I have attended a support group online, run by a local mental health agency. I am 60 years old. I have attended my share of meetings since my 20's. At times I've run them too. Well, the local mental health agency online group was by far the WORST meeting I've EVER attended. The SECOND runner up was one I attended 30 years ago, in person at the mental health clininc. At that time, I wondered, "I have attended so many well run meetings for at least 10 years (like the Alanon meetings, counterpart to the AA -- Alanon is for the loved ones of alcoholics to attend to learn to cope with their loved one's alcoholism). What is happening here? Our group boasts MA is social work, and Psychologists that work at the clinic and it stinks. At Alanon it was made of mostly women, married to alcoholics, they might have been housewives, but our meetings rocked! What is going on?" Well, basically, at the clinic and the agency there is no skin in the game; the professionals that ran the meeting were doing it because their supervisor told them to do so for US! So they were going through the motions, to report back and say -- yes sir, I ran the group. So I always prefer PEER LED groups, run by US, for US. We are not going through the motions, this this our life and our blood. We care to be there because it saves us, as we same others, just like in A.A., the meetings are dynamite, and we are running them, no PhD's are needed to be earnest and share your heart and your love.

Meetup.com is a FANTASTIC place to find meetings of all kinds from hang gliding to underwater basket weaving!!! And if you don't find the activity you are looking for, you can start your very own "panning for gold in the Grand Canyon!!".

Before covid, I was running a "support group for people with bipolar and/or other psychiatric disorders", and besides advertising on the papers, on flyers, and on the computer, I paid a nominal fee and had a "meetup" group by the same title, and it helped!

Best of luck, everyone, stay INSPIRED, or borrow your loved one's INSPIRATION, until you get your own -- in Italy we borrow each others FAITH too, and it's the BEST loan you ever offered or borrowed!

BRING JOY BACK INTO YOUR LIVES THROUGH OTHERS' JOY!

Ask NAMI OR DBSA- have online too.

Thank you, Kali. I'm so glad that helped.
I'm in the process of sending out press releases, to revive my pre-covid group.
I don't really feel alive without people that get me, like the people in the group. Life becomes simply endurance, until, until......the group starts again!

Best of luck to you, Kali2,

I love you,

Francesca

I'm gonna check out the "meet up.com" SMART Recovery online group. They also have a local group, made up of people with depression and anxiety, that meet for coffee. Also, ask the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

There's also a group on Facebook that has a page and you can be a part of messenger chat with others in the group.