The Carlat Psychiatry Podcast is an educational series focused on psychiatry and mental health. Hosted by Dr. Daniel Carlat, the podcast offers evidence-based discussions on psychiatric conditions, treatment approaches, and emerging research.
Postpartum hypomania may present with anxiety, irritability and increased goal-directed activity rather than obvious euphoria. A separate small crossover study associates reduced ultra-processed food intake with improved depressive symptoms, although its exploratory findings require cautious interpretation.
Longer exposure to ADHD medication is associated with increased cardiovascular risk, particularly hypertension, although observational findings do not establish causation. Consistent blood pressure monitoring, dose review, sleep assessment and support for daily functioning inform treatment decisions.
Integrative behavioural couple therapy combines emotional acceptance with meaningful behaviour change. Understanding differences between partners, emotional sensitivities and external pressures can help couples recognise recurring patterns of conflict and develop more constructive interactions.
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors provide modest average benefit in childhood obsessive-compulsive disorder, with response affected by baseline severity. Exposure and response prevention, realistic expectations and structured follow-up remain central when discussing medication alongside psychological treatment.
Mentalisation-based treatment slows emotionally charged interactions so thoughts, feelings and other perspectives can be examined before action. Validation, specific event reconstruction and a genuinely curious stance help restore reflection when certainty, urgency or emotional arousal disrupt mentalising.
Ethical stimulant prescribing requires balanced substance-related risk assessment, clinical independence and truthful documentation. Brief psychiatric consultations may reduce waiting times for selected simple referrals, but shorter waits alone do not demonstrate better care quality.
ADHD assessment requires more than symptom screening, particularly when commercial or refill-based incentives favour rapid prescribing; subjective stimulant benefit may differ from objective cognitive performance, while medication follow-up and withdrawal effects also need deliberate assessment.
ADHD treatment access can be undermined by the organisational difficulties of ADHD itself, while telehealth prescribing rules, financial incentives and evidence comparing treatment onset, efficacy and tolerability all require careful distinction rather than simple claims of improved access.
Treatment should match the substance: methadone or buprenorphine form the foundation for opioid use disorder, contingency management leads for stimulant use disorder, while alcohol and tobacco use disorders allow greater choice between medication and behavioural treatment.
Sleep hygiene and relaxation alone rarely treat chronic insomnia. Structured cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia uses regular wake times, morning daylight, stimulus control, reduced sleep effort and work on catastrophic beliefs, with supported hypnotic reduction when appropriate.
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