The Unstuck Journal publishes plain-English articles about journaling, sleep, overthinking, doomscrolling, gentle reminders, small mental resets, and adjacent everyday wellness topics. This page describes how the articles are written, reviewed, dated, and updated.
What the Journal is
A reading site. Articles are written for adults trying to make sense of an everyday experience (a loud-brain night, a stuck week, a phone they cannot put down) and decide whether and when to talk to a clinician about it.
What the Journal is not
The Journal is not personalized medical advice. It is not a substitute for care from a licensed clinician. It is not a directory and not a referral service. It does not sell anything and does not run ads.
Who writes the articles
Articles are written by the Unstuck team, sometimes with contributions from outside writers. Every article on the Journal is reviewed for clinical accuracy by Shariq Refai, MD, MBA, FAPA, a board-certified psychiatrist and the founder of shrinkMD. His byline and review date appear at the top of every article.
Review and approval
An article does not ship until:
- The author has drafted it in the Unstuck voice (plain, sentence case, no em dashes, no AI tells).
- A second reader has copy-edited it for clarity and consistency.
- Shariq Refai, MD, MBA, FAPA has reviewed it for clinical accuracy, scope (Unstuck is non-clinical), and the presence of a clear handoff for readers who need professional care.
- Citations have been verified and linked to authoritative sources where appropriate.
- The page has been tagged with a publish date and a last-reviewed date.
How we use evidence
Our source hierarchy, how we check health claims, how we describe uncertainty, and how we keep articles current are described in detail on the Evidence and Methodology page. Clinical review is performed by the Medical Review Board.
AI use and human review
This website may use AI-assisted tools to support drafting, organization, summarization, grammar review, and editorial workflows. AI tools do not independently publish content. Medical content undergoes human review and editorial oversight before publication. AI does not replace human review, medical judgment, diagnosis, or treatment decisions. See the AI Use and Editorial Assistance page.
Citation standards
Where a factual claim about how the mind or body works is made, we link to authoritative sources. Sources we use:
- NIMH (National Institute of Mental Health)
- NIH (National Institutes of Health) and MedlinePlus
- CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- SAMHSA
- APA (American Psychological Association)
- NHS (UK)
- NICE (UK)
- Sleep Foundation
- Cleveland Clinic Health Essentials
- Harvard Health Publishing
- Peer-reviewed journals (cited in plain English with linkable summaries when possible)
Scope and the non-clinical line
Unstuck is a non-clinical wellness app. Journal articles describe experiences, suggest small low-cost behaviors, and point readers to clinical care when warranted. Articles do not:
- Promise to treat, cure, or prevent any condition.
- Replace clinical judgment.
- Recommend or rule out specific medications.
- Provide individualized risk assessment.
Updates and corrections
We aim to review the Journal on at least a quarterly cadence. Last-reviewed dates are updated whenever an article is meaningfully edited. If a published article contains a factual error, we correct it and add a brief correction note at the bottom of the article. Email corrections@beunstuck.app with the article URL and the specific issue.
Disclosures
Articles disclose any material connection, including that Unstuck and shrinkMD share a founder, Shariq Refai, MD. Where shrinkMD is mentioned, the disclosure appears in the same paragraph in plain English.
Voice
Plain, sentence case, short sentences, calm. No em dashes. No motivational-poster phrasing. No emoji. Conversational, the way a psychiatrist actually talks to a patient in clinic. The full voice guide is internal.
Reader feedback
You can send feedback at any time. Email support@beunstuck.app with "Editorial feedback" in the subject and the URL of the article.