This write-up will give you all the information you need about oppositional defiant disorder in adults, including the causes and symptoms.
Oppositional defiant disorder is a type of mental disorder which both adults and children suffer from. Adults who suffer from this disorder have continuous behavioral patterns of aggressive and disobedient behavior. They don’t know how to deal with anger, and will react rebelliously against any person with a certain authority. They will have issues with controlling their temper and frequent outbursts will be noticed.
These adults find it difficult to differentiate between good and bad. They are antisocial and cannot deal with anyone telling them what to do. Basically, this disorder is classified as a state of continuous rebelling against the right.
Causes
Oppositional defiant disorder is caused mostly due to improper grooming during growing up. When we grow up, we are told what is right and wrong. Children who don’t understand this differentiation, pick up whatever they observe at home as regular behavior. In the house, if there is abusive and aggressive behavior, the children grow up as similar individuals.
Peer pressure too, can lead to such oppositional behavior. If the neighborhood these adults belonged to as children was not well-educated or civilized, they may have develop this disorder. This disorder might also be a result of genetic problems where both or one of the parents suffer from antisocial behavior.
Symptoms
There are certain symptoms you can check out for if you feel someone you know might suffer from this disorder. Of course, most of these symptoms will be co-related and you might observe many of these in a single individual.
Following is the list of symptoms you should look out for:
- Revengeful and spiteful behavior
- Continuous temper tantrums
- Habitual use of obscene language
- Lot of arguments
- Rebellious against rules
- Blaming others for behavior problems
- Continuous reactions coupled with anger
Treatment
The type of treatment for this disorder ranges from prescribed medications to comprehensive psychological sessions which may last for even a year or more. The psychologists first check for symptoms and try to determine the cause.
This is done by tapping the behavioral patterns of the patient and talking to him/her about their problems. After this, the exact cause(s) is determined depending on which the sessions then begin. In the sessions, the patients are taught to behave in accordance to the normal, social behavioral standards; reasoning is accompanied and is an important part.
As parents, you must check for these symptoms in your children too. This way, grooming sessions can start earlier, and the problem won’t progress into adulthood. Instead of dealing with this problem on your own, it’s better to consult a doctor as soon as possible.
