New research from the makers of a headset designed to curb depression suggests ‘lockdown loneliness’ and its impact on mental health is as high as 27% in the UK.
Flow, which offers a headset and therapy app treatment for depression which is medically approved in the UK, aims to tackle ‘lockdown loneliness’ and mental health outcomes by providing immediate, at-home access to treatment.
Patients wear a brain stimulation headset, while using a behavioural therapy app, which improves areas known to impact depression, including sleep and nutrition.
Its results suggests that 49% to 70% of respondents reported feeling isolated, and people meeting clinical criteria for depression were almost twice as likely to be lonely.
The company claims 81% of patients using the headset and therapy app reported feeling better after three weeks, while 34% reported mood improvement and 32% reported anxiety reduction.
The type of brain stimulation used in the Flow headset (tDCS) has been shown in clinical randomised controlled trials, including New England Journal of Medicine and the British Journal of Psychiatry, to have a similar impact to antidepressants, but with fewer and less-severe side effects.
Daniel Mansson, clinical psychologist and co-founder of Flow said “As England is once again in lockdown, it’s important that people can get immediate access to effective therapy. Our clear treatment pathway empowers those most vulnerable to loneliness during these times to take control and self-manage their depression with a drug-free treatment from the comfort of their home.”