I don't think much of so-called diseases like Intermittent Explosive Disorder, which apparently lead to uncontrolled angry, 
sometimes violent, episodes if not properly medicated. As I said, I view them more as excuses for poor behavior rather than a biological issue. My friend Dr. Ellen Weber, who started this discussion, responded that, while she agrees that "we control most of what we do," some of us have chemical problems in our heads that must be dealt with. Unfortunately, I accidentally deleted my response to her, but this is what I think:
Certainly there are some people with genuine medical problems who need help. Fair enough, but not nearly as many as articles like these lead us to believe. I think many, many of us sometimes find it’s easier to function as victims rather than develop and maintain self-control.
Of course, I'm no doctor, and this is not my area of expertise. I don't even have an area of expertise. But it seems to me that if we allow Intermittent Explosive Disorder for bad behavior, why not allow Intermittent Rape Disorder for really bad behavior? Why not allow Intermittent Armed Robbery Disorder, or Intermittent Drunk Driving Disorder? Then we can all do just as we jolly well please, blame it on our medications, and live happily ever after.
