Stew1984

Just been on the website and seen there are face to face meet up and an online meeting. How do I go about accessing the online meeting?

I did call the F2F meeting organiser for my area and he answered to confirm the meeting details for this week were correct but then I realised, there is something at work at that specific time that I can’t get out of- (big meeting, I’m responsible for an investigation and I need to be at this specific place at that time)

Therefore I want to do an online meet up ASAP. I’ve got an apple computer and my iPhone. Can I take part using one of these?

Any help much appreciated

Thank you

SoberLeigh

I don't know the answer to that, I'm afraid. The person that you spoke to previously may be able to help you.

JayTee33

Hi Stew,

I just did my first online Smart Recovery meeting last week. If you go to this link: https://www.smartrecovery.org/community/calendar.php you will see a calendar of all upcoming remote meetings - either text meetings or voice meetings. I have only done text meetings. You click on the meeting you're interested in, and when the facilitator starts the meeting, a button will appear to enter the meeting. The text meetings are basically like a private chat room. I haven't done the voice meetings, so not sure how they work.

Good luck, hope you find the meetings useful.

JT

andyh

hi Stew,

there is a schedule of online meetings here:

https://www.smartrecovery.org/community/calendar.php

if you click on the one you want to attend 30 minutes before it's due to start, there will be a link to take you to the meeting.

the US meetings fill up fast & have a limit on how many can attend, so you need to get in early. you also need to have registered a username/password on the smartrecovery.org website.

the UK meetings tend to be smaller & don't have a limit on attendees. you also don't need to register unless you need a verification.

you're probably better using your apple computer - the SMART meeting software doesn't work very well on mobile devices. you will probably be prompted to install some Abobe software - Flash and/or Connect - the first time you access a meeting, but it's easy enough to do.

do give it a try - SMART is a great program

Andy

Anna

You've gotten some great informative responses here, Stewy. Let us know how the meeting goes for you.

SoberLeigh

It is really great to see you being proactive, Stewy! Love it.

Dee74

Its a step forward Stewy - let us know how it goes

D

Sophie11

Hi Stewy,
Last week I did my first online SMART meeting using my IPhone. I needed to download Adobe connect. If you use their forums (on the SMART webpage) the moderators are usually pretty good at responding so I’d try them if you’ve got technical issues? I hope you manage to attend one: I was a bit skeptical but found it hugely useful and will definitely be doing more....
-Sophie
PS should probably mention that I’m in the UK so if you’re across the pond things might be a bit different...

Delilah1

Glad you are looking into SMART meetings Stewy, looking forward to hearing how it goes.

Berrybean

Probably worth calling the organiser back to say you can't attend the meeting as well. If the meeting spaces get taken fast it'd be a shame if you being given a space you haven't any intention of using stops someone else getting to a meeting.

BB

Stew1984

I’ve made some amendments to my work schedule tomorrow to enable me to attend the F2F smart recovery meeting. Hopefully it is a recurring meeting. If so it is going to be a priority for me every week.

Unfortunately I have not managed to make things stick with my daily drinking. That said, I feel that attendance to a meeting, speaking with others affected and sharing what works is a big step forward particularly because I’ve been shunning that for ages. It may unlock the door for me to enable me to get out of this mess.

I’m a bit worried about my skin. Last few days, been really itchy, going to get app with GP and ask about it- may be totally unrelated to drinking. I became paranoid the other day I had cirrhosis. If not now, I would have if I don’t bring this nonsense to a halt asap

SoberLeigh

Really good to hear that you are going to a F2F meeting, Stewy.

SoberLeigh

And please sure to be honest with your doctor about your drinking. He/she could be a great ally/partner in your recovery.

time2shineagain

Good luck Stewy. I agree with Leigh...being completely honest with your GP is a must. A blood test to check your liver function may put your mind at ease. You are correct, even if your liver function is perfectly fine, you need to stop drinking as alcoholism is progressive and this will only get worse. Support to you

2muchpain

Happy to hear you are ready for some F2F support. John

Stephan2018

Glad you're going to the F2F meeting, Stew. I'm interested in SMART (F2F or online) so will be interested to hear what you think.

Don't sweat the lapse. That's done. What matters is what you do going forward. The meeting seems a great next step. Good for you!

REM700

I attended my first SMART intro meeting yesterday. They offer quite a lot of tools for recovery. I had no idea where to start, but now have a foundation to build on. Constantly fighting urges and staying sober is one thing, but for me, learning to accept and effectively deal with daily problems or urges sounds a lot easier than willpower alone.

CreativeThinker

Hey Stewy- How did the meeting go?

Stew1984

Sorrr I made a post earlier and on checking, it did not go through (think I was having some connection problems earlier)

I went to the smart meeting. When I got there everyone was very welcoming and the first half of the meeting consisted of everyone giving a progress update. It was a mixed bag really but I felt the humility in the room, that we are all affected by this problem on all different levels. That made it easier to share my story. It felt good to share, to feel part of a group of adults troubled by the same sorts of things. The chair person told me it is an abstinence based recovery programme- I explained this is what I need (not moderation).

I still need to read more online about it all. The meeting is recurring every Wednesday so I will be making it a weekly priority to get there. It is peer support and being on my own with this has not worked so I appreciate the company. I took the information leaflets at the end and will research online.

I’m proud of myself that I went, this is a forward step for me to finally tackle the addiction demons. I was reassured to feel that addiction to alcohol is something that can affect any one if us at any time- there were people there that were from all different backgrounds and it felt warm and a safe place to talk.

I’m looking forward to next week and to be able to feed back some progress. It’s a start, I know my recovery programme this time out needs to be much improved from previous attempts

Thank you for looking out for me and for not giving up on me

Dee74

I'm glad you went SR - Sounds like it good be a good tool in your recovery toolbox.
what other tools are you looking at using?

D