[Marianna Schmidt, Angry Man, 1986]
We now interrupt our regularly scheduled program to….
Turns out that your angry male partner/friend/husband is not in male menopause afterall. At least according to psychotherapist Jed Diamond, whose book, ‘Male Menopause’ caused quite a stir when it was first published in 1998.
So, is your guy suffering from IMS?
IMS is a term used to describe a state in which men of any age become hypersensitive and angry, theoretically as a result of biochemical changes, hormone fluctuations (namely testosterone), stress, and sense of loss of male identity. With regards to hormone fluctuations specifically, Dr. Diamond explains in an interview featured on WebMD, that:
- testosterone levels can increase and decrease as many as five times an hour
- testosterone levels are higher in the morning and lower at night
- men have monthly cycles that vary from man to man but are trackable using mood changes as a guide
- between the ages of 40 and 55, men go through male andropause syndrome, with declining androgen levels that affect sexual desire, function and overall quality of health. Notably, some research suggests that this is debatable).
IMS evidently rears its head as depression or worse, anger, hostility and violence directed towards another person. And Dr. Diamond says that until men overcome their denial and attributing their feelings to outside causes, they can’t overcome the problem.
I did a quick search on PubMed to see if any of Dr. Diamond’s research has been published. I didn’t find anything. However, I did stumble across his website, where he encourages guys to take a quiz to determine if they’re suffering from IMS, and women, to sign up for an interactive program called “AliveGuide.”
IMS…is it real? Or simply another way to sell books? What’s more, what can your guy do about it? Dr. Diamond recommends recognition and communication, among other self-help steps.
What do you think? Men – are you suffering from IMS or know someone who is? What steps are you taking to help yourself? Women – does your guy/friend/partner have IMS?
I’d love to hear more!
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first, sounds too much like irritable bowl syndrome… needs rebranding.
or not.
second, if we can have PMS and menopause I suppose we can let them have this one. is there a chocolate craving involved here at all?
I’ve never heard of it. I don’t think there is much concensus other than the fact that males’ testerone level goes down with age.
I love that you don’t just parrot the news, but do research on it.
Thanks
I’m a bit young to fit Dr. Diamond’s profile, but in general I find myself more skeptical these days about newly-branded syndromes. Sure, there must be many legitimate ailments that we haven’t yet diagnosed, and maybe the etiology that Diamond suggests is totally legitimate.
Meanwhile, though, a host of other potential causes spring to mind for the symptoms that Diamond describes, including things as unscientific as “immaturity” and many fairly well-understood psychological conditions like mid-life crisis.
Short version: I want to see a lot more medical-scientific vetting before I give much credence to IMS.
I am not familiar with this…thankfully! More research would be good! Nice post!
Amy – I didn’t read anything about chocolate – guess we’ll have to check with Dr. Diamond!But I do suspect that this a branding effort for his book.
Dr. Hubbard – thanks for your thoughts; the research I cite discusses testosterone levels dropping but others rising so…
Tim – I love your dissection of the syndrome and the focus on immaturity. Interesting take.
Mark – I’m glad for you and your wife that you are unfamiliar with this. It does seem as though the consensus thus far is more research is needed.
More on the point of immaturity: I’ve known men who manifested some of the symptoms that Diamond talks about, but in some cases I can think of, it (seemed to me that it) had more to do with their own deep-seated / existential / psychotherapeutic failings — and an inability to cope with same — than with any “syndrome.”
I would also raise this point: wouldn’t the all-too-common “metabolic syndrome” emerging from the typical American diet & lifestyle contribute mightily to things like decreased sex drive? I mean, E.D. and diminished testosterone production go hand in hand with obesity, hypertension, and lack of exercise, right?
My underlying concern: most people don’t need a new syndrome upon which to pin the blame for their problems — they need to take many small, connected, incremental steps that will help them to face up to the reality of their life conditions, then deal with those conditions more fruitfully.
Maybe men are just crabby?
Good post – it gives me another excuse for my occasional bad behavior.
Liz: Great post. I have to agree with Tim, in that I am a little young, and skeptical. IMS (needs rebranding) like RLS? Another “condition” where a pharma drug is needed? We as a society are quick to assign blame and excuse – I have ADHD, I suffer from SAD… I am also wary of the violent behavior being attributed. I would like to see more research before we jump into another syndrome.
That being said, we all go through changes as we get older. Why cannot we classify the aging of man as IMS instead of just getting old?
Also, like Tim, I think that with proper exercise, diet some of these symptoms can be avoided.
Looking forward to seeing more!