Comments on: Intermittent explosive disorder as disease mongering

By: L K Tucker

L K Tucker — Mon, 04 Dec 2006 21:18:00 +0000

IED has existed for centuries as Culture Bound Syndromes. Many of these poorly understood syndromes include attacks on people and things.

Amok is the syndromes for sudden berserk violence in Malaysia,
Going Postal is the one in the United States.

Understanding causation is more difficult and complex. There was an accidental discoverer of a 'conflict of the physiology of sight' related to the vision startle reflex in the 1960's. Office workers using newly designed close-spaced workstations began having mental breaks. The Cubicle solved that problem by 1968.

The "special circumstances" to cause exposure to Subliminal Distraction are so simple they can be created anywhere even primitive societies. Too-small single-room living arrangements, traditional ethnic housing, can allow the same exposure as those 1960's business offices.

When the mental break happens each ethnic group has a different experience and understanding of causation. Some of these explanations include magic, hexing, or the breaking of taboos.

No one is screening patients for exposure. There is circumstantial evidence, the Belgian Polar Expedition of 1898, that this problem can cause a variety of somatic and psychiatric symptoms. There was one case of permanent insanity aboard the Belgica. Previous investigators blamed mass hysteria.

Today the most likely places of exposure are home and small business computer workstations. No one hires an engineer to design safe workspace in those locations.

VisionAndPsychosis.Net is a private psychology project to collect evidence about this problem.

By: sally

sally — Tue, 04 Jul 2006 09:32:00 +0000

I agree with you about over-medication and over-medicalization. But that does not mean that symptoms or distress are unreal, whether you're taking about people with uncontrolled tempers, children who tear about destroying things, or people whose legs seem to have a life of their own when they're tired.

I too had the symptoms of restless legs long before I had heard of the disorder. Luckily, in my case it's mild enough to cope with and it never occurred to me that it was an illness or something to see a physician about. Nevertheless, it's inconvenient and unpleasant for me and whoever's sitting or lying next to me, and whatever causes it, it's real. It is *not* the same as fidgetting!

I understand that pharmacy is not necessarily the best way to deal with some or all of these problems, but please don't say 'Because it's not up to me to sort it out, these things don't exist'.

(Female, aged 40, have had restless legs for >10 years)

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 03 Jul 2006 14:56:00 +0000

JO THE EMERGENCY ROOM NURSE says…
I’m 61 and still working in the ER, I’ve been RN FOR 40 years. I’ve seen alot. Many new diagnosis have come and gone. We as human beings are just trying to sort it all out. I believe if we knew what stress and fear did to our bodies, minds and emotions the need for new medications for newly described symptoms would diminish.
I too have had symptom of ADHD… practicing yoga and tai chi improves my ability to focus. I too have been enraged on the road…but that was before learning tai chi and yoga. I’ve had irregular heart beats, facial muscle twitching and restless leg syndrome which will return if my intake of caffiene is high and my intake of alcohol is a problem. Multiple vitamins and calcium magnesium suppliments have alliviated these symptoms for me.
I do not recommend the above for anyone…I can only testify to what works for me. CALL ME HAPPY AND HEALTHY IN OHIO. GOD BLESS US ALL…EVERYONE!!!!!!!

By: Michael Rack, MD

Michael Rack, MD — Sat, 17 Jun 2006 02:22:00 +0000

Most patient’s RLS syxs can be controlled with aggressive medication. The exception is patients with uncorrected iron deficiency. I have one patient who has to maintain low iron levels (through phlebotomy) due to a blood cell disorder. I am having a hard time controlling his symptoms.

By: Fallen Angels

Fallen Angels — Sat, 17 Jun 2006 00:59:00 +0000

Yep…RLS is very real. My partner has it and also works in a sleep disorders clinic/lab as a polysomnographic tech. Meds do not work for her…she has to get up, walk around, massage her legs etc…in the hope of getting some sleep. About 1/3 of the patients she sees who are dx’d with the disorder also have no luck with meds. So I guess Big Pharm blew it on that one.

By: NeoNurseChic

NeoNurseChic — Fri, 16 Jun 2006 04:47:00 +0000

Yeah I’ve gotta agree that Restless Leg Syndrome is very real and something that runs in my family too. My grandma has it, my mother has it, and I have it. My mom is so bothered by it at times that she is unable to sit and watch tv. My problem is more when I lie down at night. And if I receive certain meds, like reglan for instance, well…..it makes me want to cut off my legs with my ever trusty pair of trauma shears. Not that I would – but I’m not kidding when I say I want to. It’s very real to those that experience it – not just because it’s advertised on tv, either.

By: diora

diora — Fri, 16 Jun 2006 02:54:00 +0000

If ‘road rage’ is a disorder, than you could diagnose lots of criminals with it. Or just find a disorder. Because the actions of many criminals seem really crazy to most of us.

The other day I was walking home from health club I saw some guy suddenly stop his car in the middle of the busy one-lane road blocking the traffic just so he can walk to the car behind and scream at the driver. I really couldn’t even figure out why he was mad at the other guy – couldn’t make out words. I don’t know if it was “rage disorder” but even if the guy behind appeared reckless (while the first guy was shouting, the other one drove away passing the first guy’s car on the right, on the sidewalk), this one looked like an idiot. I think the best preventive treatment for these guys is to just tape them and let them watch themselves.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 15 Jun 2006 23:42:00 +0000

I am a doctor and do not have restless leg syndrome. however, restless leg syndrome is real even if a pharmaceutical company can make money off of it. If you see enough 70 year old women for their physicals, you will discover this disease. And they don’t bring in a clipping from the newspaper. They describe the symptoms.

On the other hand, there is a little road rage in all of us. True road rage is just poor impluse control taken to the Nth degree.
b

By: WilliamManginoMD

WilliamManginoMD — Thu, 15 Jun 2006 19:08:00 +0000

"Severe" cases of 'road rage' with associated behavior, may indeed be a form of temporal lobe seizure disorder.

While I think that this classification is 'overdone,' at the same time, I wouldn't totally put this off as a bogus disease.

If you are talking about 'giving someone the finger' when he cuts you off on the highway - that's one thing.

Drivers who spend 20 minutes chasing people with intent to do harm - associated with a rapidly rising level of anger and aggresive behavior - yeah ! they are sick - and crescendo-decrescendo anger patterns may well be temporal lobe or brain manifestations of loss of control.

Send them to 'Devil's Island' and let them beat the crap out of each other for a 4-8 year hitch - all you law and order fans.

They should never drive again if they are unable to control themselves-just like any other form of epilepsy.

Only, most epileptics don't shoot you and try to harm you physically.

By: ryan

ryan — Thu, 15 Jun 2006 15:28:00 +0000

While pharmaceutical industry makes my skin crawl, and I agree that "Road Rage Disorder" is ludicrious and unfounded, to say that social anxiety disorder and ADHD are pharma-invented disease is completely off base. They certainly make their money by attempting to get everyone to believe they have a mental health disorder so they can by drugs. BUT, social anxiety and ADHD are part of the DSM-IV, road rage is not. To put these three under the same sweeping accusation as being pharma-invented is innaccurate to say the least.

It bothers me to know end that so many think they have ADHD AND they're on meds for it. Even people with actual mh disorders are so easily prescribed and want meds, no doubt almost entirely due to mass advertising. Do they need them? Will that solve their issues? What's the research to support the meds effectiveness?

I struggle with social anxiety, I have a master's degree in counseling psychology, but I would say I'm overly biased against meds. That doesn't mean I'm going to discredit and ignore research on the proven validity and existence of real mental health disorders simply because pharma companies are trying to make $$$$ off of them.