkaar kruisen, daar ligt jouw roeping."
    Aristotles
  • Max Depree
    "We cannot become what we want by remaining what we are."
    Max Depree
    Quote
  • Emma

    "If you've already tried everything, what is left for you to do?"

    Emma
    Reflection
  • Emma

    "You can only let go of your emotions by embracing them first."

    Emma
    Insight
  • Confucius
    "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step".
    Confucius
    Quote
  • Albert Einstein
    "Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new."
    Albert Einstein
    Quote
  • David D. Burns
    Assert your right to make mistakes. If people can't accept your imperfections, that's their fault.
    David D. Burns
    Quote
  • Pubilius Syurs
    "In calm weather, anyone can be a great captain."
    Pubilius Syurs
    Quote
  • "My psychologist understands my depression but you understand ME!"

English