I am almost a year sober. I, like many people, choose to do sobriety outside the confines of AA. However that doesn’t mean I don’t wish I could meet sober people/there were meetings for people who don’t do AA. Does anyone else share the same sentiment or have any suggestions of alternative groups where you just discuss sober life?
Just as a disclaimer: I choose not to do AA because I am an extremely secular in my beliefs and like to base my recovery around principles of neuroplasticity and cognitive behavioural therapy. This is by no way me dismissing those who structure their recovery around AA - it’s just not for me. Please avoid the impulse to turn this into an AA vs Non AA debate.
SMART is CBT based. Personally I like Recovery Dharma, which is based on Buddhist principles but doesn’t require anyone to become a practising Buddhist. I’m an atheist.
Many behavioral health clinics here offer groups for meetings, typically led by a counselor and based on a cognitive approach. IOP/SOP groups and the like. One of the big ones here is Terro’s. I’d imagine if you got in touch with a rehab/behavioral health type of facility that they could usher you in the right direction
In some large cities sober bars are a thing. They serve mocktails rather than booze. They are for people who don’t drink. I’m also I’m Facebook groups that aren’t necessarily for people who don’t drink, but have sober people in them.
One of the hosts at TLC (The Luckiest Club) started Sans Bar serving just mock tails. I do AA and TLC meetings. TLC has people from all over the world. No dogma. See link below.
Near me, there is a recovery community centre. They host all sorts of activities, including SMART meetings, yoga classes, and sober community events. Might be worth checking out if there is something similar near you. If you see just looking for something social, looking for (or starting your own) sober meetup group could be an option.