Oppositional Defiant Disorder in Adults

Chris is 25. He is known as the tough and notorious guy of the neighborhood. He isn't violent in any way, at least not till now. However, everyone knows him for picking up verbal fights and not being polite. The girls are scared to go out with him and his parents are scared to keep him in. If his conduct is questioned at home, a tantrum is normal. Anger is often not controlled with things often seen and heard thrown around. If he is asked to do something, it is mostly always not done. If requested, maybe. He doesn't have friends. His mother is scared to make him understand and understand herself what may be going on. He seems upset with the whole world for an unknown reason. Last time she tried, he walked out shouting and closed the door behind him, not returning for two days. A friend has now told her that he may be suffering from oppositional defiant disorder in adults. She decides to find out.

What is an Oppositional Defiant Disorder?
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
The oppositional defiant disorder causes are something that are we all should know about. Most of the time, the environment at home is responsible for such oppositional behavior. 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 where these adults belong to is of such type, the adult can develop this disorder. This happens more in places where the crime scene is very active. This disorder might also be a result of genetic problems where both or one of the parents suffer from antisocial behavior.

Symptoms
Just like in adults, children too suffer from this disorder. 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.

• Lot of arguments
• Habitual use of obscene language
• Rebellious against rules
• Continuous temper tantrums
• Blaming others for behavior problems
• Revengeful and spiteful behavior
• Continuous reactions coupled with anger

Treatment
Treatments for this disorder differ from prescribed medications to comprehensive psychological sessions which may last for even a year or more. The psychologists first check for the 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 and the reasoning too, takes place.

This behavior disorder in also present in some children and should be treated immediately. If treated in time, those children will not grow up as adults who suffer from this disorder. Some adults also suffer from the conduct disorder which is similar to the oppositional disorder. To avoid all this, take precautions in time. Doctors might be able to help after observing the patient and his/her behavioral patterns for sometime.