Bias disclosure: I generally do not like pop psychology/self-help books. Therefore, you probably should not be surprised that The Irritable Male Syndrome did not change my mind about the genre.
I happened to see a blurb about The Irritable Male Syndrome in a magazine at about the time my family uniformly was reporting my irritability was at all-time levels. As a result, on a whim I picked the book up on our next trip through the local chain bookstore. It is emblematic of how I view the genre.
Jed Diamond made a name for himself with the book Male Menopause. Irritable Male Syndrome ("IMS") seems to be more of the same, except applicable to a much broader age range. Diamond first outlines what he considers IMS to be. My condensed interpretation: if females have PMS, then males probably have IMS, which often manifests itself from a male-oriented predisposition to both depression and aggression. Moreover, to show that this just isn't what is often called a "mid-life crisis," Diamond takes pains to point out it can strike any male from puberty on.
Diamond has the reader take a test that it seems would naturally lead to the conclusion that a significant number of the men taking it have IMS. Scoring just 26 out of a possible 150 points means you have "[s]ome indications of IMS" and may need help. Scoring 50 points means "IMS is likely, and it is advisable to seek help." A score above 75 means "IMS is definitely present, and getting help is most important." Now it seems to me that that scoring 50 percent or less on a test means you failed, not that you passed with flying colors.
Regardless, between using examples of those whose lives and/or marriages have been turned around by their discovery that they or their spouse had IMS and analysis of various factors Diamond believes contributes to the syndrome, Diamond makes suggestions on how to cope with it. Not surprisingly, he suggests that men suffering IMS need to make changes in the physical, psychological and emotional aspects of their lives. I guess that means there aren't a lot of areas that don't need work. While Diamond's comments regarding the role hormonal levels may play in this syndrome may very well be accurate, most of what he says consists of common sense ideas you would perhaps come across if you simply take the time to think about the situation.
Article comments
1 - Bob A. Booey
This sounds like a terrible book and Jed Diamond (even his name) sounds like an idiot.
Male Menopause?
Irritable Male Syndrome? It's bad enough he's cribbing the pseudo-medical terminology from an intestinal disorder, Irritable Bowel Syndrome.
It's even worse that he's selling these ridiculous books to capitalize on people's life problems with non-existent "disorders" and cheap, stupid catch-phrases.
That is all.
2 - Nukapai
Psychobabble indeed. I actually like the sound of what IMS could have been, had it not been made into the pop psychology equivalent of a glittery dolphin poster. Great review. I'm left wishing someone would truly explore the possibility of something like IMS, but do it in a way that had some merit!
3 - Jed Diamond
Although some believe that a title like The Irritable Male Syndrome might suggest a book on pop psychology, the truth is that the research for the book is based on one of the largest studies of its kind ever undertaken.
The tests that explored levels of irritability and depression were completed by a total of 9,500 males between the ages of 15 and 85. The cut-off scores that determined whether someone has irritable male syndrome were not arbitrarily picked, but were the results of the scores of the nearly 10,000 males who took the quiz.
If you are concerned about your stress levels, irritability or depression in your life (or the life of someone close to you), I suggest you take the quiz at www.TheIrritableMale.com.
Men often deny they have a problem and new concepts are often ridiculed before they are accepted. I have found that women often recognize that irritability is a problem for the men in their lives before the guys recognize it themselves.
I know, it was my wife that helped me recognize IMS when it threatened to undermine our own marriage.
As a psychotherapist who has worked with men and women for nearly 40 years, I am much less concerned about whether I sell a lot of books as I am in helping people solve problems so they can enjoy their lives more fully.
4 - DrPat
Thanks for your measured response to the review (and the comments), Jed.
Are you any relation to Jared Diamond?
5 - Leoniceno
What man would buy a book to help him find out if he has something called 'male menopause'?
???
6 - Duane
I'm feeling extremely irritated about this. How can I keep alive my wondeful passion for the dance of life when I hear about this kind of bullshit? I really want to get back to healing myself and healing my planet, but I'm too irritated, goddammit! Curse you and your phony pseudonym, Jed Diamond!
7 - Bob A. Booey
Jed, what are your academic qualifications (what universities, what degrees, in what area) and clinical training? And whom are you accredited by?
I read your online bio and all the professional organizations you belong to have names that resemble pop psychology groups, not professional psychology organizations.
Your testimonials come from charlatans like John Gray with no legitimate psychological training -- didn't your friend John got his "doctorate" from an unaccredited mail-order Caribbean university? Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think I read that somewhere.
You claim you taught at Berkeley and UCLA, but there's no record that you were ever on the faculty in the UC system. You certainly were never in a tenure-track faculty position teaching a credit course, as far as I can tell. It is borderline unethical to imply you've been a tenured academic or professor somewhere you've gone and given some kind of talk or done some other non-curricular activity.
I saw that you did your MSW at Berkeley so I assume you TAed some classes, but you shouldn't imply you're an academic in psychology or mental health if you haven't taught in those areas. Social work is a very respectable, honorable field that helps a lot of people with their troubles, but based on a social work curriculum, you would not have any formal training in psychological research or study design to make your "tests" valid or objective. Where are you doing your PhD in "International Health: exactly?
You seem to have made quite a nice living for yourself and have quite a presence on the web and I thank you for responding here, but your "tests" and studies aren't under the auspices of a major American university, isn't that correct?
Are you related to Dustin Diamond, aka "Screech" from Saved by the Bell?
That is all.
8 - Temple Stark
TimG,
This was chosen as an Editor's Pick this week by your humble Books Editor Pat Cummings. Go HERE to find out why and grab a nifty graphic button to put on your own site.
9 - KAS
Ummmm....Wow. Denial comes to mind when I read some of these comments. Why would you react so if you didn't think you had some 'thing' going on? Why would you even read about Diamond's work if you didn't think you had some 'thing' going on? IMS = Depression, for God's sake! Sheesh! Relax, that's allll it is. And how you cope.
10 - Debra Trojan
Whan your guy who has always been a kind, loving wonderful, generous man, suddenly throws water in your face for NO REASON! that's when you WAKE UP to the notion that there is something WRONG with your guy. Simply put, he starts getting ANGRY over almost your very presence. It's as if he's gone "CRAZY." This is what Mr. Diamond has coined "Irritable Male Syndrome." It is a REAL phenomenon that will destroy relationships and marriages. It's nothing to be made fun of and you all should be ashamed of yourself for doing so.