Support Groups Are The New Meta?

23m quit drinking a couple years ago. Since getting sober, I would say my life has probably gotten significantly worse on most mental health frontiers. I discovered that the only thing worse that blacking out every night, is being alone every night.

I had a large friend group, was having lots of sex, and felt a great sense of community and social fulfillment. The only problem was the hangovers.

I never considered relapse (still don’t), but with my social lubricant gone, my desire to socialize disappeared aswell. I’ve been lonely AND antisocial for the past couple years, which is an awkward mental stalemate, but then this idea popped into my head.

I’m technically “in recovery”, so maybe I’ll just pop into an AA meeting and see what happens.

I’ll tell you: Free therapy, judgement free venting, social support, legitimate friends, and mentorship. It’s ironically quite addictive. The 12 steps are somewhat optional, but if you can get past any “god” issues, it’s honestly just practical Buddhism. I’d love to start sponsoring other guys when I’m at that level, and I’m at the age where I could probably pull off a “older-brother” vibe and really help out some younger dudes who are struggling.

Important note 1: Don’t lie about being an addict, but there are so many of these groups nowadays (smoking/drugs/porn/gambling) everyone will have access to something.

Important note 2: You also have to commit to actually quitting, but that’s a small price to pay.

Important note 3: Do not use this for any romantic pursuits, and trial out multiple groups/sponsors before making any decisions on mentorship.

TLDR: This has to be the new meta. “Male loneliness epidemic”, I figured it out, shove all these guys in AA.