[Mr.Arch-Vile]

I have been attending AA meetings but I am strongly feeling out of place within the setting.

In my research with consumer mental health it got deeper when I started discovering books such as "Mad in America" and I started learning about the anti-psyche side of things. I am no endorsing by bringing them up but feel that why doesn't a setting such as AA format exist for mental health which would not necessarily be anti-medication?

Why are support groups so far and few in between?

My experiences with what I was able to find was NAMI but I only went to one meeting only to learn it was for people that knew someone who had MI not for people with actual MI.

Does such a thing even exist in a IRL setting?

[sarahsweets]

Around here they have an AA group called double trouble which is for alcoholics/drug addicts with mental illness.

[splitimage]

In larger centres, groups do exist, but you kind of have to know where / how to look.

There are often drop in centres for people with MI but they're often dominated by the homeless or people who are pretty low functioning, but if you find a good one it can be golden. They often offer support groups.

I wouldn't give up on NAMI - you may need to call them and be explicit about what you're looking for. I'm in Can., so it's different organizations but we have the Canadian Mental Health Agency that offers among other things support groups.

Also look for a mental health clubhouse. The last word is important, and that they be certified as a clubhouse. That's an international organization of mental health clubhouses that operate on the principle of recovery through meaningful activity. We have a clubhouse here in Toronto, and I'm a member and I love it. During the day, when you're there, you're expected to be doing some kind of work to keep the place operating - I usually work in the clerical section. They serve very low cost meals, and in the evenings and on weekends they offer social programming. Everyone is pretty high functioning, Not sure where you are in NJ, but there might be one in NYC, once the pandemic is over with.

Good luck.

splitimage