Impulse control disorder, symptoms, causes and treatment

¿You have ever acted in a way you didn't want to face a discomfort? ¿You feel that situations overflow you to the point of reacting impulsively? There are situations that generate very high stress and trigger responses that are considered incorrect within the framework of a society. You may have acted in a way that you had not previously thought about and you were surprised at this.

This can generate various difficulties that affect everyday life. Have tools to know how impulses are controlled can be beneficial and rewarding. ¿You want to know more about this? In this Psychology-online article, we will give you information about Impulse control disorder: What is, symptoms, causes and treatment.

1. What is impulse control disorder
2. Symptoms of impulse control disorder
3. Causes of impulse control disorder
4. Treatment of impulse control disorder

What is impulse control disorder

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

¿What are impulse control disorders? According to the DSM-V^[1], This disorder encompasses different pathologies in which impulses caused by certain emotions of the person are carried out. The differences between them lie in the ways through which these factors are carried out. Next, we will cite the impulse control disorders within this group:

• Antisocial personality disorder.
• Ludopathy.
• ONICOPHY.
• Challenging negative disorder.
• Dermatilomania.
• Compulsive hoarder syndrome.
• Intermittent explosive disorder. Find out about the characteristics of this disorder in the following article on the intermittent explosive disorder: what is, causes and treatment.
• Tricotylomania.
• Behavior disorder.
• Pyromania.
• Another disruptive disorder, the control of impulses and specified behavior.

Symptoms of impulse control disorder

¿How to know if I have impulse control disorder? This disorder has some manifestations that must be taken into account to be able to detect it. The most relevant impulse control symptoms are as follows:

• Lack of concentration. If you have this symptom, in this article, we show you exercises to improve your concentration
• Episodes of intense anger.
• Repetitive thoughts.
• Low self-esteem.
• Little tolerance To frustration.
• Lack of impulse control.
• Social isolation.
• Depression.
• 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 it will be responsible for evaluating the patient's clinical evolution taking into account the characteristics of the same.

Causes of impulse control disorder

Now we know the symptoms that refer to this type of disorders, but ¿What causes the lack of impulse control? It is important to understand the origin of this type of problem. Therefore, then, we will mention the main causes of impulse control disorder:

• Genetic factors: People who suffer from this type of difficulties usually have alterations in neuronal connections linked to the regulation of emotions. Here the genetic inheritance plays an important role and, therefore, the family. To know more about it, you can consult the following article on inheritance and environment in psychology.
• Environmental factors: It is possible that the person has lived certain situations that generated unpleasant sensations, both in thought and in the body. Because of this, it may happen that you have witnessed unpleasant moments in the past in which you have not known how to process an anger and acted in an impulsive way.
• Family influence: Parenting also presents a great influence on the regulation of emotions, since people have the tendency to imitate various behaviors that have observed their environment. In other words, if a family member presents difficulties in controlling impulses, this can be adopted as a pattern of behavior in life.

Treatment of impulse control disorder

¿How to treat an impulse control disorder? Currently, there are treatments that have good efficacy in the approach to impulse control disorder and improve self -control. Faced with the appearance of the aforementioned symptoms, it is possible to carry out some alternatives that improve the prognosis of this type of 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 -lived therapies focused on the Objective resolution, They provide tools to face in other ways of stress and/or anxiety, which can help in the treatment of impulse control disorder.

In turn, they also work to learn to control impulses through Emotions management through interventions, such as the registration of thoughts and gradual exposure against stimuli that trigger these reactions.

On the other hand, long -term therapies try place the origin In the past of symptoms that afflict the person. This produces improvements in the way of facing unpleasant situations.

Psychiatric medication

There are neurological factors that affect this disorder, so the use of a drug that acts on brain chemistry provides a positive effect to help the patient. In any case, the medication must be prescribed by a health professional that works together with a psychologist.

This article is merely informative, in psychology-online we have no 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 is, symptoms, causes and treatment, We recommend that you enter our clinical psychology category.

1. American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM-V). Arlington: Pan -American Medical Editorial.