Road Rage: Is Road Rage A Mental Disorder?
Road rage” is a popular topic on the talk show circuit. I once saw an episode of ‘Politically Incorrect’ that featured a psychologist (Arnold Nerenberg, Ph.D.) who claimed to have “discovered” road rage as a new mental disorder. It bothers me when people discover new disorders, especially when they appear to be setting themselves up as pioneers in the treatment of these “disorders.” The same thing happened with “Internet addiction” a few years ago. While some people clearly have problems with their Internet use, this does not mean that they are necessarily ‘addicted’ to the Internet. There has been a backlash in the United States over the pathologizing of behavior. Some fear that defining road rage as a mental disorder will allow criminals to plead that they were mentally ill and not responsible for their actions. This opinion was expressed by several on Politically Incorrect, and Dr. Nerenberg was defensive all night. The “insanity defense” is actually a legal concept and it is not di
