By Julia Ries, Sept 16, 2022

Abrupt changes to your medication regimen could make you feel more tired and hungry than usual or impact your energy and mood. Fortunately, these symptoms should only last for about a week, according to Dr. Dimitriu. If for some reason you run out before filing your prescription again and are unable to take the medicine, it’s crucial to start at a lower dosage and gradually build back up, said Dr. Dimitriu. If all else fails and the meds are nowhere to be found, talk to your healthcare provider about other options and make a point to prioritize your sleep. “Sleep is essential to ADHD and our attention, focus and impulse control,” said Dr. Dimitriu, “so make sure you keep sleeping well (over seven hours) whether on meds or off.”

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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.

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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 led to a sense of dislocation and distance from ourselves, friendships, families, and communities. And many parents have found themselves feeling stretched mentally, emotionally, and physically—eventually reaching the point beyond high stress and in total burnout.

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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 remains unaddressed. Some of these conditions may be resolved more quickly with medication — and a good therapist or psychiatrist knows when it is time for therapy or medication or both.”

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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 in California. Orexin neurons, he says, play an important role in the body by helping to regulate alertness, mood, and metabolism as well as the body’s energy use and ability to maintain stability. 

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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 are not on a continuous spectrum, the intensity and frequency and level of disability caused by the symptoms can certainly vary from mild to severe, and that can change as well.”

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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 because of blood pooling. When we stand, more blood goes down to the legs, so there is less congestion in the nose.”

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