What an epiphany I've experienced.
I just came across this, and now understand my behavio(u)r.
Can anyone relate?
Source: Cape Times, South Africa
The grumpy, middle-aged man making life miserable for everyone in the office can blame it on IMS, or Irritable Male Syndrome.
According to California psychotherapist Jed Diamond, who has just published a book called "Irritable Male Syndrome," IMS is just as real and just as damaging as any of the hormonal fluctuations that affect women. He defines IMS as "a state of hypersensitivity, anxiety, frustration, and anger that occurs in males," with causes as diverse as "hormonal fluctuations, stress, and loss of male identity."
IMS symptoms can strain even the strongest of relationships, Diamond said in an interview published by the Cape Times, a South African newspaper. Like premenstrual syndrome in women, it can be cyclical. But its effects can be worse.
"At its worst the man is out of touch with reality, is out of his mind, and yet he is convinced he is the only sane one about," Diamond says. His book stems from his experiences with thousands of men who've written to him or visited his clinic, he says.
Diamond believes a low testosterone level is often the main cause of IMS. Gerald Lincoln, a British researcher who coined the term Irritable Male Syndrome a few years ago, conducted tests in male sheep and found that as their testosterone levels fell, they became nervous, withdrawn, and "tetchy," as the Cape Times put it.
Stress appears to play a crucial role in IMS, since it creates a vicious cycle by inhibiting the production of testosterone. Other factors, such as obesity and alcohol abuse, can have a similar effect, according to the newspaper. Some experts believe that the rise in self-destructive habits helps to explain the temporary or cyclical nature of IMS-like symptoms in some men.
Richard Petty, who runs the Wellman Clinic in London, told the Cape Times: "Fifty percent of men at 50 have some of these types of symptoms. Men have hormonal imbalances, too."
Source: Cape Times, South Africa
I just came across this, and now understand my behavio(u)r.
Can anyone relate?Source: Cape Times, South Africa
The grumpy, middle-aged man making life miserable for everyone in the office can blame it on IMS, or Irritable Male Syndrome.
According to California psychotherapist Jed Diamond, who has just published a book called "Irritable Male Syndrome," IMS is just as real and just as damaging as any of the hormonal fluctuations that affect women. He defines IMS as "a state of hypersensitivity, anxiety, frustration, and anger that occurs in males," with causes as diverse as "hormonal fluctuations, stress, and loss of male identity."
IMS symptoms can strain even the strongest of relationships, Diamond said in an interview published by the Cape Times, a South African newspaper. Like premenstrual syndrome in women, it can be cyclical. But its effects can be worse.
"At its worst the man is out of touch with reality, is out of his mind, and yet he is convinced he is the only sane one about," Diamond says. His book stems from his experiences with thousands of men who've written to him or visited his clinic, he says.
Diamond believes a low testosterone level is often the main cause of IMS. Gerald Lincoln, a British researcher who coined the term Irritable Male Syndrome a few years ago, conducted tests in male sheep and found that as their testosterone levels fell, they became nervous, withdrawn, and "tetchy," as the Cape Times put it.
Stress appears to play a crucial role in IMS, since it creates a vicious cycle by inhibiting the production of testosterone. Other factors, such as obesity and alcohol abuse, can have a similar effect, according to the newspaper. Some experts believe that the rise in self-destructive habits helps to explain the temporary or cyclical nature of IMS-like symptoms in some men.
Richard Petty, who runs the Wellman Clinic in London, told the Cape Times: "Fifty percent of men at 50 have some of these types of symptoms. Men have hormonal imbalances, too."
Source: Cape Times, South Africa
