Dr. Ragnar
OCD
OCD is one of those diagnoses that got grabbed by pop culture and quietly butchered along the way.
Feb 14, 2025
Panic Disorder
Panic disorder is not generalized anxiety.
Feb 11, 2025
Valproate (Depakote)
Valproate (Depakote) is a heavy mood stabilizer for acute mania, not ordinary moodiness. The real side effects, labs, and pregnancy risk.
Feb 11, 2025
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
GAD (generalized anxiety disorder, the diagnosis given to chronic free-floating worry that isn't attached to one specific thing) is the kind of anxiety…
Feb 9, 2025
Cymbalta (Duloxetine)
Cymbalta is the drug I reach for when the depression has a physical component...
Feb 1, 2025
Social Anxiety Disorder
Social anxiety isn't shyness, it's an anxiety disorder run by avoidance. Here's how dodging makes it worse and how exposure, CBT, and meds fix it.
Jan 30, 2025
Lexapro (Escitalopram)
Lexapro is the SSRI I start with most of the time, and the reason is boring...
Jan 29, 2025
When to switch antidepressants, and when to stay
Half the antidepressant switches that happen shouldn't have happened, and the other half should have happened six months earlier.
Jan 27, 2025
Choosing between SSRIs, SNRIs, and what comes next
The decision tree for picking an antidepressant in 2026 isn't really a tree, it's more like a workflow, and the workflow is a lot simpler than the size of…
Jan 24, 2025
Adderall vs Vyvanse: side by side
Both are amphetamines, both work, the differences are real but not enormous, and the right answer for any given patient depends on factors that the rep…
Jan 22, 2025
Belsomra (Suvorexant)
Belsomra (suvorexant) blocks the brain's wake signal instead of forcing sedation. Best for staying asleep, and the dependence math beats the benzos.
Jan 22, 2025
ADHD meds for adults: the questions I get most
Adult ADHD is everywhere now, which means I get the same set of questions from people considering a stimulant, in slightly different fonts, over and over.
Jan 19, 2025