Perhaps the most problematic area in the anger management field is a serious psychological disorder called intermittent explosive disorder (IED) .
This is a fairly rare disorder of the brain characterized by explosive outbursts of behavior such as throwing or breaking things and inflicting physical harm on others with little or no provocation. It is an impulse control disorder that is sometimes linked to temporal lobe epilepsy. It has also been suggested by studies to be the underlying cause of road rage.
It is estimated that up to 7.3% of adults, approximately 11.5 to 16 million Americans, suffer from IED at some time during their lives. The actual percentages may actually be higher, as IED tends to overlap in individuals with bipolar disorder (people diagnosed with bipolar disorder were excluded from the testing).
This condition is believed to be one of the most destructive and dangerous mental disorders. Characterized by violent outbursts or impulsive aggressiveness grossly out of proportion to the precipitating event, IED can be exacerbated by the use of alcohol or recreational drugs like crystal methamphetamines.
This mental disorder has also been linked to crimes such as domestic violence, child abuse, assault, rape, murder, road rage, and violent robberies. It does not respond well to normal anger management techniques.
IED is thought to start in the early teen years. Because its onset occurs at such an early age, it is proposed that those exhibiting symptoms should be tested at the first sign of a problem. Sufferers are known to be at risk for developing depression and anxiety, alcohol and drug abuse, divorce and other dysfunctional behaviors.
About 70% of people with IED never seek or receive any treatment besides classic anger management techniques. While effective to a degree, these techniques need to be utilized in conjunction with medication. Effective treatment is twofold and consists of cognitive behavioral therapy and psychotropic medication regimens. The former helps the patient recognize and deal with destructive impulses and the latter helps mitigate the cell loss and abnormalities in the left hemisphere of the brain that can occur in patients who have exhibited unprovoked violence associated with the disorder.
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