By We Level Up FL Treatment Center | Editor Yamilla Francese | Clinically Reviewed By Lauren Barry, LMFT, MCAP, QS, Director of Quality Assurance | Editorial Policy | Research Policy | Last Updated: February 1, 2023

Impulse Control Disorder Statistics

In its most recent revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) reorganized and regrouped a number of mental health problems (DSM-5). Prior to the DSM-5, impulse control disorders were classified separately, but the APA grouped them with other illnesses that have some of the same characteristics to form a new group. ​

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Compulsion Vs Impulse

The innate tendencies of impulsivity and compulsivity are vital for human survival. Acting impulsively is going with your gut. When one is obsessive, one gives in to an overwhelming impulse. These two behaviors, though they sound identical, have different intentions. Compulsive behavior is deliberate, whereas impulsive behavior is acted without thought.

Impulsive or compulsive behavior can develop an addiction in certain people, which can result in severe mental health conditions that rule their lives. Understanding these behaviors, their causes, and the problems they are connected with will better inform us about the mental health issues facing our community and contribute to the eradication of the stigma associated with mental health disorders.

There are subtypes of kleptomania that are more comparable to addiction and mood disorders, while others are more like obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). People with kleptomania (and their first-degree relatives) frequently have other psychological conditions or addiction problems.

Depending on the subtype, several treatments may be effective for kleptomania. In addition to medicine and cognitive behavior therapy, mood stabilizers, antidepressants, and opioid antagonists have also shown promise under certain conditions.

Impulsive Control Disorder: Intermittent Explosive Disorder

Impulsive Personality Disorder: When a person has repeatedly acted on aggressive urges and performed major hostile acts, such as assault or property destruction, a diagnosis of intermittent explosive disorder is made. The intensity of the person’s aggressive behavior is one way to spot it (it is well out of proportion to the trigger that preceded it).

What Does It Mean To Be Impulsive? Intermittent explosive disorder (IED) and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have been linked in studies. Cognitive behavioral therapy can help people with the intermittent explosive disorder develop coping mechanisms and relaxation techniques. Antidepressants, antipsychotics, or mood stabilizers may also be recommended, depending on the individual’s symptoms and age.

Poor Impulse Control: Trichotillomania

Acting On Impulse: Greek words for “hair,” “pull,” and “mania” refer to excessive behavior or activity, respectively. Trichotillomania, then, is characterized by a compulsive need to pluck out one’s own hair. Children and teenagers are particularly prone to this impulsive conduct. Adult women are nine times more likely to have HPV than adult men to have it.

The most effective treatment for trichotillomania appears to be behavioral therapy with habit-reversal training components, while several medicines have also shown promise.

Impulsivity Disorder: Conduct Disorder

Conduct disorders are characterized by repetitive patterns of behavior that include aggression toward people and animals, vandalism of property, stealing or other dishonest activities, and flagrant disregard for the law. This condition can manifest in young children, even those in preschool, and isn’t detected until after the age of 18.

The two conditions of conduct disorder and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) frequently coexist. A common precursor to the emergence of antisocial personality disorder in adults is having this impulse control disorder as a youngster. 

Treatment for conduct disorder usually entails family therapy or counseling with the child’s parents. Stimulants and antipsychotic medications may also be recommended, particularly if ADHD also co-occurs with this disorder.

Impulse-Control Disorder: Oppositional Defiant Disorder

An example of an impulse control disorder is oppositional defiant disorder. This is diagnosed in children and adolescents, the same as conduct disorder. Having an unpleasant mood, being argumentative or stubborn, and acting vindictively are some of its symptoms.

Psychotherapy is frequently used to treat this impulse control condition effectively. Medication may also be utilized in the case of severe violence or the presence of another disorder.

Impulse Decisions: Unspecified Impulse Control Disorder

Unspecified impulse control disorder may be diagnosed if a person experience urges that don’t cleanly fall into one of the other categories. For instance, problematic internet use can be categorized as an unidentified impulse control illness. The severity and type of impulsive symptoms influence the treatment.

What Is Impulse Buying? Impulsive Buy Meaning

Shopping Impulse: Impulse Buying (Impulse To Buy)

Impulse Buying Definition and Impulse Buy Meaning: The act of buying something on the spur of the moment without any prior planning is known as impulse buying. It happens after customers feel the need to buy and are frequently unplanned and unhesitating.

What Is Impulsiveness? Impulsive Buyer Means: Consider the potency of temptation as a source of impulse buying or Impulse Shopping. when you simply can’t help yourself and end up doing something you shouldn’t. One significant way that impulse purchases differ from routine purchases is that they are not actively planned. Compulsive purchasing occurs on the spur of the moment, is difficult to control, and is influenced by emotions like joy or rage.

Impulsive Buyer Meaning: In a review study, researchers Sarah Xiao and Michael Nicholson suggest that this shopping behavior includes a number of antecedents, such as:

• Personality traits
• Buying beliefs and attitudes
• Sociocultural values
• Demographic factors

Impulsive Buying Meaning: These components are connected to both internal (like emotions) and exterior (like environmental cues) factors that promote the impulse purchase tendency. Another type of impulsive buying that people employ to control their mood is self-gifting, sometimes known as “retail therapy.”

Wilhelm Hofmann, a social psychologist whose work is frequently quoted, hypothesized that impulses are produced when the associative cluster in long-term memory is activated in close association with input from perceptual stimuli.

Impulsive Purchasing: Impulse Purchase Cycle

Let’s look at a quick example of impulsive spending (Impulsiveness Examples):

1. You love cake and you see one at the bakery. 
2. Your brain activates a series of urges, desires, and impulses to eat it.
3. These urges are stimulated by external stimuli like the cake design, the smell of the bakery, etc. 
4. You buy the cake without thinking about it. 

BPD Impulsive or Impulsive Bpd

In Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), impulsivity is characterized by quick, unplanned action (Impulsive Borderline Personality Disorder). The impulsive behaviors that appear to control emotional pain in BPD, however, may be better explained by a preference for instant gratification and discounting of delayed rewards.

Why Am I So Impulsive? Impulse Disorders Causes

• Coming from a family with low socioeconomic status
• Coming from a place with community violence
• A lack of structure in the home and school
• A neglectful or abusive environment
• Having friends that partake in deviant or illegal activities

How To Control Impulsive Behavior? Impulse Control Disorder Treatment

How To Stop Being Impulsive? Psychotherapy is the first-line treatment for impairments of impulse control (talk therapy). People with ICDs have been treated successfully with the following types of psychotherapy:

• Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT): CBT can aid those with ICDs in developing their decision-making and problem-solving abilities. According to research, CBT may enable patients with pyromania to recognize and control their cravings. Kleptomaniacs are frequently treated with CBT as well. In a 2018 study, it was discovered that CBT in a group environment helped persons with IEDs better manage their anger.
• Family therapy: The goal of functional family therapy is to evaluate how different family members’ interactions may influence a child’s disruptive behaviors. Similar short-term behavioral interventions like brief strategic family therapy look for recurring ways that members of the family speak, act, and think in order to strengthen ties and stop destructive behavior.
• Multisystemic treatment (MST): is a comprehensive behavioral intervention approach that deals with all aspects of a child’s or adolescent’s life to treat the symptoms of impulse control disorder. Peers, teachers, therapists, parents, and other important individuals work together to encourage healthy habits and discourage detrimental ones. MST may be conducted with the assistance of social workers and mental health specialists in foster care, youth detention facilities, schools, and homes.
• Social skill development: Social skill development can assist kids and teenagers with ODD and/or CD in enhancing their relationships and day-to-day interactions, as well as in responding appropriately to circumstances and communicating more effectively.

Medication For Impulse Control

The disorder of impulse control does not have any drugs. Despite the dearth of available medicine, many drugs are used to treat impulse control issues off-label.

• Antidepressants. Antidepressants can cure the irritability brought on by impairments of impulse control. Antidepressants may be a good alternative for treating the drive to act impulsively when accompanied by increasing agitation and irritability.
• Mood stabilizers. The least amount of clinical data exists to support the use of mood stabilizers in the treatment of impulse control disorders, however, some patients have reported beneficial outcomes. A mood stabilizer may lessen the degree to which anxiety makes a person act impulsively.
• Opioid antagonists. Medicine cravings are lessened in patients with substance use disorders taking the drug naltrexone. This medicine may help some people with impulse control difficulties, and it may also lessen the desire or need to act impulsively.
• Atypical neuroleptics. First-generation antipsychotics, also known as typical neuroleptics, are being replaced by more recent options known as atypical neuroleptics. These drugs are better tolerated and have fewer negative effects. Atypical neuroleptics function by obstructing the brain chemicals that are involved in the sensation of rewardingness in impulsive conduct.
• Glutaminergic Agents. Similar to opioid antagonists, N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) has been utilized in patients with substance use problems. NAC might be an option if an opioid antagonist interferes negatively with another drug or if the body cannot tolerate it.

We Level Up Dual Diagnosis Treatment

The definition of dual diagnosis (also referred to as co-occurring disorders) can differ between institutions. However, it is generally described as the specific treatment of someone who has been diagnosed with a substance use disorder and a mental health disorder at the same time. Treating dual-diagnosis clients is a critical aspect of our inpatient treatment experience because co-occurring disorders are strongly correlated with instances of substance abuse.

Creating a treatment plan that addresses the physical aspects of withdrawal, the psychological connection with drug use, and managing underlying mental health disorders is part of setting clients up for success.  A thorough mental health analysis identifies possibilities for treatment.  Meeting with mental health counselors and medical care providers means access to behavioral therapy and medication treatment. At our dual diagnosis treatment center, We Level Up can implement the highest quality of care. 

We recognize the fragile complexities of how mental and substance abuse disorders can influence others and sometimes result in a vicious cycle of addiction.  That’s why we offer specialized treatment in dual-diagnosis cases to provide the most excellent chance of true healing and long-lasting recovery.

It can be challenging to accept that you may be living with a mental illness, but once it is properly diagnosed and treated, treating the presenting case of substance abuse can be magnitudes easier. Only a properly trained medical professional can diagnose these underlying conditions.  If you believe you are suffering from a disorder alongside addiction, we urge you to seek a qualified treatment center to begin your journey to recovery. Call We Level Up today.