Bariatric support group meeting.

I have never been big on support meetings. They do help a lot of people though. =)

I love my support group and go nearly every month even though it is a 2 hour drive. I have met lots of people who have been where I am and enjoy helping and encouraging those just starting their journey. We have different speakers each month on all sorts of topics.

I gave up on my local group.  The members just weren't in the same place I was - they weren't even dealing with the same issues.  Our backgrounds were so different it was hard to relate to each other.  I will say that many people who attended were getting ALOT out of it - I just wasn't one of them.   Instead, I see a therapist one-on-one every couple of weeks. 

I attend once a month like clockwork (yep I'm anal like that!).  Our meetings are broken down into two one hour sessions.  The first session is geared towards recent post ops with questions, predicments, etc.  As I listen, I enjoy being able to offer advice or to relish the journey I've had and remember from where I came.

The second hour is a behavior modification style class that is geared to those WLS (bypass, sleeve, etc), who are seeking more long-term behavior changes and who are not recently post-op.  This is the meeting that really helps me.  I can share, ask for advice, and ultimately realize I'm not going this alone.  This group is facilitated by the bariatric program's consulting psychiatrist and is always, always beneficial to me.

I attend a weekly meeting via phone and I attend an in person meeting once a month. I LOVE the support group meetings. They help me tremendously! Hearing from veterans and people a few weeks out are both of great benefit to me. I also really enjoy being in inspiration for new folks and being inspired by those further out. I always walk away feeling better and empowered and renewed from support group. I try my best not to miss them!

I do the same phone group as Kelly & LA, but in my first year postop I did the phone group AND a weekly in-person group. I think it's very beneficial, if simply by the act of dedicating yourself to connecting with others and keeping your plan on the brain. I occasionally pop in to the in-person group but got turned off by the sales reps/repetitive negative people/lack of focus on emotional support. The phone group has been way more focused on emotional support and smaller groups help you feel more connected...