Julia Santos, a recent college graduate living in a new city, has struggled with anxiety for a long time. When several recent life changes and the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated her anxiety symptoms, she knew she could benefit from proven mental health care. Thankfully, her company offered Daylight as a covered benefit, and she was eager to try it out.
Q1: When did you begin experiencing anxiety?
A1 | Julia: I’ve always considered myself an anxious person, but especially in recent years as I’ve had a lot of major transitions. I recently graduated from college, moved to a new city and started a new job. On top of all that, I moved during the COVID-19 pandemic, so it has been challenging to navigate all of these changes happening in my life in addition to the added stressors COVID-19 brings.
Q2: How did you find out about Daylight?
A2 | Julia: Daylight was offered by my new company as part of our benefits package. I had previously seen an in-person therapist in the past, but was excited to see this app as another option that was free and convenient. Finding a therapist that’s a good fit can be challenging, especially during COVID-19. Daylight turned out to be a great fit.
Q3: How was your experience using Daylight?
A3 | Julia: Daylight was incredibly easy to use and I especially enjoyed the minimal time commitment – I could complete a session in 5-10 minutes when I was feeling anxious or stressed. My favorite technique was the tense & release. Sometimes I feel myself becoming very tense and not being able to concentrate, but remembering that I can take a minute to do an exercise has made all the difference to let my body feel that intense emotion and then just let it go.
Q4: How is your anxiety now?
A4 | Julia: I’ve seen a lot of improvement. Although I don’t need to use the solution as regularly anymore, I continue to use the techniques learned whenever I feel myself getting anxious or overwhelmed. I’ve recommended Daylight to many of my co-workers who are in similar situations!
Q5: How has lessened anxiety impacted your day-to-day life?
A5 | Julia: Thanks to the techniques learned through Daylight, I feel like I’m more in control of my anxiety. Scheduling certain times to stress and worry about things allows me to focus more on work and other activities throughout the day and I feel more present. I’m so appreciative of Daylight and my company for offering this as a benefit when I was overwhelmed with the many changes a new stage of life brings, and I know I’ll continue to use the tools provided.
Daylight is a digital medicine app for managing anxiety. It’s based on proven cognitive behavioral techniques, and is developed by clinical psychologists and researchers. By spending just 10 minutes per day with Daylight’s structured, responsive program, you could see improvements within a few weeks — in a clinical trial, 71% of participants recovered from clinical levels of anxiety in 10 weeks.
Disclaimer: Daylight is available as an adjunct to usual medical care for generalized anxiety disorder for adults ages 18 and older, without FDA review under their COVID-19 policy.
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