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Treatments and drugs
By Mayo Clinic staffThere's no one treatment that's best for everyone with intermittent explosive disorder. Treatment generally includes medication and individual or group therapy.
Many different types of drugs are used to help control intermittent explosive disorder, including:
- Antidepressants, such as fluoxetine (Prozac) and paroxetine (Paxil)
- Anticonvulsants, such as carbamazepine (Tegretol), phenytoin (Dilantin), gabapentin (Neurontin) and lamotrigine (Lamictal)
- Anti-anxiety agents in the benzodiazepine family, such as diazepam (Valium), lorazepam (Ativan) and alprazolam (Xanax)
- Mood regulators, such as propranolol (Inderal) and lithium
Individual or group therapy sessions also can be helpful. A commonly used type of therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, helps people with intermittent explosive disorder identify which situations or behaviors may trigger an aggressive response. And, more importantly, this type of therapy teaches people with intermittent explosive disorder how to manage their anger and control their typically inappropriate response using relaxation exercises.
- Thompson JW Jr, et al. Impulse-control disorders. In: Ebert MH, et al. Current Diagnosis and Treatment: Psychiatry. 2nd ed. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill Medical; 2008. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=3289149. Accessed March 6, 2010.
- Intermittent explosive disorder. In: Sadock BJ, et al. Kaplan and Sadock's Comprehensive Textbook of Psychiatry. Philadelphia, Pa.: Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins; 2005. http://ovidsp.tx.ovid.com/sp-2.3/ovidweb.cgi?&S=LIGLFPOGPNDDKGHDNCELCBCKMEKJAA00&Link+Set=S.sh.16%7c5%7csl_10. Accessed March 8, 2010.
- Kessler RC. The prevalence and correlates of DSM-IV intermittent explosive disorder in the national comorbidity survey replication. Archives of General Psychiatry. 2006:63;669.
- Intermittent explosive disorder. In: Stern TA, et al. Massachusetts General Hospital Comprehensive Clinical Psychiatry. 1st ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Mosby Elsevier; 2008. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/187865115-2/0/1657/221.html?tocnode=57542767&fromURL=221.html#4-u1.0-B978-0-323-04743-2..50025-1--cesec2_542. Accessed March 6, 2010.
- Kessler RC, et al. Intermittent explosive disorder is common, has an early age of onset and is associated with the development of other mental disorders in the US population. Evidence Based Mental Health. 2007;10:32.
- McCloskey MS, et al. Prevalence of suicidal and self-injurious behavior among subjects with intermittent explosive disorder. Psychiatry Research. 2008;158:248.
- Koelsch S, et al. EEG correlates of moderate intermittent explosive disorder. Clinical Neurophysiology. 2008;119:151.
- Hall-Flavin DK (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. March 9, 2010.
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