Anxiety Disorders present with excessive and uncontrolled sensation of anxiety. These may be physical symptoms such as palpitations and breathlessness, repetitive and catastrophic thoughts, and a desire to avoid anything that triggers the anxiety. Moderate-to-severe anxiety disorders impair one’s ability to go about everyday life, and are often associated with depressed mood.

PTSD is a syndrome of anxiety and mood symptoms that develop after encounters which are life-threatening – accidents and injuries, natural catastrophies, armed conflict. It is associated with intrusive unpleasant memories and a loss of the sense of security

People with OCD have intrusive fears of a particular bad outcome, and feel compelled to respond to this by a specific ritualized set of behaviours. This could be repetitive washing, checking, counting or uttering phrases. People with OCD usually know that there is no logical reason to do these actions but feel overwhelmingly anxious if they don’t.

Schizophrenia is marked by hallucinations, delusions and disorganized speech and behaviour. It makes it hard for people to go about their usual routines, social interactions and work.

Bipolar Disorder is characterized by multiple episodes of sustained depressed mood and episodes of elated mood. Some episodes might also be a combination of both. Elated mood refers to being excessively happy, energetic, talkative, optimistic or disinhibited. These episodes are disruptive to one’s usual activities and roles.

ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder associated with poor concentration, distractibility, and difficulty completing tasks. Some people are also more fidgety, active and prone to impulsive actions and accidents. It usually starts to give problems before the age of 7, and manifests in different ways through the lifespan, according to environments and occupational demands. It may occur together with other mental health conditions like Depression, Anxiety, Autism Spectrum Disorders and Intellectual Disability.

This refers to syndrome where people are born with difficulties in social interactions and speech and language. They may also have adherence to particular routines and preferences. People with ASD may or may not have intellectual disabilities, and their impairments vary greatly between persons, and at different points in their lives.

People respond to life changes according to multiple factors such as their personality, their past experiences, and their support systems. People may need to see a psychiatrist when they have difficult stress symptoms such as insomnia, physical pains and prolonged fatigue. They may also have turned to unhealthy outlets like excessive alcohol and prescription medication.

Dementia refers to loss of abilities in memory, speech and language, functional tasks and decision-making. With the loss of cognitive abilities, there is also a greater incidence of depression, anxiety, sleep problems and disturbed behaviours.

We are able to make assessments and write reports for processes related to Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA), Mental Capacity Act (MCA), testamentary capacity, and forensic opinions. The requirements for each case differ greatly and we will be able to discuss appropriate psychiatric services with each individual.

Sleep difficulties come in many forms, from difficulties falling asleep, interrupted sleep, long hours of low-quality sleep, to lying awake in the early morning. They often lead to daytime fatigue, slowness, and loss of drive. Sleep is affected by our environment, our genetics, our physical and mental health, lifestyle choices, and many habits we have accumulated over years. Many of these factors interact to give rise to sleep problems and to perpetuate them once they have started. It helps to discuss and investigate the multiple contributors to any sleep problems in order to arrive at a coherent and effective plan for addressing the insomnia.

Fatigue is a common symptom in many physical and mental health conditions. There is often more than one concurrent reason, and the factors often interact in a vicious cycle of physical fatigue, feeling demoralized, and lack of energy to address problems. It is helpful to address the problem of fatigue in a holistic manner – physical and mental, internal and environmental – and working on each of them to improve overall functioning and meaningful activity.