Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine
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This Silly Hack Can Actually Really Help With Anxiety

By Caroline Bologna, Jul 25, 2025

“Words are powerful. I always tell my patients to be careful with the ‘mantras’ you say to yourself each day,” said Dr. Alex Dimitriu, who’s double board-certified in psychiatry and sleep medicine and founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine in California. “My concern is that when you say something enough, you can start to believe it. In that regard, ‘de-clinicalizing,’ or giving anxiety a gentler, even more playful name can certainly take the bite out of it.”

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ADHD in Women: Why It’s Hard to Detect—and What to Do if You Think You Have It

By Stephanie Booth, Jul 24, 2025

For starters, “women are more likely to have the inattentive version of ADHD, which can sometimes be confused with anxiety, forgetfulness, and disorganization,” says Alex Dimitriu, MD, a double board-certified psychiatrist in Menlo Park, CA. Even the hyperactive type of ADHD may manifest differently in girls than boys. Instead of physical restlessness, they’re more likely to quietly internalize their symptoms. That can show up as being “over-sensitive,” finding it hard to regulate emotions, and struggling to stay on task or one train of thought.

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4 Ways Therapists Say People With Anxiety Get Stuck — And How To Get Unstuck

By Alexandra Frost, Jul 22, 2025

“A vast number of patients in my practice have benefited from work we have done to catch ‘the stories’ that we tell ourselves, and realize what is real, and what is made up,” said Dr. Alex Dimitriu, who’s double board-certified in psychiatry and sleep medicine and founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine in California. People with anxiety aren’t always great at playing the long game, Dimitriu said. “With this loss of nuanced thinking and tendency towards hurried solutions, people with anxiety are bad at holding a course — when that is exactly what is needed for most interventions to work,” he said. “People with anxiety get ‘stuck,’ because they overthink and question everything, and don’t have the patience to work on a solution that may take time — they give up too easily, or they are too doubtful to start.” Dimitriu said you need to stick with something at least two months to see if it helps.

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Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Sleep (But Were Too Tired to Ask)

In this enlightening episode of Beyond Trauma, Lara Land is joined by Dr. Alex Dimitriu, a double board-certified expert in psychiatry and sleep medicine, to explore the powerful intersection between trauma, mental health, and sleep. Together, they unpack how trauma disrupts our ability to rest and regulate, why sleep is often the first casualty in a dysregulated nervous system, and how healing the mind and body requires a truly integrated approach.

Whether you’re dealing with disrupted sleep, chronic fatigue, or just want to understand your brain and body better, this episode offers a powerful blend of science, psychology, and practical tools for getting truly restorative rest.

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Why You Suddenly Start Seeing the Same Thing Everywhere, According to Psychologists

By Kendra Cherry, Jul 18, 2025

“Selective attention is the ability to notice some things and not others,” explains Alex Dimitriu, MD, double board-certified in Psychiatry and Sleep Medicine and founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine. We are surrounded by so much information that it’s just not possible for the brain to process, sort, and remember it all. To make the most of its limited resources, the brain has to filter the sea of noise, sort out what isn’t important, and hone in on the key details. Selective attention is a lot like a spotlight, drawing your brain’s focus onto the main event.

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6 Causes Of Sleep Onset Insomnia, And What Sleep Doctors Say You Should Do About It

By Emily Laurence, Jul 17, 2025

Typically, it should take between 10 and 20 minutes to fall asleep, according to Dr. Alex Dimitriu, a psychiatrist and sleep medicine doctor. But he added that it depends on what you were doing before you hit the lights. If you were reading in dim lighting, you’re probably going to fall asleep faster than if you were scrolling your phone before trying to fall asleep, he said. “Doing work or anything else stimulating is not good for sleep because your brain needs some space, silence and a chance to slow down. So, if you are doing anything overly exciting or stimulating, you will need longer to fall asleep and your sleep quality will be worse once you do,” he told HuffPost.

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Mediterranean and 3 other diet types may lower dementia risk, especially in women

By Jessica Freeborn, Jul 16, 2025

This study highlights the diet’s important role in possibly protecting against dementia. Alex Dimitriu, MD, double board certified in Psychiatry and Sleep Medicine and founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine, who was also not involved in the study, noted the following clinical implications of the research: “This study speaks to the importance of long-term adherence to diet and the benefits of this. It also demonstrates how diet may play a greater role for older women than for other groups. Also of interest, the study confirms prior findings that pro-inflammatory diets (high in saturated fats, and refined carbohydrates) can be a risk factor for dementia.”

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I Drank Bone Broth Every Day for a Week to Stave Off Brain Fog—Did It Work?

By Kendra Cherry, June 4, 2025

Gut health plays an essential role in mental health, explains Alex Dimitriu, MD, double board-certified psychiatrist and founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine. “The gut is able to communicate with the brain via the vagus nerve, and the microbiome of the gut can affect how nutrients (like B12) are absorbed, Dr. Dimitriu says. “Poor gut health can lead to increased gut permeability, ‘leaky gut,’ which can result in bacterial toxins spilling into the body and causing inflammation.”

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My ‘puppy paws’ trick works like a charm when I can’t sleep — other people call them ‘T-Rex arms’

By Reda Wigle, May 30, 2025

Sleep experts have some thoughts on why puppy paws may pave the way to slumberland. “If this position reduces anxious thoughts about sleep, it may be a helpful distraction,” psychiatrist and sleep medicine specialist Dr. Alex Dimitriu, MD, founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine, told The Post. “Anything that has a calming effect, and takes your mind off of the ‘why can’t I fall asleep!??!’ type of thinking is helpful.”

Click HERE for the full article.

6 Sneaky Signs You Have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, According to Experts

By Beth Krietsch, May 30, 20205

Sleep disturbances are another common feature among people with chronic fatigue syndrome.2 These sleep issues can show up in a number of ways, including lighter sleep, more trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, restlessness during the night or waking up too early in the morning. “Because of lighter sleep, [people with chronic fatigue syndrome] may require longer overall sleep times—up to 10 to 12 hours to feel refreshed,” says Alex Dimitriu, M.D., who is double board-certified in psychiatry and sleep medicine. As a result of less restorative sleep, Dimitriu adds that it’s not uncommon for people with CFS to need a nap during the day.

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The Connection Between Adderall and Depression

By Sarah Sheppard, May 30, 2025

Though ADHD and depression can be diagnosed separately or together, says Alex Dimitriu, MD, founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry and Sleep Medicine, it’s better to treat one condition at a time. Even though ADHD can cause depression and stimulants like Adderall can help with symptoms of both conditions, it’s often best to treat the depression first, Dr. Dimitriu explains. Once mood is regulated, cognitive function can be evaluated.

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Most Americans hit the snooze button every morning — here’s why it could be bad for your health

By Melissa Rudy, May 22, 2025

Alex Dimitriu, MD, a board-certified psychiatrist and sleep medicine doctor and founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine in California, agreed that hitting the snooze button is disruptive to one’s rest. “Snoozing feels good, but effectively results in less sleep,” Dimitriu, who also did not participate in the research, told Fox News Digital. “Snoozing specifically impacts REM sleep or dream sleep, which happens most in the morning hours.”

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What Is Painsomnia?

By Anna Smith Haghighi, May 14, 2025

Painsomnia is not a medical diagnosis. Patients first assigned the name to the condition, describing the struggles they have sleeping with chronic pain. Alex Dimitriu, MD, psychiatrist and founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine in California and a medical reviewer for Everyday Health, defines painsomnia as “insomnia that is caused by pain. This can mean trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, waking up too often, or waking up too early in the night. But how exactly does sleep quality affect pain? The answer lies in several biological processes that can be affected by poor sleep and lead to worsening of pain symptoms.

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SSRIs were a ‘wonder drug’—then the research stopped. Here’s why

By Julia Ries, May 6, 2025

According to Alex Dimitriu, MD, a double board-certified psychiatrist and sleep medicine physician and founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine, the mental health space has been stuck for a while. “Aside from ketamine, most recently, and drugs like Auvelity, we have not really seen any major breakthroughs since SSRIs,” Dr. Dimitriu tells MDLinx.

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Are Americans too dependent on SSRIs?

By Julia Ries, May 6, 2025

Alex Dimitriu, MD, a double board-certified psychiatrist and sleep medicine physician and founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine, says SSRIs have a gentle risk-to-benefit ratio. And when used correctly and under supervision, SSRIs can be life-changing. Dr. Dimitriu believes that people’s limited clinical experience and personal experiences have contributed to opinions that aren’t backed by data. “I wouldn’t be doing my job if the medications I used were a crapshoot,” he told MDLinx. 

Click HERE for the full article.

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MENLO PARK PSYCHIATRY & SLEEP MEDICINE

CONDITIONS TREATED: Anxiety, Depression, Attention Deficit Disorder, Insomnia, Bipolar Disorder, and Treatment Resistant Depression

REGIONS COVERED: We serve clients of the Bay Area, including the communities of Menlo Park, Palo Alto, Cupertino, Los Gatos, Los Altos, Mountain View, Portola Valley, Atherton, Sunnyvale, and San Jose

Phone 650-326-5888
Address 1225 Crane Street, Suite 205
Menlo Park, CA 94025
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