What Is Impulse Control?
Personally to me, impulse control is essential to my happiness, safety, ans security. I am an addict in recovery, and I MUST think my impulse to relapse through to the end in order for me to “talk myself” out of it. I also have to “talk myself” out of making purchases that I do not really need because if they are not in my budget, they can throw my whole month off, and I will run out of $$ and won’t be able to pay a bill. So, to me, impulse control is “talking myself” out of things that just pop into my head out of no where.
Impulse control disorder is a set of psychiatric disorders including intermittent explosive disorder (hot-headedness), kleptomania (stealing), pathological gambling, pyromania (fire-starting), and three Body-focused repetitive or compulsive behaviors of trichotillomania (a compulsion to pull one’s hair out), onychophagia (compulsive nail biting) and dermatillomania (compulsive skin picking). The onset of these disorders usually occurs between the ages of 7 and 15. Impulsivity, the key feature of these disorders, can be thought of as seeking a small, short term gain at the expense of a large, long term loss. Those with the disorder repeatedly demonstrate failure to resist their behavioral impetuosity. Impulse control disorders are considered to be part of the obsessive-compulsive disorder spectrum. The essence of emotional self-regulation is the ability to control one’s impulses in the service of a goal.
