IMPULSE CONTROL disorder

Have you ever acted in a way that you did not want in the face of a nuisance? Do you feel that situations overwhelm you to the point of reacting impulsively? You've probably asked yourself these kinds of questions at some point in your life.

There are situations that generate very high stress and trigger responses that are considered incorrect in the framework of a society. It is possible that you have acted in a way that you had not previously thought and were surprised at this.

This can generate various difficulties that affect daily life. Having tools to know how impulses are controlled can be beneficial and rewarding. Do you want to know more about this? In this Psychology-Online article we will provide you with information about Impulse Control Disorder: What It Is, Symptoms, Causes And Treatment.

Index

1. What is Impulse Control Disorder
2. Impulse control disorder symptoms
3. Causes of impulse control disorder
4. Impulse control disorder treatment

When we talk about impulse control disorder, we are referring to a clinical picture that is characterized by difficulty in controlling emotions and behaviors in the face of certain situations that generate nervousness, anguish, anxiety and / or stress.

What are impulse control disorders? According to the DSM-V, this disorder encompasses different pathologies in which impulses caused by certain emotions that the person possesses are carried out. However, the differences lie in the ways in which these factors are carried out. Here are the impulse control disorders that fall into this group:

• Antisocial personality disorder. To learn more about this kind of impulse control disorder, see our post Antisocial personality disorder: causes and treatment.
• Gambling More information in Pathological gambling: symptoms, causes, consequences and treatment.
• Onychophagia
• Oppositional defiant disorder. If you want to know more about this type of impulse control disorder, read the following article: Oppositional defiant disorder: causes, symptoms and treatment.
• Dermatillomania.
• Compulsive hoarder syndrome.
• Intermittent explosive disorder. Find out about the characteristics of this disorder in Intermittent explosive disorder: what it is, causes and treatment.
• Trichotillomania. See more information at What is Trichotillomania: Causes and Treatment.
• Kleptomania.
• Conduct disorder More information in Behavioral disorders: intervention strategies and a practical case.
• Pyromania.
• Other specified Disruptive, Impulse Control, and Behavior Disorder.

You ask yourself: "How do I know if I have impulse control disorder?" This disorder has some manifestations that must be taken into account in order to detect it. The most relevant symptoms of impulse control disorder are the following:

• Lack of concentration. If you have this symptom, we recommend you read our article on Exercises to improve your concentration
• Episodes of intense anger.
• Repetitive thoughts See how to manage them in How to eliminate obsessive compulsive thoughts.
• Low self-esteem.
• Low tolerance for frustration.
• Lack of impulse control.
• Social isolation. We help you at this point with our article How to overcome social phobia
• Depression.
• Anxiety. To lower your anxiety levels, read the postRelaxation techniques for anxiety
• Habit of lying
• Robberies
• Physical damage to the body.

Despite this description, it is important to understand that the diagnosis must be carried out by a health professional because he will be in charge of evaluating the clinical evolution of the patient taking into account the characteristics of the patient.

We already know the symptoms that refer to this type of disorder, but what causes the lack of impulse control? It is important to locate the causes to understand the origin of this type of problem. As a result of these circumstances, we will mention the main causes associated with this disorder:

• Genetic factors: People who suffer from these types of difficulties tend to have alterations in neural connections linked to the regulation of emotions. Here genetic inheritance plays an important role and, therefore, the family. To know more about it, read our post about Heredity and the environment in Psychology.
• Environmental factors: It is possible that the person has lived certain situations that generated unpleasant sensations both in the thought and in the body. Because of this, you may have witnessed unpleasant moments in the past when you did not know how to process an anger and acted impulsively.

At the same time, the upbringing also has a great influence on the regulation of emotions since people have the tendency to imitate various behaviors that they have observed from their environment. In other words, if a family member has difficulties in controlling impulses, this can be adopted as a pattern of behavior in life.

How to treat an impulse control disorder? Currently, there are a series of treatments that are highly effective in treating impulse control disorder and improve self-control. Faced with the appearance of the aforementioned symptoms, it is possible to carry out some alternatives that collaborate in a better prognosis for the treatment of impulse control disorder:

Psychological therapy

Therapy can help resolve different conflicts that appear in the course of a person's life. On the one hand, there are short-term therapies focused on the goal resolution. This type of treatment provides tools to cope in other ways with stress and / or anxiety, which can help in the treatment of impulse control disorder.

In turn, learning to control impulses through emotion management, through interventions such as the registration of thoughts and gradual exposure to stimuli that trigger these reactions.

On the other hand, long-term therapies try locate the origin in the past of the symptoms that afflict the person. This produces improvements in the way you deal with unpleasant situations. We guide you on the treatment of impulse control disorder in therapy in this article about the Psychological interview: what is it, types and techniques.

Psychiatric medication

Due to the fact that there are neurological factors that affect this disorder, the use of a drug that acts on the chemistry of the brain provides a positive effect that helps the patient. However, the medication must be prescribed by a health professional that works in conjunction with a psychologist.

You may be interested in learning more about the types of professionals and therapies that can help you if you suffer from an impulse control disorder and need to improve your self-control. In the following post we provide you with the necessary information about How to know when to go to the psychologist Y Differences between psychologist and psychiatrist.

This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

If you want to read more articles similar to Impulse Control Disorder: What It Is, Symptoms, Causes And Treatment, we recommend that you enter our category of Clinical psychology.

American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V). Arlington: Editorial Médica Panamericana.

Gómez-Járabo García, G., Rodríguez, E., Olavarrieta Bernardino, S. (2004). Assessment of the ability to act: impulse control. Health Research, 6 (1), 35-42.

Páez Pérez, M.F., Serrano Álvarez, M., Lorenzo Martínez, R. (2017). Impulse control disorder. Analysis of a multidisciplinary approach. I International Virtual Congress of Psychology.