Dealing with any type of illness is not only tough physically, but it can also have a very emotional and mentally-draining effect on anyone, including family members and friends.

Support systems and communities can offer those with mental and physical illnesses a wide variety of benefits, from encouragement and friendship, to providing information and ways to cope.

Online communities have been increasingly popular as people look for resources and support that may not be available in their local area or ways to find support that’s available 24/7.

That’s exactly the mission behind the website Inspire.com.

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Inspire: A community to share resources & support

Here’s how Inspire.com describes its mission on the website:

Members connect across time and space: around the globe 24 hours a day/ 7 days a week.  They are resources for each other sharing health information and support without regard to location, background or status.  Together they reduce the feelings of isolation experienced by those with chronic conditions, cancer, rare diseases.

Members of Inspire have access to a variety of resources, information and support — including the following online resources:

• Nonprofit advocacy community partners: Our Exclusive Partnerships support the community within each specific medical condition category.
• Connect panel: Patients and caregivers can connect with others who understand what they’re going through by joining, messaging and adding others as friends.
• Discussion feed: Each member’s homepage feed quickly displays the latest content being discussed in his/her community.
• Expert moderation: Inspire’s moderators 24/7 vigilance maintains our supportive, caring, secure community.
• Resources: Partners offer valuable resources to members.

The goal of Inspire is to bring people together who are experiencing difficult health situations, particularly those with rare diseases or a specific type of cancer that may not be very common or well-known.

People feel safe and are able to be authentic, share and explore feelings and learn about their medical journey from people who have ‘been there,'” Inspire says on its website. “Through the trust built in community and the power of relationships, our members become empowered as patients and are much more engaged in their health decision process.”

To learn more, check out Inspire.com.