Jeroen Otter

Jeroen's story

For years I struggled with an alcohol addiction. During that period I tried several times to quit. Again and again to no avail. I promised my family, relatives, and my professional relations that I would get well, but I was never able to keep that promise. I kidded them. And myself too. In the meantime I kept up appearances to the outside world: owner of a successful company, married to a beautiful wife and father of two children. What's the problem?

So I went on, more and more endlessly. I eventually got less and less control over the consequences of the destructive power of my addiction. More and more often I was overcome by loneliness and withdrew into isolation. Slowly but surely the world around me was collapsing. Both physically and mentally I was a wreck and in danger of losing my family and business. That is now 5 years ago.

After a detox and admission to a clinic, I was able to find the beginning of my recovery and my life has now been arranged in a positive and meaningful way. So it is feasible. I am living proof. The help was there, but in a number of areas I missed the direct guidance of someone who could tell me "the tricks of the trade" from personal experience. I then retrained to become an addiction counselor by experience. By using my own experience and combining it with professional coaching and counseling I can help others. I now see it as "a calling" to assist people with an addiction to achieve a sober and better life, to be permanently liberated from loneliness and hopelessness. I know better than anyone that being seen and heard is essential.

I would like to make my experiences available to people who have just stopped, or who want to stop their addiction, but do not (yet) want to travel this road completely alone. That's not necessary either. You have to stay sober yourself, but you don't have to do that alone”.