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Stress is healthy when it is balanced.

Stress is healthy when it is balanced.

A conversation with Helen van Empel (Yet)

On mental resilience, positive stress and the preventive power of early intervention

Stress. The word alone often conjures up something negative. But according to psychologist Helen van Empel, co-founder of Yet, stress may actually get a little more credit. "Stress is not necessarily bad," she says. "It's a natural reaction of your body. It keeps you sharp, helps you focus and gives you energy. But it should be kept in balance."

Helen talks candidly and enthusiastically about her mission to make mental help accessible, quick and effective. And about how we can learn to look at stress differently. Not as an enemy, but as a signal trying to tell us something.

Intervening before it is too late

"A mental challenge is never isolated," Helen begins. "It is always a confluence of circumstances. Work pressure, home situation, health, financial concerns; everything intertwines. If you run on with stress for too long, it can become a negative spiral. But if you intervene early and discuss what you're struggling with, you can just take a different turn."

That sounds logical, but in practice many people wait too long. Figures from TNO (2024) show that 1 in 6 working people struggle with burnout complaints. And that over 37% of long-term Sickness Absence in the Netherlands is stress-related. The average duration of a burnout? More than 280 days.

Helen: "We often see that people do not seek help until they have already completely failed. Whereas a short, solution-oriented conversation at the beginning of the symptoms can make a huge difference. Then you don't have to recover for months, but can regain your balance in weeks."

From waiting time to action time

Helen knows what she's talking about. As founder of One Session, she previously introduced the innovative single session therapy approach, in which one good conversation at the right time can have more impact than a course that someone has to wait weeks for. Later, together with Zorg van de Zaak (now: Colbe), she set up the new label Yet, with the mission: mental help at the moment it is needed.

"Traditional mental health care is overburdened," she explains. "The waiting times are long, a referral is always needed and that makes the threshold high. Whereas someone who is stuck today needs something now. Not in three months."

With Yet, she built a network of professionals: from psychologists to career coaches, from confidants to life counselors. Their common goal? Giving people control over their own mental health.

"The control lies with the people themselves," Helen emphasizes. "We want them to experience: I can do something myself, I don't have to wait for it to get worse. That sense of grip is enormously powerful."

Traditional mental health care is overburdened

The positive side of stress

According to Helen, we need to change our view of stress. "Stress is not the culprit, but a messenger. A signal from your body that something needs attention. That could be a deadline, a conflict at work or a change in your life. The problem only arises when we ignore those signals."

Helen: "You need stress to perform, but you also need rest to recover.

Research from Tilburg University (2023) confirms that people who learn to manage stress (instead of avoiding it) develop more resilience and self-confidence. They perform better, experience greater job satisfaction and absenteeism.

The power of early conversation

At ZekerArbo , we know: the earlier you are there, the better. Early intervention not only saves a lot of suffering, but also a lot of time and money. Figures from 2024 show that one day of absenteeism costs an average of €260. With burnout, the costs quickly run into tens of thousands of euros per employee.

Helen sees it daily at Yet: "If an employee who talks to a coach or psychologist at the first signs, one conversation is usually enough to be able to get on well on their own again. Whereas someone who only gets help after months of overwork takes much longer to recover. It's really a matter of timing."

Therefore, she advocates for a culture in which mental health is not black and white, sick or healthy, professional or no professional but an area in which we can do a lot ourselves, and together. "Not waiting for someone to collapse, but quickly starting the conversation and making adjustments!"

Mental fitness is part of vitality

Yet's initiative fits perfectly with the broader movement toward mental fitness in the workplace. Where vitality used to be mainly about sports and healthy eating, mental energy is now a full part of that.

"Mental fitness is the foundation," Helen says. "You can sleep and exercise so well, but if your head is overflowing, it stops somewhere. It works the other way around, too: those who are mentally strong take better care of themselves and function better at work and at home."

Yet therefore offers not only therapy, but also coaching and preventive support. All aimed at increasing resilience.

Helen: "We want to get rid of the idea that help is only needed when you get stuck. Sometimes one conversation with a professional is enough to regain perspective."

Mental fitness is the foundation, says Helen

Together strong for mental well-being

What drives Helen is clear: she wants to start a movement. "We have a team of passionate professionals who all believe things can and should be different," she says enthusiastically. "Everyone does their part, and that makes us stronger as a collective."

And that collective is growing. Yet's services are now part of the health and safety services of MKB FiT Premium and MKB FiT Excellent - with which entrepreneurs and their employees have direct access to fast, professional help through ZekerArbo .

Helen concludes, "We want mental help to become as natural as going to the physical therapist for a stiff shoulder. The sooner you get there, the less likely it is to become a big problem."

To recap

  • Stress is healthy as long as it is balanced.
  • Early intervention prevents long-term Sickness Absence and promotes recovery.
  • Yet offers direct access to psychologists, coaches and confidants, with no waiting times.
  • MKB FiT Premium and Excellent from ZekerArbo make mental fitness accessible to everyone.

Or as Helen herself puts it beautifully:

"Stress is part of life. And if you learn to listen to what it's telling you, it doesn't become a burden, it becomes a strength."

Want to know more about how ZekerArbo helps strengthen mental fitness in your organization?

Check out the features of MKB FiT Premium and MKB FiT Excellent, and discover how small steps can have big impact.

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