Road rage a mental disorder? Puhleeze!

Now road rage is a real illness - an "intermittent explosive disorder (IED)"? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? It already has it's own acronym, holy crap! Does this give some a**hole the excuse to gun me down in traffic because I had to make a left turn and he was in a hurry?

Since when do people not have to be responsible for their behavior under any circumstances whatsoever? Remember that bratty kid in elementary school - who always talked back to the teacher one too many times? Did he have attention deficit disorder - or was he just a brat? What about the lady at the grocery store who totally loses it when the sacker uses plastic instead of paper - does she suffer from a stress disorder or is she just having a bad day?

Now every natural emotion or reaction or behavior can be attributed to some sort of mental or physical illness. You're not moody - you're bipolar. You're not lazy - you have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. You're not obnoxious - you have Asburger's Disease. You're not ecstatic - you're manic. Anger, sadness, boredom, obesity, laziness, bitchiness and sleepiness have all been "validated" and labeled so they're easier to deal with. Why isn't it okay for people to own up to their feelings and behavior any more? Are we really that self-unaware?

It's scary that society is so quick to label and therefore legitimize these feelings as syndromes and disorders - because it diminishes the plight of people who suffer with real mental illnesses. Our emotional vanities take attention and money away from real people's problems. All of these behaviors are real symptoms - and when they are out of someone's control they are legitimate disorders. Something tells me last time you flipped off the guy who just turned left from the right hand lane - you were in control of your behavior. And you were probably justified too. Just not "crazy".

Next time you're in traffic and someone cuts you off... try singing out loud all of the obsenities you want to yell. You'll inevitably do it with a smile on your face , and you'll be glad you healthily handled your rage and got to express yourself. It's perfectly okay to get pissed for a minute without being crazy.
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