Anxiety Therapy in Amsterdam
When anxiety takes over, it can feel like there’s no way out. Your body is on high alert, your chest tightens, your thoughts race, and nothing seems to settle it. You don’t have to go through that alone.
What Anxiety Can Feel Like
Anxiety can show up as:
A constant sense of pressure or urgency
Feeling overwhelmed without a clear reason
Tightness in your chest or difficulty breathing
Racing thoughts or looping worries
A sense that something is wrong, even when you can’t name it
It can feel like your system is overloaded, with no clear direction to release that energy.
Making Sense of Anxiety
Anxiety doesn’t come out of nowhere.
Often, it developed for a reason, as a consequence of having to stay safe, to anticipate, or to cope when something felt overwhelming or unsupported.
Maybe reaching out didn’t feel possible. Maybe your feelings weren’t met in the way you needed. Maybe it didn’t feel safe to fully be in what you were experiencing. Maybe you had to stay on high alert for possible threats.
From that perspective, anxiety makes sense.
At the same time, you don’t want to live with the constant intensity of it.
Anxiety… and Loneliness
Loneliness can be super painful. And unfortunately more common these days. We live in highly individualistic times that make it harder to reach out, we created an environment that is hardly even noticing that connection is missing, or so it seems. Truth probably is, that there is a bassline of loneliness with many of us, in some way. (think smartphones, think earpods, think selfscan registers, think online classes)
When you had to isolate yourself during an extended period of time to stay safe, it becomes ingrained in everything. It can be very hard for instance to have serious and nourishing relationships. If you were told the safest way to be, is to isolate, ofc you won’t risk reaching out. Your body agrees; moving in means danger is coming, let’s zone out or turn inward.
Finding it hard to look someone in the eye, tell them your feelings, standing up for yourself, being hyper-independent, always cutting relationships off to not deepen, being dumped, it can all be part of the same thing.
This doesn’t say that this has to remain your story for ever. We could see, one moment at a time, how you can start re-connecting with me and the people around you and work through the kinks of being out of sorts when it comes to connecting.
Luckily you don’t have to undo it, being good at being alone has it perks. But if you could choose when to isolate or stay in connection; it will give you more freedom.
How I Work With Anxiety
In our sessions, we don’t try to immediately get rid of the anxiety.
We start by slowing things down.
We focus on what is happening right now in your body, your breath, your thoughts. Together, we build awareness around how the anxiety shows up and how it builds.
From there, we explore ways to regulate. Not by forcing calm, but by creating enough safety for your system to settle.
Connection is central here. Being met, and not having to carry it alone, often changes something in how the anxiety is held.
It’s simple work, but not easy.
Reviews.
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I felt at home from our very first conversation. You really listened to me, saw me. I always felt seen and heard in my questions and my search. I find you very sensitive, super accurate in tuning in without disappearing yourself. I found it very supportive that you allowed yourself to be visibly affected.
— Irene.
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Rinske is very knowledgeable in her approach and knows how to put you at ease in confrontational conversations. A session with Rinske feels like a conversation with a very good friend who also dares to ask the right questions to help you with your process of self-reflection.
— Ditha.
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After a difficult period, I ended up at Rinske's practice. I had no previous experience with any form of therapy, but Rinske made sure that wasn't a problem at all. She was a good listener and we had some great conversations. Thank you, Rinske!
— Sander
What can shift over time when we start working together…
As you become more familiar with what is happening inside you, things begin to change.
You may notice:
More ability to stay present when anxiety arises
Less fear of the feeling itself
More clarity around what triggers it
Space for other feelings to emerge, like grief or anger
Instead of anxiety taking over, it becomes something you can stay with and understand.
If anxiety has been taking up a lot of space in your life, you’re welcome to reach out.