At the beginning of the year, children’s horse coach Rosanne Zwart (25) from Velserbroek told her life story to NH. How she spent months in a psychiatric clinic as a teenager, how she overcame her fears and now helps other young people as a counselor. This is how TV presenter Joris Linssen tracked her down. Tonight Rosanne is central to his program Joris’ Christmas Tree.
Or actually it is her dog Mattie, who plays the leading role in the program. Anyone who sees Rosanne also sees Mattie. He is where she goes. From the Badhoeve care farm in Badhoevedorp, to Zebrazorg in Vogelenzang and to the stable in Heemstede. He has been her faithful companion for five years.
Panic and anxiety attacks
So when the program’s preparatory editor asked Rosanne who has played a major role in her life, she didn’t have to think long.
“Mattie shows me every day that I can be myself. That I don’t have to pretend otherwise. That I am good just the way I am.” Rosanne herself struggled with this for a long time. As a teenager, she suffered from panic and anxiety attacks and hyperventilated. Ultimately, after much therapy, she ended up in a psychiatric clinic.
Rosanne knows the deep despair, the dark and suicidal thoughts. The scars from that time are still visible on her forearm. That is why she wants to break the silence around mental health. “I want to create more awareness about people who have mental problems. I tell them: those dark thoughts are allowed. Without darkness there is no light. Both are part of life.”
Negative vs positive
When Rosanne received a completely unexpected call a few weeks ago from the editor of Joris’ Kerstboom because he had read her story at NH, she also knew: “I have to do this.”
She sees it as her mission to help young people get closer to themselves. From a teenager who did not dare to leave the house because the outside world was angry and hostile, she had to go through a long and difficult road to finally turn the negative into something positive.
“I now dare to be vulnerable. Of course that is exciting. But I won’t lock myself in anymore”
Horses and horse coaching played an important role in her recovery. “Horses don’t judge. There I could just be who I am.” But EMDR, a therapy for people with traumatic experiences, also helped her to overcome her fears. Nowadays she works as a horse coach for children.
“I now dare to be vulnerable. Of course I find that exciting. Especially if it airs tonight. But I don’t lock myself in anymore. I want to tell my story to show others that besides darkness there is also light.”
Joris’ Christmas tree
Rosanne Zwart (25) from Velserbroek is one of the six participants in this season of Joris’ Christmas Tree who tells a story of hope. Tonight at 7 p.m. on NPO 2 she can be seen at Zorgboerderij Badhoeve in Badhoevedorp. There she talks about how she overcame her anxiety disorders, learned to accept her dark thoughts and how her dog Mattie shows her every day that she can just be who she is.