Blog

By Dr. Alex Dimitriu Checking your phone for the 10th time this hour? You can learn a lot about yourself through observing this simple habit. People with ADHD and anxiety share the common element of impulse control. They can both be “bingey,” – and check their phones or do other things repeatedly. Shiny! Understanding the […]

June 22, 2023 Dr. Dimitriu was published in Psychology Today in an article titled: Better Deep Sleep May Delay or Prevent Alzheimer’s Disease Quality deep sleep may compensate for the cognitive dysfunction and memory impairment of Alzheimer’s disease and could become the target of future therapies, especially in early and mild cases of the disorder. That is […]

April 27, 2023 Dr. Dimitriu was published in Psychology Today in an article titled: Ape to Angel: The Developmental Stages of AI I work as a psychiatrist and sleep specialist in Silicon Valley and have always had a deep interest in technology and human-computer interaction. Through the lens of human development, I believe we can […]

January 25, 2023 Dr. Dimitriu was published in Psychology Today in an article titled: The Merger of Artificial Intelligence and Psychiatry Psychiatry is an art and a science, and artificial intelligence may provide tools to allow it to better understand what makes us tick. True to this duality, I have always loved working with people […]

December 6, 2022 Dr. Dimitriu was published in Psychology Today in an article titled: How Anxiety and Fatigue Can Have Us ‘Walking in Circles’ Being anxious makes you tired, and being tired makes you anxious (and sleep more poorly). In my work as a sleep doctor and a psychiatrist, I am amazed to see how […]

July 12, 2022 Dr. Dimitriu was published in Psychology Today in an article titled: Latest Study Says 7 Hours Magic Number for Healthy Sleep When it comes to sleep, seven may be the new magic number. Authors of a large population study, published in an April 2022 issue of Nature, indicated seven hours of daily […]

By Dr. Alex Dimitriu, Mar 17, 2022 Top tips for consumers about managing medication costs Consider generic medication if possible to lower costs Check on GoodRx.com to find the best prices and pharmacies for meds When a generic request is denied due to prior authorization, ask about the cash price Pay cash over using insurance when […]

January 13, 2022 Dr. Dimitriu was published in Psychology Today in an article titled: ADHD: All About Power, Paradox, and Yes Pain, Too Despite all its complexities, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a neuropsychological condition characterized by disorganization, procrastination, time impairment, impulsive decision-making, “wandering attention,” and problems with self-management, might be best described in three […]

November 22, 2021 Dr. Dimitriu was published in Psychology Today in an article titled: ADHD Is Not Just for Kids A 2017 online article from CHADD, Children and Adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, agrees. Coping mechanisms, often coupled with treatment plans, help mitigate ADHD symptoms in adults. However, CHADD experts go a step further, suggesting […]

October 1, 2021 Dr. Dimitriu was published in Psychology Today in an article titled: High-Functioning ADHD: Often Subtle, But Still a ‘Mountain’ “Eden,” Cyrus snapped…”I have a sword pointed at you. Will you please focus.” That online passage from author Samantha Young’s book Blood Past offers a somewhat humorous depiction of what the American Psychological […]

July 26, 2021. Dr. Dimitriu was published in Psychology Today in an article titled: Can’t Remember What You Discussed in Therapy? Have you had the experience where you can’t remember what you discussed in your recent therapy session? Blame it on sleep deprivation, increasing cases of depression and anxiety disorders, or the past social isolation forced on us by the COVID-19 pandemic. Blame it on attention […]

May 11, 2021. Dr. Dimitriu was published in Psychology Today in an article titled: “How Sleep Deprivation Impairs your Mind, Moods & Memory” Pioneering sleep scientist William Dement once called sleep deprivation “the most common brain impairment.” The research is proving him right. Authors of the latest sleep study, just published (April 2021) in the […]

March 17, 2021. Dr. Dimitriu was published in Psychology Today in an article titled: “A Little Bit of Anxiety Can Do a Whole Lot of Good” Anxious?  Well, that may be a good thing – in moderation. Experts say anxiety increases a person’s arousal to the point where motivation, performance, and the ability to complete […]

January 27, 2021. Dr. Dimitriu was published in Psychology Today in an article titled: “Is It Just the COVID-19 Blues or Is It Depression?” “Don’t wish it away. Don’t look at it like it’s forever. Between you and me, I could honestly say that things can only get better.” These words from Elton John’s song […]

November 05, 2020. Dr. Dimitriu was published in Psychology Today in an article titled: “I’m not anxious, I just don’t sleep well”. The Spectrum of Anxiety: Jumpy People Anxiety comes in many different flavors, and it helps to think of it as a natural spectrum that can range from functional to mild to severe. Let’s […]

October 13, 2020. Dr. Dimitriu was published in Psychology Today in an article titled: “Perfectionism and Anxiety: When the Enemy of Good is Better” Most people aim to do well at whatever they set out to accomplish – whether as parents, partners, professionals, students, volunteers, or friends. But there’s a group for whom doing well […]

August 11, 2020. Dr. Dimitriu was published in Psychology Today in an article titled: Stressed! Is it them or is it me? Ongoing problems with co-workers? Constant arguments with family members at home? Few friends because most people you meet are simply inferior, unintelligent idiots, who are usually to blame for the stressors in your life.  […]

June 19, 2020. Dr. Dimitriu was published in Psychology Today in an article titled: Groudhog Day – Burnout in the time of COVID. Too many people have brought up the term “Groundhog day,” to not mention it formally. You wake up each day tired. The day ahead seems like a multi-stage triathlon. You want to […]

Apr 13, 2020. Dr. Dimitriu was published in Psychology Today about “Home Office Syndrome.” “There’s no place like home.” Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz certainly believed it, but many of the millions now required to work from home for seemingly endless weeks because of the COVID-19 pandemic might disagree.  In fact, those unable to cope with the […]

February 19, 2020 Dr. Dimitriu was published in Psychology Today on the topic of ADHD in adults. ADHD isn’t just for kids. While attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder is now well recognized and commonly diagnosed in children, less attention has been focused on the fact that about half of these children carry some of the symptoms of ADHD into […]

Everyone reads the words “bipolar disorder,” and immediately thinks this cannot possibly be a “disorder” that they have. And indeed, this terminology is a bit clinical for most high functioning people who let nothing slow them down and have moved mountains to get to where they are today. Think of bipolar disorder, and one immediately […]

10/22/19. Dr. Dimitriu was published in Psychology on the topic of bipolar vs borderline personality disorder. Diagnosing psychiatric illness isn’t easy. There’s usually no lab test, physical indication, or quantitative measurement that can distinguish one illness from another and often no magic bullet that can ensure effective treatment. Clinicians are dependent on a description of […]

When you look at your teenager, try to soften the lens and view him/her as an oversized toddler. We say this because the developmental changes taking place in a teen’s brain and body as the result of puberty are equivalent to the changes that take place as infants transition into toddlerhood. With that perspective, it’s […]

By Dr. Alex Dimitriu, July 11, 2019 We all have occasional trouble sleeping. Anxiety, jet lag, something we ate, or any number of other things can have us tossing and turning restlessly now and then. Most of the time, these episodes of sleeplessness are of brief duration and with resolution of the root cause we […]

By Dr. Alex Dimitriu, March 12, 2019 Sleep isn’t optional. It is one of our most basic physiological needs, right up there with air, water, food, and shelter. It isn’t heroic to go without sleep and it isn’t true that many people need only four or five hours a night. Most of us need seven […]

By Dr. Alex Dimitriu, February 21, 2019 We all have occasional trouble sleeping. Stress, anxiety, a change in routine, something we ate, …any number of things might be responsible for a night of restless tossing and turning. For most of us, bouts of insomnia are of short duration. But for many millions of people, sleepless […]

By Alex Dimitriu, MD, January 22, 2019 With anxiety disorders ranking as the most common mental illness in the United States – affecting 18% of the adult population every year – perhaps it’s not surprising that more than 1 in 10 Americans take antidepressants, the class of medications used most often to combat anxiety.