Helping family member with intermittent explosive disorder

Hi everyone,

My mother, who is in her early 50s, has had several outbursts of anger in the past 5-6 years, about once each year. These outbursts consist of her throwing herself against furniture, the wall, the floor and violently banging her head against the wall and floor. She has also destroyed small property during her outbursts. She is also verbally aggressive and it seems like she can't control herself, her thoughts or her actions because she rapidly counts numbers from 1-10 or repeats the same word over and over again. The outbursts are completely disproportionate to the situation, last about 15-20 minutes and I have also noticed that before the outbursts she complains of chest pain. Because of these outbursts, my family has taken to the hospital fearing it might be a panic attack or a heart attack. However, I did some research and all her symptoms seem to point to intermittent explosive disorder (IED), although she has not been diagnosed and she refuses to seek medical assistance. I also spoke to her brother who told me she has had anger outbursts from a young age, similar to the ones I have witnessed. My father has also told me the same thing.

It has been very difficult to deal with the outbursts; I am afraid she might hurt herself or others. I have extensively searched for suggestions to help family members prevent IED outbursts and have not found many. She doesn't have any specific triggers (that I have noticed), we try to keep her as calm as possible, we constantly reassure her and comfort her, and express our love, but none of it seems to help. I am just wondering if anyone has any other suggestions or helpful tips for coping with a close family member who could possibly have IED.

Thanks in advance.