Dr Sidharth Sood

26/08/2026

Back at AIIMS New Delhi but this time on the other side of the podium. 💚

From admiring this institution to being invited as Faculty to speak on “TMS in Addiction” at the 10th Hands-on Workshop & 13th National CME on Neuromodulation (rTMS) Department of Psychiatry, AIIMS & ICMR-CARE in Neuromodulation.

Spoke on why craving remains the hardest driver of relapse, and where rTMS offers something pharmacology alone can't direct, non-invasive circuit modulation.

Full-circle feeling. Deeply grateful to the Dept. of Psychiatry and CARE team for the honour, the memento, and the learning.

Grateful. Proud. Happy to be back. 🙏

Dr Sidharth Sood
Super Specialist, DM Addiction Psychiatry (AIIMS, New Delhi)

06/08/2026

One peg a day is good for your heart.

Your GP said it.
Your uncle at every wedding says it.
For 30 years, we all believed it.

In June 2025, that story died.

Two massive reviews finally fixed a 30-year mistake:
1) US Government-commissioned report on Alcohol & Health - June 2025
2) Meta-analysis of 7,200 studies - J Stud Alcohol Drugs 2025

Both found the same error: Old studies compared drinkers to “non-drinkers”. But those non-drinkers included ex-alcoholics who were forced to quit because they were already sick.

It’s called Sick Quitter Bias.

When you fix it:
Save Slide 5 - This is the new math.

• 1 drink / day = 1 in 1,000 lifetime alcohol mortality risk
• 1.5 drinks / day = 1 in 100 - risk jumps 10x
• At ANY daily amount, cancer risk increases. No heart protection survives correction.

You can still drink.
But the story that daily drinking is “healthy” is over.

If you drink, know what you’re doing.
If you don’t drink, don’t start for health.

Save Slide 5. Send it to that uncle before the next wedding.

This is EP.01 of THE SOBER TRUTH - where I review what 2025 evidence actually says, without judgement.

What myth did you grow up hearing about alcohol? Comment below.

Sources in the last slide. Educational only, not medical advice.

31/07/2026

Everyone takes Ashwagandha. No one checks liver.

I reviewed 12 studies as an Addiction Psychiatrist. Here is my verdict:

It helps a little for stress and sleep. 5-10 min faster sleep, mild stress score drop.

It does NOT boost testosterone to 1000. That part is mostly marketing.

Most important - Slide 6 - who should NOT take it. Save that slide and show your doctor.

I made a 1-page evidence checklist - exact KSM-66 dose studied, what blood test to do before, when to stop.

Comment ASHWA and I will DM it to you.

Are you taking it daily? What brand?

Educational only, not medical advice.

29/07/2026

One 'ok' text ruins your whole day?

That's not you being too sensitive. That's RSD.

Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria - ADHD makes your brain feel rejection like physical pain. A short reply, a change in tone, one small criticism and you replay it for 48 hours.

You are not dramatic. Your emotional brake is just weak. It's core ADHD.

I made a 1-page RSD First-Aid Sheet - 3 steps I teach when that surge hits.

Comment RSD and I will DM it to you.
Follow so DM reaches you. Save this for that friend who calls you too sensitive.

Does this happen to you? 👇

Educational only, not medical advice.

25/07/2026

23/07/2026

Think smokeless to***co is safer than ci******es? It is not.

Gutka, khaini and to***co paan masala absorb through your mouth lining, not lungs. You hold it 20 to 30 minutes, so ni****ne keeps absorbing. Depending on product, exposure can be similar to or even greater than one cigarette.

One in five Indian adults uses smokeless to***co, more than smoking. One of the leading causes of oral cancer in India.

At home we call it habit. In clinic we call it ni****ne dependence.

Double tap if you thought it was just habit. Comment HABIT if you have seen this at home. Share this to one person who says I can quit anytime. Save to show at home.

I am Dr. Sidharth Sood, super specialist in addiction psychiatry. This is The Hidden Habit, every Thursday 7:30pm where I talk about addictions India does not name. Follow for Ep.2.

Full evidence on blog, link in pinned comment.

***coaddictionindia ****nedependence

22/07/2026

Why you can scroll for 3 hours and remember nothing.

This is not phone addiction to content. It is addiction to uncertainty.

Your brain gets dopamine for the MAYBE, not the post. Same variable reward mechanism as a slot machine. That is why endless scrolling erases memory. Predictable content gives no dopamine. Unpredictable maybe gives max dopamine.

This is called a dopamine loop. Not dopamine detox. It is behavioural addiction design.

Comment LOOP if you checked your phone without remembering why today. Save this to break the pattern tonight.

Full science, citations and 3 ways to break the loop are in pinned comment. Link to blog.

21/07/2026

Reward deficiency — the ADHD symptom almost nobody talks about. Your dopamine system is underactive, so normal life feels flat and unrewarding. Which is why so many adults with ADHD are misdiagnosed as depressed, or never diagnosed at all.

13/07/2026

Periods make your ADHD worse.

Estrogen boosts dopamine — dopamine is what helps you focus. Seven days before your period, estrogen drops. Dopamine drops with it. So your focus, motivation, and emotional control crash. It's not that your ADHD got worse overnight. It's not you. It's chemistry.

Save this for your next bad-focus week. Send it to someone who thinks they're 'just lazy' before their period. Follow for Part 5 .

21/06/2026

If yoga were discovered in a laboratory today, we'd probably call it revolutionary.

Modern evidence suggests benefits for: 🧠 Stress 🧠 Anxiety 🧠 Depression 🧠 Sleep 🧠 Emotional regulation 🧠 Addiction recovery

As an Addiction Psychiatrist, what interests me most is not flexibility.

It's the ability to create a pause between an urge and an action.

Because recovery often begins in that gap.

Happy International Day of Yoga. 🙏