“I understand that at this point I am really only paying for a doctor to write a prescription. Honestly, I find it odd that a treatment for an emotional condition is boiled down to a handful of questions and given a 'score'. I have not been overly impressed with the thoroughness of my treatment, again, even if it is really only paying for someone who has the ability to prescribe. My interactions with my doctor have been brief and scripted. I do not feel like there has been any real depth to anything we've discussed.
Today I took a follow up assessment after a month of treatment, and now my score states that I am within normal limits for both depression and anxiety. I do not feel that this is even remotely correct. The questions that are asked seem to heavily focus on your more traditional depression symptoms, like sadness. While sadness is most certainly a key indicator of depression, the underlying mechanics of depression are based on lack, such as lack of happiness, lack of motivation, lack of peace. Sadness is a symptom of depression, not depression itself. The questions I saw today did not seem to account for this at all and appear to be geared towards someone who has little to no understanding of what makes depression tick. I may be severely depressed, but not ever describe myself as being sad or lonely. At the same time, I may suffer from extreme anxiety, but never describe it as worry. I have endured a lifetime of struggle at the hands of both depression and anxiety, and only recently have decided to seek medical treatment. This decision was largely made due to the fact that regardless of how much effort I put into positive tools and relationship, there was an underlying medical issue that CBT would never be able to fully correct.
I'll sum this up by saying this. Not everyone that seeks treatment for depression and anxiety is going to fit the cookie-cutter profile that seems to be catered to here. You need to put more effort into questions and care, so that they truly dig into what is happening in your patients lives and mind. I plan to continue treatment for now, but I have written a similar statement to my prescribing doctor in the hopes that they will take my treatment and symptoms more seriously.”
“It's kind of expensive per month just to pay $10 for the meds. I feel like I'm paying for the ability to pay someone else. American healthcare is jacked.”
“I don’t think the therapy portion is working for me, it’s too much emotional reflection and not enough processing and help getting through bad spots. There’s PTSD and experiences with my parents I signed up for brightside to get help with, and so far everything has been about processing feelings and how I interpret myself. I’m trying to stick with it, but I wish it was clearer that this was just for self help not getting help from outside factors.”
“Brightside has actually been more affordable for me without insurance than doing regular check ups with a specialist. As someone who gets really uncomfortable with the doctors office, the ability to have tele-doc services has been a game-changer as well.
Having my medication shipped right to me and not having to worry about going to a pharmacy has been nice as well, especially during COVID.
My only complaints:
* I felt my doctor could have asked me more questions before prescribing ny medication (our appointment felt rushed, lasting only 7 minutes) and he made a mistake with the ordering of my first prescription - he ordered the wrong one, and it was the one we had discussed me not wanting to take if at all possible. However, reordering the proper medication he had originally said was handled within a few days and all has been well since then.
* The questionnaires to track your progress could be more diverse and in-depth. Having a "journal" section for additional symptoms/how you're feeling would provide additional context to providers regarding how care is going and determine if they need to be in more frequent contact with patients regarding their care.
* Free resources for mindfulness, meditation, or de-escalating techniques would be helpful to establish healthy habits and would be a great plus, especially given the pricetag for paying out of pocket.”
“Still in the wait and see mode.
The assigned MD seemed to have some difficulty with the company software, when prescribing medication.
On the positive side, the response to customer service questions has been very fast.”
“I appreciate the care that I’ve been given and I think that Dr. Doss is a wonderful physician. He is kind and caring and really seems to want the best for me. The medication has been a Godsend, literally. I just wish there was a way to make it easier to refill my prescription, or at least get a refill to make it a little less stressful. It seems that at the end of the month I’m experiencing a higher level of anxiety based on getting my anti anxiety medicine refilled. Anyway, thank you so much for everything.”
