Road rage, temper outbursts that involve throwing or breaking objects and even spousal abuse can sometimes be attributed to the disorder, though not everyone who does those things is afflicted.
I don't experience road rage--not like that, anyway, but I did used to have these rages that I attributed to pent-up anger from growing up with alcoholics. I could be fine one moment and the next have such a fit of temper that I would throw something. It was totally scary to be out of control like that and I think it's been many years since I've had an episode like that.
When did they seem to go away completely? When I was put on an antedepressant and the doctor said I would always need to take the meds for my anxiety and dysthymia. I wouldn't have associated rage with it except for this:
By definition, intermittent explosive disorder involves multiple outbursts that are way out of proportion to the situation. These angry outbursts often include threats or aggressive actions and property damage. The disorder typically first appears in adolescence; in the study, the average age of onset was 14.
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the disorder involves inadequate production or functioning of serotonin, a mood-regulating and behavior-inhibiting brain chemical. Treatment with antidepressants, including those that target serotonin receptors in the brain, is often helpful, along with behavior therapy akin to anger management...
Oh! I think it's entirely possible that I have/had some form of this and that it's under control because of the medication I'm taking. Apparently, it's a lot more common in people than anyone ever thought--more common than schizophrenia or bipolar disorder!
And apparently the symptoms do appear in the DSM-IV, under one disorder or another. It just never had a name of its own--and that has contributed to a misunderstanding of what might be really going on.
This is definitely an important bit of information for me. The whole article is here.
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