What is explosive disorder?

Overview. Intermittent explosive disorder involves repeated, sudden episodes of impulsive, aggressive, violent behavior or angry verbal outbursts in which you react grossly out of proportion to the situation.
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What causes explosive disorder?

Some known intermittent explosive disorder causes include: Family history (heredity) Experiencing any sort of abuse, verbal or physical, in childhood. Brain function and chemistry, especially varying levels of serotonin.
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What mental illness causes rage outbursts?

Intermittent explosive disorder (IED) is an impulse-control disorder characterized by sudden episodes of unwarranted anger. The disorder is typified by hostility, impulsivity, and recurrent aggressive outbursts. People with IED essentially “explode” into a rage despite a lack of apparent provocation or reason.
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What is an explosive personality?

Persons with explosive personality disorder exhibit extreme emotional instability characterized by explosive outbursts of rage upon minor provocation. Persons with histrionic personality disorder persistently display overly dramatic, highly excitable, and intensely expressed behaviour (i.e., histrionics).
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Can explosive disorder cured?

There's no single treatment that's best for everyone with intermittent explosive disorder. Treatment generally includes talk therapy (psychotherapy) and medication.
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What is Intermittent Explosive Disorder?



How do I know if I have IED?

You'll be diagnosed with IED if you experience one of the following: verbal or physical aggression toward things, animals, or other people, twice a week (on average), within 3 months, which doesn't cause physical damage or injury. three aggressive outbursts that cause damage or injury, within 12 months.
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How do you calm someone with an IED?

To calm someone during an IED episode, you can use empathetic statements, active listening, and emotional detachment. IED can be treated successfully with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs).
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Why do I get angry so quickly?

What causes people to get angry? There are many common triggers for anger, such as losing your patience, feeling as if your opinion or efforts aren't appreciated, and injustice. Other causes of anger include memories of traumatic or enraging events and worrying about personal problems.
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Why am I always angry and irritated for no reason?

Many factors can cause or contribute to irritability, including life stress, a lack of sleep, low blood sugar levels, and hormonal changes. Extreme irritability, or feeling irritable for an extended period, can sometimes indicate an underlying condition, such as an infection or diabetes.
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Can IED disorder be cured?

While there is no cure for IED, you can gain control over the symptoms with proper rehab. There are inpatient treatment programs designed specifically to meet the needs of people suffering from intermittent explosive disorder.
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How do you deal with an explosive anger?

Here are some techniques to help you stay calm.
  1. Check yourself. It's hard to make smart choices when you're in the grips of a powerful negative emotion. ...
  2. Don't dwell. ...
  3. Change the way you think. ...
  4. Relax. ...
  5. Improve your communication skills. ...
  6. Get active. ...
  7. Recognize (and avoid) your triggers.
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Is there medication for intermittent explosive disorder?

Management and Treatment

In particular, fluoxetine is the most studied drug for intermittent explosive disorder. Other drugs that have been studied for the condition or have been recommended if fluoxetine fails include phenytoin, oxcarbazepine or carbamazepine.
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What medication is best for anger?

Prescription and Over-the-Counter Medications

Antidepressants such as Prozac, Celexa and Zoloft are commonly prescribed for anger issues. These drugs do not specifically target anger within the body, but they do have a calming effect that can support control of rage and negative emotion.
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How do you treat IED naturally?

Can IED Be Treated, and How Can I Be Supportive?
  1. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) to identify triggers.
  2. Relaxation Techniques.
  3. Mindfulness.
  4. Self-soothing methods to cope with anger.
  5. Learning techniques to manage an overload of emotions.
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What is it called when someone gets mad at you for being mad at them?

Brandishing anger: Manipulator uses anger to brandish sufficient emotional intensity and rage to shock the victim into submission. The manipulator is not actually angry, he or she just puts on an act.
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Why am I so short tempered?

A short temper can also be a sign of an underlying condition like depression or intermittent explosive disorder (IED), which is characterized by impulsive and aggressive behavior. If your anger has become overwhelming or is causing you to hurt yourself or those around you, it's time to find professional help.
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What hormone causes irritability?

Hormonal imbalances are commonly associated with increased irritability. Common hormone culprits include testosterone and thyroid hormones (T3, T4, and TSH, or thyroid-stimulating hormone). Testosterone is a hormone produced by the adrenal cortex, testes in men, and ovaries in women.
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Why do I cry when I'm angry?

Lots of people cry when they feel frustrated, angry, or embarrassed. When you get mad, your body produces a flood of hormones that stimulate strong reactions in your body — everything from a racing heart to sweaty palms to short-term memory loss. In response to the elevated stress level, you may cry.
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Can anxiety cause intermittent explosive disorder?

Background. Evidence suggests that impulsive aggression and explosive anger are common among individuals with anxiety disorders; yet, the influence of IED on the onset, course, consequences, and patterns of comorbidity among those with anxiety disorders is unknown.
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How common is IED?

Depending upon how broadly it's defined, intermittent explosive disorder (IED) affects as many as 7.3 percent of adults — 11.5-16 million Americans — in their lifetimes.
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Does CBD help with anger?

It may seem like cannabidiol (CBD) is called a cure for everything nowadays, but a recent study led scientists to believe CBD really can help you chill out.
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Can anger issues be genetic?

Conclusions: Individual differences in coping styles and life events in youth can be explained by moderate genetic and substantial environmental influences, of which most are idiosyncratic to the individual. The association between anger expression and life events is largely the result of common genes.
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Is extreme anger a mental illness?

Many things can trigger anger, including stress, family problems, and financial issues. For some people, anger is caused by an underlying disorder, such as alcoholism or depression. Anger itself isn't considered a disorder, but anger is a known symptom of several mental health conditions.
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What is a nervous breakdown?

The term "nervous breakdown" is sometimes used by people to describe a stressful situation in which they're temporarily unable to function normally in day-to-day life. It's commonly understood to occur when life's demands become physically and emotionally overwhelming.
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Do I have anger issues or BPD?

A Word From Verywell. It's important to remember that anger itself is a normal emotion, so experiencing angry reactions does not mean you have BPD. Still, if you have difficulties with anger control, reaching out to a mental health professional is a good idea.
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