Intermittent Explosive Disorder: Yippee! Another Disease

Melissa: My name is Melissa. And I have Intermittent Explosive Disorder.

Support Group in Unison: Hi, Melissa. (Then they move away a little. They don't want to get hit.)

No, IED is not some kind of bowel dysfunction. That would be known as Post-McDonalds Explosive Disorder. That's another malady entirely. IED refers to the 7% of people who, starting in their teens, throw fits and literally throw things and people occasionally. Nice.

The really great thing, if you'll go to the above link, is that our tax dollars went for research demonstrating the obvious: some people have a temper problem. And a small group of some people have a really, really bad temper problem. Yup, you heard it here first.

Puhleeze! Must we medicalize everything? How about this: some people are complete jerks, entitled idiots who believe it is their right to have what they want, when they want it and when they are deprived of even little things, feel completely free to make projectiles of the nearest tchotchke, or person. Whatever suits them, is the point.

These angry people also have anxiety (I might not get what I want right when I want it), depression (I'm so angry that I didn't get what I wanted and it's antisocial to kill people, so I'm depressed) and drug abuse (I'll drown my misery at being deprived of what I want and deserve).

These people also tend to have more stressful events like financial troubles and divorces. Chicken and the egg dilemma don't you think? I mean do angry axxholes lose jobs or do really, really nice people turn into angry so-and-sos when they get fired? Likewise, do otherwise nice people get divorced and turn into raving lunatics or were they short-of-fuse which got-on-last-nerve of spouse which resulted in divorce? It's kinda like a cycle: angry creates job loss creates anger creates beat-the-crap out of whoever is around creates divorce which creates more anger.

So, out with it dear readers: who is an I.E.D. sufferer, do you believe I.E.D. exists or is this just another psychobabble diagnosis to make bad people seem "sick" instead?