GAD is prolonged and exaggerated anxiety that is experienced by a person on a daily basis. People who suffer from this disorder often worry about disastrous situations, particularly pertaining to health, finances, family, work or social situations.

With GAD, people often have trouble falling or staying asleep due to irrational thoughts. Physical symptoms can include trembling, twitching, muscle tension, headaches, irritability, sweating, or hot flashes. They may even feel lightheaded, out of breath or nauseated.

Phobias are a type of anxiety disorder that is characterized by an excessive and irrational reaction to a fear. People who have phobias usually feel a deep sense of dread or panic when they encounter the place, situation or object that they fear.

Phobias usually tend to fall into one of these five categories: feats related to animals (spiders, snakes, dogs), natural environment (heights, darkness, thunder), blood/injury/medical issues (injections, falls, broken bones), specific situations (flying, driving, riding in elevators), and other (choking, loud noises, drawing).

There are three main types of eating disorders:

1. Anorexia Nervosa: this is when an individual starves themself because they perceive themselves as overweight. People qualify as “anorexic” if they are 15% under the normal body weight, and are still losing weight.

2. Bulimia Nervosa: this is when an individual eats excessive amounts of food, and then rids their body of the food by vomiting, abusing laxatives/diuretics, taking enemas or exercising obsessively.

3. Binge Eating Disorder: this is when an individual keep eating despite being full or not hungry. They also end up eating their food rapidly, which results in feelings of disgust, embarrassment, or self-loathing due their eating behaviour.

Insomnia is characterised by the inability to fall asleep or maintain sleep. Usually, even when an individual does eventually sleep, their sleep is non-restorative. Insomnia is often a symptom of a pre-existing mental condition, like depression or generalised anxiety. It can also be caused by a medical condition, like suffering through pain. Insomnia is often treated alongside the pre-existing condition, as it is a pretty serious and crippling condition in itself.

OCD is an anxiety disorder that causes people to have recurring and disturbing thoughts (obsessions) and repetitive and ritualised behaviours that a person feels driver to carry out (compulsions).
People with OCD engage in their compulsions in order to neutralise anxiety. However, it is possible for people to have only obsessions, or compulsions, although they are not common. The condition ends up driving the person to engage in unwanted and distressful behavior.

Autism spectrum disorder is a condition that impacts how people perceive and socialise with others. Problems in interaction occur due to how the brain of the individual has been affected during its development. The spectrum of symptoms and severity of them range widely, and manifest differently from person to person.

The most common symptoms are seen in children during early infancy, such as reduced eye contact, indifference to their caregivers, or the inability to recognise their name. They also sometimes get aggressive, or regress in their linguistic abilities. Many of the children also have difficulties learning, and some exhibit superior learning skills which usually come with social abilities.

ADHD is characterised by a person’s inability to keep their attention focused, whether on a task at hand or organisation of their time and space. People with this condition also often avoid engaging in tasks that take effort or follow through.

Symptoms of ADHD may also include hyperactivity, such as fidgeting, excessive talking, restlessness, and impulsive action, such as being patient, interrupting others. Such behaviours often interfere with a person’s ability to form lasting friendships, or build stable careers or home environments.