How Do You Intervene In Impulse Control Disorders?
The impulses are defined by the need or urgency to perform a certain behavior, using emotion and leaving reason aside
When the person experiences this sensation, our self-control ability is activated to decide what to do and to what extent we let ourselves be carried away by this impulse.
However, there is a part of the population that finds it very difficult to manage impulses and performs the action, regardless of its possible consequences. In these cases, the well-known Impulse Control Disorder occurs Let’s see how it is treated in therapy.
Impulse Control Disorder is characterized by the inability or great difficulty resisting performing an action even when the behavior is harmful to the person or their environment.
According to Ana Claudia Alda, psychologist at the Málaga PsicoAbreu Psychologists office, during the drive, the person experiences a state of tension and activation that is relieved by performing the behavior. Thus, after finishing it, you get a feeling of liberation and pleasure.
Sometimes, people who suffer from this disorder have feelings of guilt and remorse for the action committed.
It is a psychological problem that appears in adolescence and is maintained over time if there is no correct psychological intervention Likewise, this disorder ends up affecting all areas of the individual, since their emotional management is affected in all areas of their life (work, academic, family, social or relationship).
The latest edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V) establishes the category of “Disruptive, Impulse Control, and Conduct Disorders” to include those disorders related to regulation of behavior and emotion Thus, the following disorders are differentiated:
1. Oppositional defiant disorder
It consists of a pattern of irritability, anger, arguments, defiance or revenge in interpersonal relationships. This disorder appears in childhood and early adolescence.
suffer this alteration may pose a risk of suffering emotional or behavioral disorders in the future In these cases, a lack of management of the emotion of anger and control of behaviors such as arguments is evident.
2. Conduct disorder
The individual’s response pattern is a range of behaviors that violate the basic rights of others and age-appropriate social norms
Self-control over these behaviors is practically zero, despite the consequences of performing them.
3. Intermittent explosive disorder
It is characterized by a pattern of aggressive response that is disproportionate in response to the triggering situation.
These impulsive outbursts have a very rapid onset and last less than 30 minutes. In addition to the main outburst, it is common to find verbal or physical aggression of lesser intensity.
4. Pyromania
The person who suffers from this disorder has deliberately set or attempted to set fires on several occasions
Patients who have this alteration usually experience a feeling of tension just before starting the fire, and it disappears after starting the fire.
6. Kleptomania
It is characterized by the inability to resist the urge to steal items , even though they are not necessary. As in pyromania, a feeling of tension is experienced before the theft behavior, followed by a feeling of relief and pleasure.
In addition to these disorders mentioned, there are other problems that have a lack of impulse control in common. Some of them are what we will see in these lines.
1. Compulsive shopping
This type of purchases is characterized because the person has the need to buy persistently and is not able to resist it.
Additionally, when purchasing you experience a short-term feeling of pleasure. However, soon after, emotions such as disappointment and guilt appear, along with promises not to do it again.
2. Gambling addiction or pathological gambling
The person who suffers from gambling experiences the need to gamble in an uncontrollable way. This type of game is maintained despite the negative consequences that it entails in different areas (family, work, economic, social).
3. Onychophagia
It is characterized by the uncontrollable impulse to bite one’s nails, so that this behavior ends up becoming a daily habit. It usually appears in situations of stress, anxiety and anguish
4. Trichotillomania
Is about an impulse to pull out one’s hair , leading to a great loss of it. Although the person has tried to avoid doing it on multiple occasions, he is not able to resist the impulse.
Psychological intervention in these patients
The psychologist Ana Claudia Alda confirms that The most appropriate treatment for this type of disorder is psychotherapy During the therapy at your work at the Psicologos Malaga PsicoAbreu office, different aspects are addressed that will help the person control their impulses:
All this must be accompanied by the supervision of the psychotherapist, who in addition to giving instructions participates in the “training” of patients to overcome Impulse Control Disorder.
