According to ONS data from April 2025, 18 per cent of all adults in the UK suffered moderate to severe depressive symptoms.
Figures from the Priory Group suggest that, in any given week, one in six adults in the UK experiences a common mental health problem, such as depression or anxiety. And the British Medical Association states that “The estimation* of the prevalence of common mental disorders (for example, anxiety or depression) amongst adults aged 16-64, for example, had risen from 17.6 per cent in 2007 to 22.6 per cent in 2023/4,” based on the latest information available.
Whatever the stats, the grim reality is that depression is on the rise in the UK and has been for some time. With the beleaguered NHS struggling to align demand for mental health services with strapped resources, the problem will only continue to deepen.
Is there anything that can be done on a personal level to help combat depression that doesn’t involve anti-depressants? The NHS recommends natural methods to manage depressive moods, such as socialising, exercising, routine, a healthy diet, and moderate alcohol consumption. Other basic but effective suggestions include meditation or something as simple as getting into nature.
However, now there’s also this: a clinically proven, medication-free treatment for depression. The tDCS Flow Depression Treatment Headset from Flow Neuroscience.
Clinically backed
Okay, you’re cynical, I can see that. After all, we’re essentially talking about a magic hat that claims to ease depressive symptoms without antidepressants.
So, let’s go through it all, starting with: what is it, exactly? Technically, it’s a home-based transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) treatment device. In laymans, it’s a headset that uses a non-invasive procedure to deliver a weak electrical current that stimulates an area of the brain called the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), a common target for depression.
By doing so, it influences neurotransmitter production and helps improve mood regulation, thereby easing the symptoms associated with depression. It does this 10 weeks of daily use, letting you monitor the likes of your mood, sleep, appetite, and concentration levels via the companion app.
In clinical trials, most users started seeing improvements after three weeks, but research recommends that at least six months (or up to 12 months in some cases) of use after successful treatment can be vital in preventing the brain from returning to depressive patterns.
Backed by the NHS
The device is already being used by four NHS trusts across Northamptonshire, Leicestershire and West London, with each one independently publishing their findings. In October 2024, the largest clinical trial into tDCS in the UK and US was published by the peer-reviewed medical journal Nature Medicine.
In the trial, the placebo-controlled Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) was carried out by Kings College London, the University of East London and UTHealth Houston, the results speaking for themselves, with patients who used Flow for 10 weeks found to be twice as likely to see their depression go into remission than those in the control group who performed the same ritual with the current switched off.
Trying the kit in real-world conditions
To try it, the good people at Flow sent me their tDCS Headset Starter Kit. This consists of the headset, a charger and cable, 10 weeks’ worth of electrode pads, and a quick start guide, with which to test it.
However, my mental health is actually reasonable, so I had a chat with a close friend who had been suffering with key depression symptoms. They agreed to try the system and report back on perceived progress at regular intervals. I’ll call them patient ‘X’.
Initially, despite being as sceptical as we all were some paragraphs ago, X was willing to give the Flow the benefit of the doubt. Recommended usage is five times a week for the first week, in periods of 30 minutes, the ‘Activation Phase’, then reduced to just two times per week in the ‘Stabilisation Phase’. Finally, in the ‘Maintenance Phase’ entered from week 10, you can continue with two sessions per week or increase them as deemed necessary.
An analytical person by nature, the Flow app held the most interest for X, walking them through the actual Brain Stimulations sessions, while also providing ample information via charts on progress over the course of the scheduled stimulation sessions. It also offers a range of courses on how to reverse the depression cycle, meditation, exercising the brain, how diet can help, and better sleep patterns, which X ‘dabbled’ in, time permitting.
Completing the 10-week program in October 2025, X noticed a marked improvement in general mood, focus and enhanced, what you might call, joie de vivre around four weeks in, followed by improved circadian rhythm around week six, leading to decreased anxiety.
With these clear improvements achieved, X dropped down to two weekly sessions and continues to benefit from using the Flow Neuroscience system today, when deemed necessary.
I’m also pleased to report that the difference in X’s disposition over that time was clear to me during our weekly socials, with mood boosted back to a place that was undeniably more “them” again.
* Due to a cyber incident affecting various mental health service providers, some indicators between August 2022 and March 2023 use estimated data provided by NHS England.
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Flow Neuroscience tDCS Headset
You can’t argue with the science, or at least you shouldn’t. And you most definitely cannot argue with the clinical findings of the NHS, King's College London, the University of East London and UTHealth Houston when it comes to the undeniable effectiveness of tDCS and the Flow Neuroscience headset in combating the symptoms of depression.
While I concede my own testing procedure may have lacked in the expert nuances of those named above, it was unquestionably ‘real-world’, and I can attest to the results, having witnessed a weight being incrementally and very visually lifted from off the shoulders of a friend over the space of a little over two months.
As an alternative to medication, the Flow Neuroscience tDCS Headset makes perfect sense, and combined with regular socialisation, exercise, sticking to a routine, keeping to a healthy diet, and following all the other advice offered by the NHS, depression can be controlled and possibly even sent into remission.
Available to buy for £399, or rent at £79 per month, it’s okay not to be okay, but now there’s a medically proven, drug-free way to get back to being your old self.
Buy now £399.00, Flow Neuroscience
