I have always known exactly how to take care of myself in relationships. KIDDING! I suffered for years from loneliness, a burnout and serious depressions. I’ll tell you how this eventually became my luck.

It started when I was 23. I was a philosophy student who thought you had to work hard in order to be worth something for others. I came home one day after working in the library. I made a cup of tea that I put on the table. All of a sudden, my arms felt heavy and tired. I wanted to pick up the cup of tea, to realize that..I couldn’t. The cup of tea was too heavy for my arms. ‘This is bad’ I thought to myself. It turned out to be a burnout.

I felt very alone in the recovery and got a depression. It would not be the last one. Being new in Amsterdam and working as a freelance journalist was lonely for me. I got winter depressions every year. I had several short relationships in which I felt lonely and not fully appreciated. I was single for a long time and felt distant towards men.

The results were astonishing. I met a guy with whom I didn’t feel alone anymore. I knew how to solve conflicts in a way that they actually made us stronger instead of leaving little scars. I got a group of friends that know the NVC techniques, which means I always have people around me with amazing listening skills. When I am heard by them, things start to move and I don’t get stuck in my emotions. The depth of our connection is incredible.

I also dared to have important talks with my parents about things that affected me in my childhood. Not only did I know how to talk about it without them feeling judged, it also strengthened our bond. When I go on holiday with my mum and brother, we do an NVC check-in round now, and it has brought us closer than ever. And the best of all, the thing that really BLOWS MY MIND: ever since I mastered NVC, I haven’t had a single burnout or depression anymore.

I’m Marianne. I help you staying true to yourself in your relationships with others.

I think it’s insane that we don’t learn in school how to communicate in relationships and solve conflicts.

How do we as a human race expect to solve wars between nations if we don’t even know how to create peace at our own kitchen table?

For me it’s so painful to see conflict and distance between couples, parent and children, friends, because I discovered it’s not neccesary..you can be yourself AND still have an amazing connection with the people close to you. There is just a few things you need to learn..

I learned with meditation and yoga to take care of myself. But these things didn’t teach me how to stand for what I needed with others. How to even know what I could ask, and ask for it in a way that was likely to create a ‘yes’ in the other person. How to say ‘no’ to things without chasing away others.

Everything changed when I heard about Nonviolent Communication.

One day my mindfulness teacher told me that the way I put something completely fitted with something she called ‘Nonviolent Communication’. I thought the name was kind of stupid. Sounded way to soft. But I looked it up on Youtube and before I knew it I had watched a 3-hour video from Marshall Rosenberg. I was so excited: ‘OMG, there is a way to be radically honest AND keep a good connection with others!’ I started to follow all courses available.

I wish this kind of transformation for everyone, which is why I took a course to become a trainer in Nonviolent Communication. Over the past years, I’ve trained hundreds of people from both the US and the Netherlands. I also own one of the biggest NVC Youtube channels worldwide.

My mission is to make sure that going to a course for the health of your relationships will be just as mainstream as going to the gym for your physical health. And yes, I believe that in the long term, this will lead to a more peaceful society. But it starts with filling your own cup.

I believe everyone can transform their connections in a way that gives them energy and nourishment. I’d LOVE to help you get there.

Take the first step by signing up for my email list and receive my Empathy Toolkit!