Road Rage
It appears that all the major newspapers and news outlets have picked up on the latest mental disorder; “Intermittent Explosive Disorder.” But is Road Rage really a psychiatric disease or just a way to rationalize bad behavior and shirk responsibility for the behavior?
[CNN.com - Study: 16 million might have road rage disorder - Jun 5, 2006]
[‘Road rage’ gets a medical diagnosis - Mental Health - MSNBC.com ]
[Road Rage Considered Brain Disorder, Study: 'Intermittent Explosive Disorder' Affects 16 Million Americans - CBS News]
I am sending for the official study but looking at what is reported so far, I will have a hard time labeling road rage as a mental disorder.
Here is what is being quoted: "This is a well-designed, large-scale, face-to-face study with interesting and useful results," said Dr. David Fassler, a psychiatry professor at the University of Vermont. "The findings also confirm that for most people, the difficulties associated with the disorder begin during childhood or adolescence, and they often have a profound and ongoing impact on the person's life."
One of the investigators by the name of Coccaro said 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, Coccaro said.
Here is where the problem arises. The investigators are making assumptions about serotonin levels. There were no measurements and in fact, there is no reliable way to measure serotonin levels inside the brain. Most physicians believe the levels that can be measured in peripheral blood may not correlate with the level in the brain. In addition, seratonin levels are never routinely measured because of the difficulties in measurement and interpretation. These are just speculations by the investigators with no real scientific proof.
It is also noted that most of these individuals began the problem in childhood. What was the family dynamics leading to the behavior and how were the outbursts handled during childhood? There are just way too many variables that contribute to how people handle stress.
Based on their reports and extrapolations, there could be 16 million people with this disease. Are we ready to allow this type of behavior to be excused by labeling it a mental disorder?
I hope we haven’t gone off the deep end. But then that could be labeled a disease as well.
[CNN.com - Study: 16 million might have road rage disorder - Jun 5, 2006]
[‘Road rage’ gets a medical diagnosis - Mental Health - MSNBC.com ]
[Road Rage Considered Brain Disorder, Study: 'Intermittent Explosive Disorder' Affects 16 Million Americans - CBS News]
I am sending for the official study but looking at what is reported so far, I will have a hard time labeling road rage as a mental disorder.
Here is what is being quoted: "This is a well-designed, large-scale, face-to-face study with interesting and useful results," said Dr. David Fassler, a psychiatry professor at the University of Vermont. "The findings also confirm that for most people, the difficulties associated with the disorder begin during childhood or adolescence, and they often have a profound and ongoing impact on the person's life."
One of the investigators by the name of Coccaro said 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, Coccaro said.
Here is where the problem arises. The investigators are making assumptions about serotonin levels. There were no measurements and in fact, there is no reliable way to measure serotonin levels inside the brain. Most physicians believe the levels that can be measured in peripheral blood may not correlate with the level in the brain. In addition, seratonin levels are never routinely measured because of the difficulties in measurement and interpretation. These are just speculations by the investigators with no real scientific proof.
It is also noted that most of these individuals began the problem in childhood. What was the family dynamics leading to the behavior and how were the outbursts handled during childhood? There are just way too many variables that contribute to how people handle stress.
Based on their reports and extrapolations, there could be 16 million people with this disease. Are we ready to allow this type of behavior to be excused by labeling it a mental disorder?
I hope we haven’t gone off the deep end. But then that could be labeled a disease as well.
posted by Anonymous at 6:14 AM
3 Comments:
I wonder sometimes about blog rage!
I was thinking the same thing.
I'll bet that someone will label it a disease as well
If we keep heading in this direction we will all be on drugs to control our behavior. It seems in our society no one is held accountable for their actions.
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