Bart’s story of recovery

Bart's recovery story

My name is Bart and I’m an addict. 

I’m 30 years old and was born in Brunssum, the Netherlands, the second son of Monique and Piet Hein.

My parents gave me a wonderful childhood.

Growing up, I lived above my parents' business and attended a local school.

At primary school, I had a group of close friends. In fact, I’m still close to one of them. In Year Four, I started playing baseball, and by Year Six, my coach had discovered my baseball skills and I was scouted, which kickstarted a top-level career. I moved to a school in another city which supported elite athletes, where I enjoyed four fantastic years and met my first girlfriend. 

I continued my sports career with the Bundesliga in Germany, competing in major tournaments in the United States and Europe. It was around that time that I gradually started experimenting with drugs, planning my seasons around them more and more often. After sustaining injuries, I slowly began to change my priorities. I completed my vocational education (MBO) and graduated from Johan Cruyff College, moving onto higher professional education (HBO) at Johan Cruyff University.

Soon, however, I realised I was becoming more involved in doing drugs so I decided to quit my sports career. 

After a few difficult relationships, I found myself in a bad place while other relationships, such as those with my parents and my friends began to fall apart. 

Nonetheless, I managed to pick myself up again after a while. I started working at a restaurant where I discovered my passion for hospitality. Unfortunately, it did not last long due to my drug abuse and I was forced to leave. It was an important turning point in my life.

My addiction was at its worst and using drugs became my main priority.

It got me into a deep depression and I’m very lucky to be alive today. 

Thankfully, it was then that I realised that I needed professional support, and I asked my parents for help. The search for help led me to Connection SGGZ, where I still downplayed my addiction, even during the addiction assessment. Fortunately, it didn’t take long for me to be admitted and I began a six-week in-patient stay at Meerlo. At first, I fooled both myself and others, but thanks to my counsellors and the individual therapy sessions, I eventually broke down and became aware of my behaviour.

I began to see how I always tried to please everyone, hiding my true self as soon as any sensitive topics arose. 

After the first two weeks, I surrendered and asked for guidance. My counsellors showed me what was possible if I was truly willing to get to know myself, explore my pitfalls and accept my character flaws. As a result, my self-image improved and I developed a more positive outlook on life in general. 

After my treatment, I decided to go to a safehouse instead of living with my parents. I’m still very thankful for that decision because it allowed me to continue to work on my recovery. I ended up at Recovery House Netherlands, where they supported me to live without alcohol and drugs while providing mental health care. 

Soon after, I returned to baseball and employment: I decided to start at the bottom of the ladder in the hospitality industry and work my way up. In the safehouse, it was mandatory to go to N.A. meetings (Narcotics Anonymous) which I didn’t like much at first.

But once I met my sponsor, I understood the importance of these meetings for my own recovery and that of others.

I constantly sought advice from my sponsor and counsellors, and I used their insights to continue growing in my recovery.

Almost two years later, I am the head coach of a great men’s baseball team, I work as a floor manager at the same company where I started, I have a beautiful apartment in my new hometown, a stable and healthy relationship, and last but not least, I have an amazing network of fellow recovering addicts.

I am still clean after two years, and I am proud that my clean date is still the same as the day I was admitted. My bonds with my family and friends are stronger than ever, for which I am very grateful.

I owe all of this to the choice I was given, which I didn’t see at first, but did make eventually: I chose life. The other choice was clear: death.

I intend to start a family of my own one day, a house with a garden, and a few pets; you know, I just want to settle down.

I also cherish my dream of starting my own business focused on addiction care. I hope that I will stay healthy because I want to fully enjoy the beautiful moments that the present offers me.

This recovery story was written on 20 September 2023.