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The Mighty Launches Direct Messaging to Give Community Members Another Way to Connect

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What happened: You asked, The Mighty answered. On Thursday, The Mighty launched Direct Messaging for app users, allowing community members a new way to connect with each other. You now have a safe place to build on the friendships you’ve found through The Mighty as well as give and get support for your health journey.

“I am so excited to bring Direct Messaging to Mighties!” said Kat Harrison, The Mighty’s community content manager. “It’s been our most requested feature since we launched our social platform in October 2018. This new feature will allow people with shared health experiences to foster deeper connections and directly exchange helpful links, memes and more.”

Introducing Mighty Direct Messaging!

The Frontlines: Direct Messaging allows Mighty users to get even more peer support from others who get what it’s like to live with a health condition. Research shows that peer support can go a long way.

  • Several studies found that having dedicated peer support before, during or after hospitalization reduced the number of days people spent in the hospital and lowered the likelihood of a re-hospitalization later
  • Having peer support along with traditional treatments for mental health can reduce symptoms more effectively than care as usual as well as help people stick with treatment
  • Additional research suggests peer support can increase “whole health,” including physical and mental health and even social factors such as community connection, employment and more

A Mighty Voice: Our contributor, Nicole Yee, shared just how powerful being able to connect with others with similar health and disability experiences was for her. “Peer support has helped me in ways the medical system couldn’t,” Yee wrote, adding:

It helped me to accept myself and take pride in my identity. It has introduced me to a community where I feel accepted and welcome. It has validated my identity, thoughts, feelings and experiences. It has given me a platform to make positive changes in my community. It has showed me alternative options and resources to explore. It has been instrumental in my personal recovery process.

Other things to know: Whether it’s our platform, a group or the comments on our articles, The Mighty works hard to provide a safe, supportive community. You can expect the same when you use Direct Messaging, thanks to several features that will sound familiar if you already spend time on The Mighty. Here are the major ones Harrison shared:

  • Messages can only be exchanged by people who follow each other
  • You can customize your notifications, end a conversation at any time as well as report specific users and messages to Mighty staff
  • We’ve also built a Mighty Support System with categorized resources including hotlines, warmlines, directories, digital toolkits and more

It’s the safe Mighty experience you know and love, but with true peer-to-peer support and conversation. — Kat Harrison, The Mighty’s community content manager

Where to start: Direct Messaging is available to users of our iOS or Android apps. Once you’ve downloaded The Mighty app, you can find Direct Messaging by clicking on the Inbox button at the bottom menu in the app. From there, you can connect directly with other Mighties. To learn more about Direct Messaging on The Mighty, visit the user guide here.

Originally published: November 6, 2020
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