Flow - Depression treatment

I have now had 16 sessions and am so glad I bent the plastic to buy this device The acid test will come in weeks to come but I understand I am able to have two sessions a week for another year at least I am 67 and have suffered with depression from an extremely early age, can remember clearly the feeling of sadness at 3 years old…. It’s never too late to try and help yourself and make changes

This worked for me. The effect was almost instant. It’s made a profound difference to my life.

if you are struggling with depression Flow neuroscience is twice as effective as pharmaceutical antidepressants but if you really want bang your back, make sure you use this app and to all the courses

As someone with decades long depression I’ve had great results using Flow. I highly recommend trying it, with a money back guarantee you’ve nothing to lose!

The app and device are quite good, it’s really great at the start because it really helps to guide your treatment But after you have been using it for a year or so like me, a lot of the inbuilt features start to become annoying. A depression quiz with no way to cancel it feels unnecessary once a week at this point, nothing has really changed, I have reached the peak of the treatment. I find myself spamming answers just to skip the the treatment step without reading them, I imagine others would do the same. Restricting usage to x number of days in a given period. Again this should have some kind of override in the options. I have no doubt that flow neuroscience have done their research and determined for whatever reasons that their schedule is best. But according to my own research it is safe to use TDCS daily, having completed the course it would be nice if there was an option to de restrict usage more. Also i always put on the pads before switching it on automatically, then it makes me take off the headset, take off the pads, put the pads back on, put on the headset. Whoever made that thing with the ‘attach pads now’ should be banished to the fifth circle of hell! (Joking of course but it is very annoying!) TL;DR it’s great for people starting out with TDCS for depression but for long term users, a lot of the training wheels end up becoming a time wasting hindrance. Solution: have an options menu which unlocks after the course has been completed which gives you more freedom over your usage of the device.

I am now on my 5th session of Flow. I decided to try Flow as I was already on antidepressant medications and due to family issues was also suffering from an amount of stress. Together they we’re getting on top of me. I have followed the app during my period of stimulation, and have also followed the dietary advice and so far made small changes in my behaviour and doing different things as advised. I realised that my lack of interest in food was probably exacerbating my feelings of lack of self worth . As of today I am feeling brighter, getting up earlier in a morning, eating proper food and the world doesn’t seem as dark. I look forward to seeing what I feel like after the next set of 5 treatments.

The website said my headset would take 1-2 days to arrive, but it ended up taking 12 days. Dissapointed they weren’t honest about how long dispatch and delivery would take. I’d really hoped the headset and therapy would help, but sadly they’ve had no noticeable effect

I have changed my rating from 1 star to 4 stars. This is due to a change in how they offer their equipment. I feel it is now much fairer and gives a great choice to the buyer/patient/customer. In addition the app is free for all users, regardless of whether or not you have purchased the Tdcs device from them. This is very good of them and the quality of the app/therapy is high. PREVIOUS REVIEW Unfortunately like many companies they have just moved to a Subscription based model. This means they now charge a £175 up front cost for the actual device . Then a ‘treatment’ course which varies in cost and duration (2 months=£64, 6 months= £132, 12months = £192). (Which is essentially paying to turn the device on and undertake app-based CBT, which is a reasonable-though costly program ) they move you onto a ‘maintenance’ program (£23 per month-allows you to use the device twice a week ) which is compulsory or the device which you have already paid for is deactivated. See quote from their site: “ **After the care programme ends, you will be automatically enrolled in a follow-up maintenance care (2 stimulations per week) at the standard care rate of £23 / month. We will notify you of the automatic enrollment at least 2 weeks prior to the end of the care programme. After this, you can terminate the subscription at any time through Flow customer support. In case of termination, your Flow headset will be deactivated, and you will not be able to use it for further stimulation sessions until you renew your subscription.”** If you are depressed and desperate you may miss this change to their approach. I think it is very sad and unfortunate that they treat vulnerable customers/patients this way. I hope they change their policy, or, as with so many others who have treated their uses a bit like cash cows I’m sure the company will steadily suffer, and fade away.

The app is filled with CBT courses that you can browse and go through at your own pace. Pretty much all courses are self explanatory and don’t offer much in terms of knowledge or insight to a severely depressed patient. Furthermore, the headset gave me major discomfort and a very bad burning sensation that caused me to remove it. Terrible product and mediocre application too.

This app is brilliant for being free. If you keep going with it and have a bit of motivation yourself, it’s a really good way to start fighting depression. I hope in the future they expand it to deal with anxiety, panic disorder even more specific mental health problems like OCD. I didn’t try the headset so I can’t comment on whether that’s an additional help or not.