Intermittent Explosive Disorder

If you think you or your child may have intermittent explosive disorder, it’s important to talk to your healthcare provider. They’ll likely refer you to a mental health professional who’s experienced in diagnosing IED.

A licensed mental health professional — such as a psychiatrist, psychologist or clinical social worker — can diagnose IED based on the diagnostic criteria for it in the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

They do so by performing a thorough interview and having conversations about symptoms. They ask questions that’ll shed light on:

• Personal medical history and biological family medical history, especially histories of mental health conditions.
• Relationship history.
• School or work history.
• Impulse control.

Your mental health professional may also work with your family and friends to collect more insight into your behaviors and history.

To receive an intermittent explosive disorder diagnosis, you must display a failure to control aggressive impulses as defined by either of the following:

• High frequency/low intensity episodes: Verbal aggression (temper tantrums, verbal arguments or fights) or physical aggression toward property, animals or people, occurring twice weekly, on average, for three months. The aggression doesn’t result in physical harm to people or animals or the destruction of property.
• Low frequency/high intensity episodes: Three episodes involving damage or destruction of property and/or physical assault involving physical injury against animals or other people occurring within a 12-month period.

The degree of aggression displayed during the outbursts must be greatly out of proportion to the situation. In addition, the outbursts aren’t pre-planned. They’re impulse- and/or anger-based. Your mental health professional will also make sure that the outbursts aren’t better explained by another mental health condition, medical condition or substance use disorder.

People must be at least 6 years old to get an IED diagnosis, but it’s usually first observed in late childhood or adolescence.