Social Clubs/Events to Make Connections

[iron bison]

Hello once again, this is my third day in a row writing a post here but I am happy to say that it’s not about any mentality or confidence issue. I woke up today feeling way better than the last 2 days and I would just like to thank everyone that took the time to respond to me as I was in that negative state. With that being said, there are two things that I was able to take away from all the responses I received across multiple servers:
I need to be more social and build a social circle / support group
I should probably get a therapist

Now, I am a bit on the fence regarding the therapist suggestion and I guess I would just like to follow-up on that with you guys if you think therapy would help and if so in what way. I’m honestly just looking for justification for the $200 per session as my company’s health insurance doesn’t cover that, meaning I would have to be paying out of pocket. Any cost-efficient solutions are also appreciated.

As for the top takeaway, I took the time researching last night across Google, Meetup, Eventbrite, and Instagram various events and clubs in my area that I would be potentially interested in attending and found the following:

• In-Person Speed Dating
• Online Speed Dating
• Online Board Game meetups (recurring weekly I think?)
• In-Person Board Game meetup at a biergarten (recurring every 2 weeks)
• Indoor Pickleball League (once a week for 7 weeks)
• Murder Mystery Night (one-time)
• Speed Friending (one-time)
• Game Night Social (one-time from what I saw but supposedly recurs every 2 weeks)
  I spent some time watching videos regarding speed dating and it seems pretty mixed so I’m not sure about those but everything else seems pretty intriguing. One thing to note is that everything on this list, except the board game meetups, has an admission fee of around $20-$30, and the Pickleball Leagues costs ($200) to play. I just wanted to ask you guys what you think the best events would be for me to really make connections, both platonic and romantic and if possible would you be able to rank them?

[tame wraith]

Great job getting a step further

There are peer groups with free support around aswell I reckon. 200 a sesh is heaps. dont.

First assesment with a therapist can get you on a direct way because they know what to refer, that shouldnt cost anything.