(Courtesy of Abigayle Peterson)
Like many of us, 19-year-old mental health advocate Abigayle Peterson has been searching for a little more kindness and encouragement lately.
Combined with her love of computer science, Abby got to work on creating something to help.
“I chose to code Magnify Wellness because I know how rejection, loneliness, and anxiety feels,” she said. “I know how it feels to not know where to find the right mental health resources! So, I decided to use my passion for computer science to code a completely free mental health app.”
Magnify Wellness is an app dedicated to helping its users improve their mental health through a range of features including a journal, mood check-in, therapeutic chatbot, and more. Abby admitted the process hasn’t been entirely easy, though.
“The technical process was very challenging because I did the programming all myself,” she said. “The publishing process for the IOS App Store was excruciatingly hard because I needed to also do that myself.”
Despite the challenges she’s faced, Abby realizes the impact that can be made on others through her app as well as the impact it has had on herself.
“Working on Magnify Wellness has made me feel empowered and confident in my abilities to create a more positive future. I have realized that I am worthy of everything that comes my way and that I can truly use my coding talents to help those who can’t help themselves,” she said. “I hope Magnify Wellness users can feel like they will always have something to turn to when feeling lonely, sad, anxious or anything in between. You are never alone!”
Additionally, Abby recognizes the significance her own mental health journey has had on her work as an advocate as well as the significance of the topic overall.
“My mental wellness journey from being a shy, insecure girl to a fearless woman in tech shaped the way I use my voice and talents. Prior for coding Magnify, I doubted myself and my abilities to create impact that actually mattered. After meeting incredible, like-minded friends who made me feel like I was worthy, I decided to just go for it! Through Magnify, I aspire to continually amplify others to pursue their dreams despite negativity and self-doubt from others.”
She continued, “Mental wellness advocacy is important because our entire lives are dictated by our brain. So, mental health is about the relationship between us and our brain. We need to closely care for our mind because everything stems from that and advocate that its ok not to be ok. Without advocating for mental health, we are advocating for insecurity and a lot of other negative emotions without reasoning behind these emotions. We are human after all.”
Abby hopes that those who want to advocate for mental health and resource equality will see the importance of it. “I would say that it’s amazing they are contributing to such an important matter! Use your passions to drive the purpose, mine was computer science through a mobile app!”
Find out more about Magnify Wellness here, on Instagram at magnify app , and download the app for iOS devices.
