Panic Disorder is expressed in panic attacks that occur without warning, accompanied by sudden feelings of terror. Physically, an attack may cause chest pain, heart palpitations, shortness of breath, dizziness, abdominal discomfort, feelings of unreality and fear of dying. When a person avoids situations that he or she fears may cause a panic attack, his or her condition is described as panic disorder with agoraphobia.

Phobias are divided into two categories: social phobia, which involves fear of social situations, and specific phobias, such as fear of flying, blood and heights.

Social Phobia may include a paralysing, irrational self-consciousness about social situations. People with social phobia have an intense fear of being observed or of doing something horribly wrong in front of other people. The feelings are so extreme that people with social phobia tend to avoid objects or situations that might stimulate that fear, which dramatically reduces their ability to lead a normal life.

Specific Phobias include fear of flying, fear of heights and fear of open spaces and other specific phobias. People experiencing a specific phobia are overwhelmed by unreasonable fears, which they are unable to control. Exposure to feared situations can cause them extreme anxiety and panic, even if they recognize that their fears are illogical.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is a natural emotional reaction to trauma experiences that involve actual or threatened serious harm to oneself or others. Anyone who faces an intense, terrifying event will continue to have strong feelings about it even months after the danger is gone. Usually within three months or so, the stress becomes less and behaviour patterns return to what they were before the trauma.

But for some people, the thoughts or memories of these horrible events seriously affect their lives long after any real danger has passed. This can seriously affect the persons daily life, including their sleep, work and relationships. These people may have an anxiety disorder known as posttraumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.

PTSD usually appears within three months of the traumatic event. But sometimes symptoms may not appear for years.

Something as simple as watching the news or hearing a siren can cause symptoms to suddenly appear or re-appear. These are triggers back to the feelings caused by the traumatic event.

The symptoms of PTSD are the same in all cultures. But how they are described and expressed can change from culture to culture.

For example, in some cultures mental health symptoms are more likely to be described as bodily complaints.

This may be due to several factors, such as the following:

• Some cultures do not distinguish between the body and the mind.
• The high level of stigma associated with mental illness in some cultures may mean that it is more acceptable to express emotional distress through the body than through the mind.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is a condition in which people suffer from persistent unwanted thoughts (obsessions) and / or rituals (compulsions) which they find impossible to control. Typically, obsessions concern contamination, doubting (such as worrying that the iron hasn't been turned off) and disturbing sexual or religious thoughts. Compulsions include washing, checking, organizing and counting.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder is characterized by repeated, exaggerated worry about routine life events and activities. This disorder lasts at least six months, during which time the person is affected by extreme worry more days than not. The individual anticipates the worst, even if others would say they have no reason to expect it. Physical symptoms can include nausea, trembling fatigue, muscle tension, or headache.

Concurrent disorders describes the situation in which a person has both a mental health disorder and a substance use disorder.

A person with a mental disorder has a higher risk of developing a substance use disorder, and a person with a substance use disorder has an increased chance of developing a mental health disorder at the same time.

Many studies show it is highly likely that someone with either a mental health disorder or a substance use disorder will develop the other type of disorder at some time.