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Intermittent Explosive Disorder


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Intermittent Explosive Disorder

 

According to a report released June 5th in the Archives of General Psychiatry, researchers from the University of Chicago, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School say more than 7% of Americans may require treatment for a condition known as "Intermittent Explosive Disorder," or IED.

 

It's neither a propensity for spontaneous combustion nor anything a big bottle of Bean-o could solve. Rather, it's a condition described by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) as an impulse-control disorder that results in violent outbursts or "rages" that cause harm to others or property, and are "grossly out of proportion to the stressor."

 

"It's kind of embarrassing, but anger isn't something that you think to bring up in a diagnosis," said Harvard's Ron Kessler, the report's lead author. "You tend to focus on sadness or moodiness. The fact is that what psychologists are trained to think of as a mental illness was historically defined over drinks and cigars by aggressive, middle-aged men."

 

The scientists say they were shocked to find that there is such a large population of angry Americans. So, in line with our over-medicated ways, they are adding a new entry to the list of popular mental illnesses skulking on the underside of America's psyche—right between ADHD and restless leg syndrome. Age, race and socioeconomic status don't seem to be factors in predicting who suffers from IED—but gender does: The study found nearly twice as many men display symptoms than women.

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