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Entries by Melissa Chefec

7 Signs Your Partner Is Being Unfairly Critical of You

By Adam Bulger, Sept 14, 2022 “An unfair criticism would be to see a mistake as a personality flaw,” California couples therapist Emily Heard says, adding that words like ‘never’ and ‘always’ can be red flags of conflating behavior with character. Click HERE for the full article.

Are You TikTok Tired? Here’s How to Stop Scrolling and Reclaim More Zs

By Beth Ann Mayer, Sept 13, 2022 This research doesn’t surprise Dr. Alex Dimitriu, double board certified in Psychiatry and Sleep Medicine and founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine and BrainfoodMD. “The behavior of ‘search and find,’ especially with food, has been shown to keep sleep-deprived mice awake endlessly,” Dimitriu says. “This makes evolutionary sense — finding […]

Strategies for Coping with Overwhelming Parenting Stress

By Shannon M. Bauer, Sept 12, 2022 While the time at home brought certain benefits to some families, others have felt a lack of balance in work and in life since the beginning of the pandemic. Jeff Leininger, a psychiatric nurse practitioner at Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine in California says for many, the pandemic also […]

10 Minutes? 20 Seconds? Doesn’t Matter. ‘Micro-breaks’ from Work Are Healthy

By David Rossiaky, Aug 31, 2022 Dr. Alex Dimitriu, founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine in California and BrainfoodMD, says the basic strategy is movement. “Get up, walk around, stretch, do push-ups,” he told Healthline. “Getting vertical and moving around is good to get blood flowing and has always been the healthiest use of even […]

Our Picks for the 6 Best Online Psychiatry Platforms of 2022

By Vanessa Ling, ND, CNS, Aug 31, 2022 Psychiatry and psychology can both be a part of your optimal treatment plan, and some online therapy platforms combine therapy with psychiatry. Board-certified psychiatrist Alex Dimitriu, M.D., explains how psychiatry and psychology can work together, stating, “Some people may be “stuck” in therapy for years if a biological problem […]

Health Problems Linked to Untreated Narcolepsy

By Erica Patino, Aug 25, 2022 To understand how narcolepsy can impact your health, it helps to first take a look at how the condition can affect the body. “Narcolepsy is [thought to be an]autoimmune disorder resulting from the loss of orexin neurons in the brain,” says Alex Dimitriu, MD, founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry and Sleep Medicine […]

What Sleep Experts Say About Night Terrors (and Why We Have Them)

By Amanda Capritto, Aug 25, 2022 Night terrors and nightmares both involve sleep and fear, but they differ in a couple of ways. One key difference is the time at which they happen, says Dr. Alex Dimitriu, psychiatrist and sleep physician at Menlo Park Psychiatry and Sleep Medicine.  Nightmares are scary dreams that usually occur during REM sleep, which […]

What is Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorder?

By Laurie Saloman, Aug 25, 2022 “Symptoms can present ranging from paranoid thoughts to finding meaning and connections where there aren’t any to the more classic auditory hallucinations,” says Alex Dimitriu, MD, a board-certified psychiatrist and sleep medicine expert and founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine in Menlo Park, California. “While these varied symptoms […]

Be It Happy or Sad Songs, Music Before Bed Could Mean Better Sleep

By Lo Styx, Aug 23, 2022 Psychiatrist Alex Dimitriu, MD, who specializes in sleep medicine, notes that music is a fairly powerful emotional tool. This means it can also be an effective distraction for racing thoughts while trying to fall asleep. Studies have shown that playing music at bedtime can encourage the physical and mental tranquility necessary […]

Mouth Taping: What to Know About This Dangerous TikTok Trend

By Beth Ann Mayer, Aug 19, 2022 So, though mouth taping proponents may say it helps with breathing, Dimitriu warns it will likely have the opposite effect. “It’s…important to note that laying down tends to make the nose more congested,” Dimitriu says. “Sometimes, people will breathe well nasally when upright, then worse when laying flat. This is […]

Brain Fatigue, Poor Decision Making Capacity Linked To Overthinking, Researchers Say

By Shreyashi Chakraborty, Aug 15, 2022 Noting that glutamate levels tend to plunge during nap time, Dimitriu asked people to catch more sleep to fight cognitive fatigue. “Think it starts with sleep the night before and sleep in general. Sleep is fundamental and I think getting enough of it regularly is probably the best way to […]

Brain Fatigue, Poor Decision Making Capacity Linked To Overthinking, Researchers Say

By Shreyashi Chakraborty, Aug 12 2022 To address the problem, Dr. Alex Dimitriu, a notable psychologist and the founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine in California and BrainfoodMD, told Healthline that an individual needs to find the root cause at first. “See how you’re feeling on the weekend if you’re not working. It’s important to understand […]

The Long Journey to Overcoming Codependency

By Rachel Crowe, Aug 12, 2022 Tom Adams, M.D., part of the team at Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine in California, attributes childhood emotional neglect as the prototype for future codependency. “As humans, we are born with instincts to attach strongly to our caregivers,” Adams explained. “When caregivers convey, intentionally or not, that their own needs […]

If Not Hypochondria, You May Be Living With Somatic Symptom Disorder

By Helen Massy, August 11, 2022 “Essentially, somatic [symptom] disorder suggests a high level of preoccupation with either a real or undiagnosed set of symptoms, which cause significant distress and some degree of life impairment,” said Alex Dimitriu, M.D., who is board-certified in psychiatry and sleep medicine, and founded Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine in California […]

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