For the consideration of the DSM*:
This syndrome is marked by mild to severe psychological distress, anger, and antisocial behavior in response to encountering the boundaries, limits, and refusal of another person, whom will be referred to as “the target,” particularly when those boundaries, limits, and refusal challenge one’s perceived social superiority.
AES is indicated when subject meets the following symptoms:
- Disregard for physical, emotional, social, or resource needs of others.
- Marked intolerance of stresses related to normal inconveniences such as waiting in line, experiencing an error in service, or hearing another person’s refusal in response to a request (such as asking for a date).
- Marked increases in reactivity when encountering a target’s emotional boundary or limitation, which may be expressed as one or more of the following:
- Expressions of anger or contempt toward the targeted person, which may include dehumanizing language or accusations based in the target’s actual or perceived age, race, sex, gender identity, body type, class, or level of ability.
- Requests to escalate complaints toward those with authority to harm the targeted person, including asking for a manager or calling the police.
- Physically entering the space of the targeted person, raising one’s voice, physically striking or aggressing upon the target.
- Publicizing one’s anger at the target to attempt to shame, humiliate, or hurt the target.
- Inability to tolerate and process feelings of shame, as evidenced by at least one of the following:
- Inability to recognize responsibility for harm done to targeted person.
- Refusal to apologize for antisocial behaviors.
- Blaming antisocial behaviors on mental illness, medication, or other external factors.
- Denial of one’s antisocial behaviors by claiming one cannot possibly be racist, sexist, homophobic, transphobic, ableist, ageist, or classist in contrast to statements made that evidence those attitudes.
- Reframing self as victim of the form of discrimination or assault demonstrated through one’s own words and actions, including bouts of tearfulness when facing accountability for actions.
- These symptoms cause clinically significant distress for the target.
- The person demonstrating this dysregulation only evidences such behavior toward those they perceive to be socially, politically, or economically inferior; and not toward those they perceive to be equal to or greater to them in social power.
*This is satire.
