Sometimes, you just need to let it out without the fear of judgment and feel supported; to know you are not the only one struggling and interact with others who get you. Getting professional help is great but often it may not be what you need.
Supportiv is an app that was created to provide that support exactly at the time you need it most. It recently has received a grant from Columbia University’s Tamer Fund for Social Ventures, to help provide users with connections to individuals and groups to help them work through issues. So far, Supportiv has helped over 48,000 users find the assistance and support they seek.
Free to download, the app does charge $0.15/minute to join a support group. That comes out to just $9/hr, which is much more economical than going to a therapist. Plus, you get the interaction when you need it, not when there’s an opening for an appointment.
Once you download the app, you will see how easy it is to use. You simply go to the screen where you can enter what your concerns, feelings, issues are, and you can even categorize them using the various button listed: School, Family, Work, and more. Once you enter what the issue is, the app uses a highly sophisticated AI algorithm to determine which support group will best provide guidance and reassurance. The support groups are human-moderated and are composed of others dealing with the same life struggle
The app also comes equipped with self-help links, so you can be in control of your emotions and situations. Everyone has something they are stressed about, the key is knowing how to process the issue and react to it. Studies has shown that sharing thoughts, feelings and concerns helps people feel like they are not alone in their struggle and will help them work through it. Communicating with others also helps people learn about how others are dealing with issues similar to theirs and provides new ways to cope. Users may also become helpers to others without even knowing it!
The self-help exercises are what got me hooked, because there’s nothing like preventive care to keep you going. Sometimes you need that reminder to just let go and acknowledge that there’s an issue, because suppressing it or denying it can only make the problem worse. In this day and age of social media and turbulent times, it’s extremely important to keep in touch with your emotions and not let them get out of control.
In addition to engaging with others to get support, you can post your feelings, totally anonymously. This makes Supportiv a great outlet for journaling your feelings whenever you feel the need to do so. This release of information and thoughts helps release the tension inside.
What I would love to see in future updates is the ability to download the analytics that the app keeps on your data, so you can see how you have changed over the last month and what you can do to change things.
Supportiv is a super app for getting to know yourself better and get the help you need to tackle any type of life struggle you may be facing.