Sometimes referred to as ASD, autism spectrum disorder is an umbrella term for a range of developmental mental disorders. The causes of these disorders are not fully understood, but it is known that the normal development of the nervous system is not always present in adults with ASD, which impacts on brain function. However, autism spectrum disorder has some family link, because people with a family member who has been diagnosed with an ASD condition are statistically more likely to have one themselves. The spectrum of disorders impacts on people in very different ways but it will typically mean they have to work harder to maintain a relationship, to hold down a job or to carry out certain tasks that others might find easy.
The term eating disorders covers a number of specific conditions which all impact on a person's ability to eat normally. This can be due to an issue with their physical health which impairs normal eating, but it is more common for it to be associated with mental health conditions nowadays. Individuals with anorexia nervosa, a mental condition, will frequently view themselves as unhealthily overweight and consequently restrict their diet abnormally, for example. It can lead to them becoming underweight, sometimes dangerously so. Eating disorders are known to affect women more than men in the West, although both suffer from them. In numerous cases, these disorders are combined with other issues, such as substance abuse, anxiety and depression and even abusive relationships.
A habit is a behaviour that becomes second nature over time, usually by repeating it frequently. Like skills, therefore, habits can be formed at any time in life although they tend to be easiest to take on when young because the brain is more open to generating the neural pathways necessary to make behavioural patterns stick. Of course, habits can be good and bad. As such, healthy habits are all about making new patterns of behaviour that are good for both our mental well-being as well as our physical health. Scientists reckon that the average daily repetition it takes to form a habit – healthy or otherwise – is 66 days although some people will achieve this much sooner and, others, much later. Deciding to commit to a healthy habit in the first place is the key to being able to get into them.
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