Are you facing anger issues? Get an intermittent explosive disorder test now to know if you have a disorder!
With the advancing time, the world of psychology has been evolving. With this evolution, we have seen treatments for severe disorders; however, alongside that, we came across the discovery of some new disorders.
You may find the psychology of other people intricate because you will never know what other people feel or perceive about other things. You might come across people with aggressive to shy people.
Out of many problems, you might see people in your friend circle who have anger issues or throw temper tantrums. It may shock you, but those people might suffer from IED (Intermittent Explosive Disorder). But how can I be so sure that the person is IED? Numerous intermittent explosive disorder tests are available to ensure your diagnosis is correct.
This article will discuss IED and how to deal with intermittent explosive disorder. So sit back, and start reading!
Table of Contents
What is IED?
IED, or intermittent explosive disorder, is a behavioral disorder characterized by anger issues, aggressive behaviors, and impulsive actions.
According to WebMD
“Intermittent explosive disorder makes you aggressive and violent without any specific reason. It involves a series of verbal outbursts, physical fights, and sudden anger.”
Let’s say you forgot to pick up your charger from the bed, and your sister comes to you furious and starts shouting at you to become too aggressive. This might be no reason to start a fight, but if she has Intermittent explosive disorder, she might behave this way.
Thus, you may not notice what other people are going through, but if you encounter some fundamental behavioral changes, persuade them to seek medical help before the condition worsens.
Symptoms of IED
While many disorders have overlapping symptoms, making a correct diagnosis through a medical professional is necessary. However, here are some of the most common symptoms:
- Rage
- Irritability
- An increasing sense of tension
- Racing thoughts
- Poor communication.
- Increased energy
- Tremors
- Heart palpitations
- Chest tightness
- Yelling and shouting
- Intense arguments
- Threats
Rage
The foremost common symptoms of IED is rage. It is characterized by intense anger leading to fights, brawls, or abuse.
For instance, a parent with IED tries to get their child to be, but the child refuses. In return, the parent will hit the child without thinking of anything. Similarly, a student with IED may be told to put his phone away. But as a response, he starts throwing his stuff away, showing tantrums and shouting instead of putting it away.
Irritability
Now another common sign that has been seen in people with the intermittent explosive disorder is irritability. You’ll see them getting irritated about little things that are not worth attention. The sufferer might have intense, persistent irritability that can contribute to sudden outbursts.
For example, a person is waiting in a long queue at Target. He suddenly became increasingly irritable and began yelling at the cashier and others in the line, causing a scene. He may be suffering from IED unless he is a Karen!
Let’s take another example. Consider a person with IED having a friendly conversation with a friend but becoming heavily irritated by a specific action or topic. As a result, the person will explode with anger to stop talking about a specific topic.
An increasing sense of tension
Now the next commonly observed sign of IED is increased tension in the patient. They will experience pressure or tension in their brain, leading to anger outbursts and fights.
Let’s say you are supposed to attend a work meeting. You reach the destination calmly but will feel agitated as the meeting begins and time progresses. Your mind will no longer want to work, and you’ll need to end the meeting. Amidst the fights going inside, you finally give up, start yelling at the presenter, and storm out of the room. You are most likely to have an IED.
Racing thoughts
Racing thoughts are one of the primary symptoms of the intermittent explosive disorder. A person with IED may experience overwhelming thoughts that can contribute to anger and aggression.
A driver has become overwhelmed due to the racing thoughts of being inadequate and failing, leading to agitation and consequently exploding in range.
Poor communication.
Poor communication might also indicate social anxiety and isolation, but if it coincides with other aggressive signs, the individual might be at risk of developing IED.
An individual with IED will need help with expressing himself and listening effectively. He may even use aggressive language and shows a lack of empathy in their attitude. These factors, when accumulated, can leave a longing effect on relationships, work performance, and the overall quality of their life.
Increased energy
People with IED may experience an increased energy of negativity that piles up inside and bursts at once. You will notice that the person is restless, agitated, frustrated, anxious, and will have the urge to act out aggressively.
Moreover, such built-up energy will only be released when the person indulges in a heated-up argument or situation inculcating anger-triggering behavior.
Tremors
Tremors are caused by a neurological disorder that results in the shaking movement of body parts like hands. An individual suffering from the intermittent explosive disorder may face increased adrenaline and cortisol tremors.
These hormones elevate the tension in our body, leading to involuntary shaking or tremors.
Heart palpitations
The heart is one of the most sensitive organs in our body. It is essential to take notice of each irregular activity or beat of our hearts.
Heart palpitations are characterized by a fluttering, racing, or pounding heartbeat and are not always related to IED. However, people face several other physical symptoms like anxiety or pain in the heart due to extreme anger and high blood flow.
Chest tightness
Another physical symptom of IED is chest tightness. People with IED will experience chest tightness which can be triggered by intense emotional and physical energy that builds up inside and causes an outburst of anger.
An individual suffering from IED may get angry at inconsiderate things like glass on the wrong shelf or a shirt on the bed causing chest tightness. These symptoms can be distressing and may exacerbate an individual’s anger leading to frequent indulgence in aggressive behavior.
Yelling and shouting
The most commonly encountered behavior of an aggressive person is shouting and yelling. These are the ways to cope with anger and frustration lurking within. Moreover, if matters get out of hand, shouting and yelling might become abuse, violence, and rage attacks.
Intense arguments
Well, of course, where there is anger, heated, intense arguments lead to atrocious crimes like murder or abuse. If you are living with someone suffering, you may encounter or get into intense arguments with them.
Threats
An individual with IED may possess the threat to harm you, and their argument may also result in giving threats to others.
This may include verbal abuse and bombarding verbal threats to individuals who may not feel safe with you anymore.
Behavioral outbursts
Before we know the intermittent explosive disorder test, we’ll look at common behavioral outbursts from IED patients.
Temper tantrum
First, people with IED do not have control over their temper; therefore, you will watch them throw temper tantrums multiple times a day without acknowledging the underlying cause of the behavior.
Physical fights
Physical fights are another frequently observed symbol while studying IED. IED individuals cannot control their anger, leading to frequent physical fights or other harmful physical actions like shoving, slapping, or pushing. They may even threaten to damage your property.
Causes of IED
Before understanding intermittent explosive disorder treatment, we must sort out the underlying cause of the IED. Let’s see what are the possible causes of intermittent explosive disorder.
Genetic
Genetic factors mainly cause IED. Research suggests that the disorder may be inherited and that genetic variation can lead to the development of the disorder; however, genes responsible for the transfer of this disorder are not yet identified.
One of many studies suggests a 44 to 72 percent chance that your child will develop an IED if you or your partner has it. Moreover, the research has also shown that a family with a history of aggression and aggressive behavior is a vital factor likely to play a role in a child’s development of the intermittent explosive disorder.
Biological factors
Brain structure and chemistry are two significant biological factors contributing to the development of the intermittent explosive disorder. If there are abnormalities in the neurotransmitter system, the person may develop the disorder.
Some research suggests that the abnormalities in dopamine and serotonin might be a contributing cause of the development of the intermittent disorder. In addition, a study shows that people have a higher level of dopamine in their brains during anger provocation.
Moreover, abnormal brain structure, like defects in the prefrontal cortex and limbic system, is linked to the development of the disorder. In addition, substance abuse affects the chemical reactions in our brains, leading to various psychological and behavioral disorders, including intermittent explosive disorder.
Environmental factors
Numerous environmental disorders need to be addressed for causing IED. Below are a few of the significant environmental factors resulting in the development of IED:
Childhood trauma
Childhood trauma might include sexual, emotional, or physical abuse, which creates rage of revenge or pushing everyone back might be linked to the disorder.
Chronic stress
Are you working eight hours a day and not finding time for yourself? Are you feeling frustrated due to work-related stress? Well, you might be at risk of developing the intermittent explosive disorder.
Financial and work-related stress often causes a person to become agitated and frustrated, which might lead to sudden anger outbursts. The condition could worsen if this issue is not addressed promptly.
Peer influence
Peer influence can make or break your whole life. Similarly, they can become a reason for your mental condition. You may develop bad habits like drinking or taking drugs that highly contribute to developing the intermittent explosive disorder and other psychological disorders.
Long-lasting trauma
Let’s say a friend has been in a constant abusive and violent relationship about which you do not know. Once their limit to be patient exceeds, they might start taking out their frustration on other people around them. Thus, long-term trauma might cause the person to develop anger disorder.
Past mental disorders
People with already existing mental disorders may develop more of them. For instance, if a person has ADHD, antisocial personality disorder, borderline personality disorder, depression, anxiety-related symptoms, or substance abuse disorder, he is more likely to be vulnerable to developing the intermittent explosive disorder.
Complications
Any long illness makes human psychology even more challenging to understand similarly if IDE or Intermittent explosive disorder is not diagnosed promptly. Here is a list of some significant complications that can result from IDE.
- Impaired interpersonal relationships
- Trouble in public places
- Problems with mood
- Physical health problems
- Self-harm
Impaired interpersonal relationships
One of the biggest problems faced due to IED is impaired relationships. Rising anger and losing control over frustrated responses are the most affected relationships. You will see your loved ones getting distant from you because of your anger issues. You might have abused your spouse due to losing control over your anger, but now that the relationship is ruined, you must work for its amendments.
Physical and verbal abuse might prevail, leading to a bad home environment. One of the lasting consequences can be divorce, and your children might hate you for your disorder.
Trouble in public places
You might have heard that people with social anxiety struggle to strike up a basic conversation or fail to maintain relations for a long time due to fear. Similarly, someone with the intermittent explosive disorder may fail to contain themselves and burst on the shopkeeper or in public places.
For instance, you went shopping with your spouse at a busy mall. The mall parking is jam-packed, and you need more space to park your car. In the middle, you see an empty spot, but a guy crosses you leading you to press breaks, and in all this, another car parks on your spot. If your spouse has IDE, he will explode from anger and start abusing the guy, who turns into a fight.
Problems with mood
You will encounter intense mood swings, which cause continuous fights and abuse. This dangerous condition can be the root cause of numerous other significant disorders. It can lead to depression and anxiety with intense anger episodes. However, these things fade instantly but leave a lasting impact due to their intensity.
Physical health problems
You are wrong if you think anger issues only affect your mental health. It affects not only your mental health but also your physical health. But you might think, how is that possible? Consider a person with anger issues verbally abusing people, starting fights, and constantly frustrated and angry.
Now, what do you think is happening inside their body? The first thing that happens when an angry person is his heart rate and blood pressure increase. This increase in blood pressure and heartbeat results in heart problems like strokes, heart attacks, and high blood pressure.
Self-harm
Suppose the situation gets out of hand, and the person with the disorder cannot control his anger. In that case, it will lead to uncontrollable anger leading him to potential self-harm like cutting himself, having suicidal thought, or even committing it. If you believe you or someone near you has anger issues, seek immediate medical attention or ask them to get an intermittent explosive disorder test.
How common is intermittent explosive disorder?
Intermittent explosive disorder is also rising with growing stress and other mental disorders. However, several symptoms of the disorder align with other significant disorders; therefore, for appropriate diagnosis, it is necessary to get an intermittent explosive disorder test.
As far as its commonality is concerned, it varies with geographical location and environmental factors. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5), the estimated existence of intermittent explosive disorder is 1-2%.
It can be mostly encountered chiefly in adult males. Note that someone experiencing occasional or sudden outbursts of anger might meet the other criterion of IED. Therefore, it is required to immediately get an intermittent explosive disorder test done for the correct diagnosis.
Diagnosis of the intermittent explosive disorder
Are you looking for an intermittent explosive disorder test? Do you think that you have an IED? If yes, then let’s read the following section to learn how to diagnose intermittent explosive disorder properly. Here are a few Intermittent explosive disorder tests you must go for:
- Clinical interview for DSM-5
- Checking medical history
- Psychological evaluation
Clinical interview for DSM-5
This is a standard criterion to get the diagnosis of IED. It is not only the criteria to diagnose IED, but various other mental disorders are also diagnosed using this option.
Checking medical history
Another way to diagnose IED is by checking the patient’s medical history. If you see some recurring symptoms of angry behavior or uncontrolled aggression in most reports, he is likely to have the intermittent explosive disorder.
Psychological evaluation
The best way to diagnose a behavioral disorder is by doing a psychological evaluation. For this, the patient will have to go to a psychiatrist. The psychiatrist will ask about emotions and behavior, leading to the final diagnosis.
Treatment options
How to deal with intermittent explosive disorder? After the proper diagnosis through the intermittent explosive disorder test, it is time to move on to available treatment options. Here is a list of some intermittent explosive disorder treatments, so let’s see the cure!
- Psychotherapy
- Medication
- Anger management therapy
- Lifestyle changes
Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy is the most common treatment for any behavioral disorder. A psychologist will make use of cognitive behavioral therapy. The psychologist or a counselor will hold a therapy session (group or alone) to discuss the patient’s emotions and the root cause. It will help the person manage the symptoms of IED and opt for better ways of living.
Medication
In severe cases of IDE, therapy may not be enough, leading to the second step of treatment, medication. Individuals have been prescribed medicines like mood stabilizers, anti-anxiety drugs, antipsychotic drugs, or antidepressants. It is essential to know that medication is not considered a first-line treatment.
Anger management therapy
Another most frequently used treatment option is anger management therapy. Like behavioral therapy, anger management therapy teaches individuals how to manage their anger and control their aggressive outbursts. They are trained to recognize potential triggers that lead to outbursts and develop coping strategies.
Lifestyle changes
Lifestyle change can lead to significant changes in one’s behavior. In order to manage IED, the person is required to make healthy life choices like doing exercise regularly, going for a walk, getting enough sleep, and avoiding all kinds of alcohol and drug abuse. It can help the individual manage their overall stress, eradicate IED, and improve overall well-being.
Conclusion
With the growing rate of financial stress globally after COVID-19, the world has also faced a rise in anger management issues. Along with numerous other disorders, intermittent explosive disorder has also significantly increased. IED can have many effects on a person’s life, which can destroy his social value.
Diagnosis of IED can be made through a couple of evaluations by the professional. However, there is no specific “intermittent explosive disorder test.” It can be treated through a couple of therapies.
Thus, if anyone in your surrounding is acting aggressively, persuade them to get their evaluation done to rule out the symptoms of IED.
