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 “I Guess That’s Why They Call It the Blues” may be good advice for many of us who have become a bit stir crazy after being cooped up at home for months, compliments of the unrelenting COVID-19 viral pandemic. But what exactly are “the blues?” Do they constitute a mental health disease – like anxiety disorder or clinical depression — requiring professional therapy? Or do those feelings of sadness, loneliness, anxiousness, pessimism, and melancholy ascribed to “the blues” represent simply a transitory “psychological state of mind,” in this case, one effected by the confinement, social isolation, and repetitive daily sameness wrought by the virus?

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January 21, 2021 by Jenna Wirth

“Toxic positivity is essentially the denial of negative feelings, a forced positive attitude that attempts to negate any negative sentiment,” Alex Dimitriu, MD, a double board-certified physician in psychiatry and sleep medicine and founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine, told POPSUGAR. “It’s telling someone ‘to cheer up’ or that their sadness or worry is not warranted or useful.” This unhealthy denial is harmful, he explained, because any defense that glosses over reality can be a dangerous thing. Not only does it have the potential to hurt people by discrediting their experience or feelings, but it can also hurt yourself by rejecting real information or feelings in favor of a positive facade. “It’s like putting makeup on a wound,” Dr. Dimitriu said.

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Amanda Capritto, Jan. 20, 2021

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 is when dreams occur, Dimitriu says. This means nightmares commonly occur in the second half of the night, or early morning. Night terrors, on the other hand, more often occur during deep sleep, which is more clustered in the first half of the night, he says. People generally wake up with night terrors around 90 minutes after falling asleep. Additionally, during nightmares, people usually wake up and remember the dream, Dimitriu says. But with night terrors, “People wake up startled, scared and confused, with no recall of what they were dreaming,” he explains. 

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By Gary Greenberg, December 2020

“Sleep is essential for the brain, which is the most metabolically active organ in the body,” says Alex Dimitriu, MD, founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine in California. “Like a house after a wild party, the brain needs a complete shutdown for a thorough clean-up after each day.”

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December 22, 2020. Dr. Dimitriu was published in Psychology Today in an article titled: “When Is It Too Much? Managing OCD During COVID”

Imagine trying to tell yourself not to think about the coronavirus. Impossible, right? But everyday virus prevention measures such as handwashing and physical distancing also happen to overlap tremendously with the type of circular thinking and repetitive behaviors known all too well by those with obsessive-compulsive disorder, or OCD.

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By K.M. Langevin/DEC. 22, 2020

“Humans are essentially social creatures,” Dr. Alex Dimitriu, dual board-certified psychiatrist and sleep medicine specialist, explained to Health Digest. “And we do better when we ‘belong,’ or have a purpose.” Dimitriu highlighted a study about “Blue Zones,” or places where people live the longest. These are also “places where there are large families and a strong sense of community,” he explained. They also happened to be married or in otherwise committed relationships. “Marriage is in many ways a most essential relationship, as this is the person we are most likely to be with the most, so it matters,” Dimitriu continued.

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December 17, 2020 by Caitlin Flynn

Alex Dimitriu, MD, a double board-certified physician in psychiatry and sleep medicine and founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine, agreed, noting that you may need to allot even more time to make sure you’re getting adequate sleep on nights when it doesn’t come easily. “Aiming for eight hours most often results in about seven and similarly, aiming for six — which is already not enough — can in reality turn into five hours of sleep,” Dr. Dimitriu said. He recommends creating an eight-hour “opportunity” window for sleep, which will hopefully result in at least seven hours of actual sleep time.

Click HERE for the full article.