News & Research
The Siggy Blog
Expert articles on medications, conditions, and the future of mental healthcare, from the team building it.
Side Effect Tracker: The 5 Categories Patients Most Often Forget to Log
The side effects that end antidepressant treatment early are almost never the ones that come up at appointments. Here are the five categories patients most often forget to log.
How a Daily Medication Check-In Cuts Dose-Adjustment Time From Months to Hours
Dose adjustments for antidepressants should happen at two weeks. In standard care, they happen at three months. Here is what daily check-in data changes about that timeline.
Doctor Explains Antidepressants: What the First 8 Weeks Should Feel Like
Side effects before benefits. Energy before mood. A week-by-week guide to the first eight weeks on an antidepressant, so you know exactly what is normal and what to watch for.
Psychiatrist Answers: Why Your Antidepressant Stops Working Over Time
Your antidepressant worked. Then it did not. A psychiatrist explains the clinical phenomenon behind antidepressant tolerance and what the evidence-based options are when it happens.
Can AI Help With Medication Management for Treatment-Resistant Depression?
If two antidepressants have not worked, AI-assisted medication management may change the clinical picture. Here is what the evidence shows about where AI helps, and where it does not.
Antidepressant Not Working? 3 Patterns to Check Before You Switch
Before switching antidepressants, three clinical patterns explain most cases of apparent treatment failure. Here is how to check each one before making any changes.
AI Mood Tracking That Connects Daily Patterns to Your Treatment Plan
Your prescriber sees you for 15 minutes. AI mood tracking sees you every day. Here is how daily pattern data changes what your care team can do for you between appointments.
Doctor-Supervised Mental Health App vs. Unsupervised AI: A Side-by-Side Look
Not all AI mental health apps work the same way. Here is what separates a doctor-supervised platform from an unsupervised one, and why the difference is clinically significant.
Antidepressant Prescribing Online: What Patterns Your Care Team Is Tracking
Getting a prescription is the easy part. Whether it works depends on what gets monitored and when. Here are the five clinical patterns a care team should track from day one.
Why Americans Are Still Waiting 6+ Weeks to See a Psychiatrist in 2026
Only 18.5% of psychiatrists are accepting new patients. The median wait is 67 days. Here is what is driving the psychiatric access crisis in 2026 and what actually changes it.
The Mental Health Medication Management Cycle Most Patients Don't Realize They're In
Start. Feel different. Stop. Relapse. Restart. About 60% of people on antidepressants stop within three months. Here is why the cycle happens and, more importantly, how to break it.
Mental Health Medication Management: Why Continuity Is the Missing Piece
Half of people on psychiatric medication stop within a year. Not because the medication failed, but because no one stayed with them after they started. Here is what continuity actually requires.
Psychiatric Medication Management Online for Treatment-Resistant Patients
If you have tried two antidepressants without lasting relief, you may not have a treatment-resistant brain. You may have an under-evaluated treatment history. Here is what that difference means.
Online Psychiatric Care for People Already on Medication: The Continuity Question
Switching to online psychiatric care when you are already on an antidepressant raises specific questions. Here is what responsible continuity of care actually looks like for established patients.
What "Clinically Supervised" Means in Online Psychiatric Care, and Why It Matters
Not every telehealth platform that uses the phrase "clinically supervised" means the same thing. Here is what genuine clinical oversight requires and how to tell the difference.
Online Psychiatric Care Without the Waiting Room: How SiggyMD Works
What online psychiatric care actually looks like when it's built around continuous monitoring instead of scheduled appointments. A guide to SiggyMD's AI-led intake, daily check-ins, and clinically supervised medication management.
Online Psychiatric Care That Actually Stays With You
Most online psychiatric care is fragmented. Here is what one-team care looks like when a prescriber, clinical team, and daily check-ins share a single longitudinal record.
Abilify Side Effects: What Patients Should Track Monthly
Most people on Abilify see their prescriber quarterly. Akathisia, compulsive behaviors, and early metabolic shifts show up in weeks, not months. Here is what to track and when to report it.
Anxiety Medication Management: How a Daily Check-In Changes the Conversation
Most people stop anxiety medication within six months, not because it fails, but because no one is checking in. Here is how daily monitoring changes outcomes.
Sertraline Side Effects: What to Expect in the First Two Weeks
The first days on sertraline can feel strange: nausea, restlessness, a wired-but-tired feeling that nobody warned you about. Here is a week-by-week breakdown of what is normal, what is not, and when to call your prescriber.
Lexapro vs. Zoloft: How to Think About Choosing an SSRI
Two of the most prescribed antidepressants in the country, and your doctor probably picked one in under three minutes. Here is what actually differentiates them.
Why Can't I Find a Psychiatrist? The U.S. Provider Shortage, Explained
There is one psychiatrist for every 1,200 Americans with a mental health condition. Half of U.S. counties have zero. This is not a temporary staffing problem.
Do I Have ADHD or Anxiety? How to Tell the Difference
Trouble focusing, restlessness, a mind that won't shut up: ADHD and anxiety look almost identical from the inside. The difference matters because the treatments are opposite.
What Happens When You Stop Taking Your Antidepressant
About 60% of people on psychiatric medication stop within a year, and most do it without telling their prescriber. Brain zaps, rebound anxiety, and symptoms that feel like relapse but are not.
Wellbutrin: The Antidepressant That Doesn't Work Like the Others
No sexual side effects. No weight gain. Possible energy boost. Bupropion is the antidepressant people ask for by name, but it is not right for everyone.
How Long Does It Take for an Antidepressant to Work?
The honest answer is 4 to 8 weeks for the full effect, 1 to 2 weeks to feel something, and the first few days might feel worse.
I Wake Up at 3am Every Night: What's Going On?
The 3am wake-up is one of the most common complaints in psychiatry, and it is almost never just stress. It sits at the intersection of cortisol rhythm, depression, anxiety, and medication timing.
Online Psychiatry: What to Expect and What to Watch Out For
The best online psychiatry feels like having a great doctor who happens to be on a screen. The worst is a 10-minute prescription mill.
Panic Attacks vs. Anxiety Attacks: They're Not the Same Thing
One has a clinical definition. The other does not. But both feel like you are dying, and the treatment for each is different.
The Real Reason 80% of SSRIs Are Prescribed by Non-Psychiatrists
Your family doctor is not trying to play psychiatrist. They are filling a gap left by a system that produces 1,500 new psychiatrists a year for 60 million people who need one.
CBT vs. Medication for Anxiety: What the Evidence Actually Says
The therapy or meds debate is a false binary, but when you have to choose a starting point, the research gives you useful signals.
ADHD in Women: Why It Gets Missed for Decades
The average woman with ADHD is diagnosed at 36, nearly 25 years after her male peers. It is not that the symptoms are not there.
What Is Emotional Blunting and Is Your Medication Causing It?
You are not sad anymore, but you are not anything anymore. The volume knob on your feelings got turned to zero. Emotional blunting affects up to half of people on SSRIs.
Burnout Is Not Depression, But It Can Become Depression
Burnout is exhaustion from caring too much about something specific. Depression is exhaustion from everything. They overlap, they feed each other.
Gut Health and Mental Health: What the Science Actually Supports
90% of your serotonin is made in your gut. That fact gets repeated a lot, but what does it actually mean for treating depression and anxiety?
Imposter Syndrome Isn't a Syndrome, But It Still Needs Attention
It is not in the DSM. It is not a diagnosis. But the pattern of believing you will be found out despite evidence of competence tracks with anxiety and depression.
How to Switch Antidepressants Without Losing Your Mind
Your prescriber said we will cross-taper and gave you a schedule on a Post-it note. Here is what is actually happening in your brain during the switch.
What "Measurement-Based Care" Means and Why Your Psychiatrist Probably Isn't Doing It
Imagine if your cardiologist never checked your blood pressure. That is how most psychiatry works: treatment decisions based on a 15-minute conversation, not tracked data.
Seasonal Depression Doesn't Only Happen in Winter
SAD gets the winter headlines, but about 10% of people with seasonal patterns get worse in spring and summer.
Mental Health in Your 30s: When "Fine" Stops Working
You built the career, the relationship, maybe the family. You should feel good. You don't. The 30s are when high-functioning coping strategies hit their limit.
Perimenopause and Mood: The Psych Symptoms No One Warned You About
Rage that comes from nowhere. Anxiety that appeared at 42. Sleep that fell apart overnight. Perimenopause mimics half the DSM.
Your SSRI and Your Sex Life: An Honest Conversation
It is the side effect nobody brings up at the 15-minute check-in. Up to 70% of people on SSRIs experience sexual dysfunction.
Is AI Psychiatry Safe? What Clinically Supervised Actually Means
The honest answer: AI alone is not safe for psychiatry. AI with a licensed clinician reviewing every decision is a different story entirely.
What to Expect at Your First Psychiatric Appointment
A good first appointment lasts 60 to 90 minutes, covers your full history, and ends with a plan. A bad one lasts 15 and ends with a script.
Propranolol for Anxiety: The Heart Medication That Stops Panic in Its Tracks
A tiny blood pressure pill that blocks the physical symptoms of anxiety: the racing heart, the shaking hands, the sweating, in about 30 minutes.
High-Functioning Anxiety: When Everyone Thinks You're Fine
You hit every deadline, smile at every meeting, and run a tight ship. Inside, you are white-knuckling through every day.
The Psychiatrist Shortage, in One Map
Half of U.S. counties have zero psychiatrists. Most of those counties are in the South and rural Midwest.
Trazodone for Sleep: The Off-Label Antidepressant That Became America's Sleeping Pill
Trazodone was built to treat depression. Almost nobody uses it for that anymore. At low doses it has become one of the most commonly prescribed sleep aids.
Magnesium for Anxiety: What the Research Says (and Doesn't Say)
The internet says magnesium glycinate will fix your anxiety. The clinical research is more nuanced.
Supporting Someone with Depression: A Practical Guide
You can't fix it, and "have you tried going for a walk?" is not helping. Here is what actually supports someone with depression.
PMDD: When PMS Is Actually a Psychiatric Condition
Two weeks of every month feel like a different person lives inside you: rage, despair, brain fog, then it lifts.
What Happens to Your Brain When You Exercise
30 minutes of moderate exercise produces an antidepressant effect roughly equal to a low-dose SSRI, in some studies.
Brain Fog: When Your Mind Won't Work and Nobody Takes It Seriously
It is not laziness. It is not aging. Brain fog is a real symptom that shows up in depression, ADHD, anxiety, post-COVID, and medication side effects.
Alcohol and Antidepressants: The Conversation Your Doctor Rushed Through
"Don't drink on antidepressants" is what you were told. The reality is more complicated.
The Cost of Psychiatry in America: A Breakdown
A first appointment: $300 to $500. A follow-up: $150 to $300. The medication itself is often the cheapest part.
Gabapentin for Anxiety: The Quiet Alternative That's Gaining Ground
Originally an anti-seizure drug, gabapentin is being prescribed off-label for anxiety with increasing frequency.
Postpartum Depression Is Not Baby Blues, Here's the Difference
Baby blues hit 80% of new mothers and resolve in two weeks. Postpartum depression hits 1 in 7 and does not resolve on its own.
What AI Can See That Your Psychiatrist Can't: The Case for Daily Check-Ins
A psychiatrist sees you for 15 minutes once a quarter. AI sees you every day. The patterns that predict relapse are not visible in snapshot appointments.
You Don't Need to Be in Crisis to See a Psychiatrist
Most people wait until things are unbearable. But psychiatry works best as maintenance, like a dentist for your mind.