Everyone gives in to their impulses from time to time. Whether it’s purchasing an expensive, gorgeous jacket they don’t need or indulging in a delicious slice of cake when they’re on a strict diet, succumbing to these impulses from time to time is perfectly normal. However, someone struggling with an impulse control disorder will have difficulty managing their desires or wishes. They often feel like they aren’t in control of what is considered to be normal behavior when done in regular, accepted frequencies or degrees. That means they’re more likely to follow their impulses, even when it may result in negative consequences.
Under this condition, a person has difficulty controlling their behaviors, emotions, and urges. They often conflict with those around them, societal norms, and the law as they struggle to exercise restraint. Unfortunately, impulse control disorder is little understood, which means that many people who have it are undiagnosed and often grapple with substance abuse.
What is Impulse Control?
Impulse control is the practice of managing your urges, desires or need to act a particular way. It is noticeably distinct in children, who have yet to learn how to control their instincts or needs.
However, many people struggle with impulse control as they mature into adults, sometimes eventually progressing into a disorder. The following features demonstrate impulse control disorder:
- Difficulty or inability to completely control problematic behavior
- Consistent engagement in behavior regardless of the consequences, often negative
- Frequent feelings of intense urges or cravings to participate in inappropriate behaviors
- Engaging in problematic behaviors to experience pleasure or release pressure
Everyone, even neurotypical people, experiences impulses from time to time that isn’t usually harmful. However, the problem lies in the repeated engagement in the behavior and dismissing its potential negative consequences.
How Does It Relate to Substance Abuse and Addiction?
Substance abuse and impulse control are closely linked. A lack of impulse control often paves the way for substance abuse, especially as the person no longer fights the urge to drink or take drugs despite being fully aware of the consequences. Some impulse control disorders and substance abuse disorders overlap because they are very similar. Additionally, the environmental stressors and genetic tendencies that lead to developing an impulse control disorder may also lead them to be predisposed to substance abuse.
The prefrontal cortex and the amygdala, both in the brain, are partially responsible for controlling decision-making and impulses. These parts do not mature until adulthood, which means that children and adolescents naturally have difficulty making carefully considered decisions or controlling their impulses. For this reason, many impulse control disorders start in adolescence. Additionally, those who abuse substances as children or adolescents are more likely to develop a substance abuse disorder when they reach adulthood.
What are the Statistics of Co-Occurring Substance Abuse and Impulse Control Disorders?
In fact, 35 to 48 percent of people with intermittent explosive disorders also struggle with substance abuse. According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), almost 20 million people in the United States aged 12 and older grappled with a substance use disorder in 2017. That same year, around 8.5 million Americans aged 18 and older battled co-occurring substance abuse and mental health disorders.
Unfortunately, impulse control disorders and substance use disorders often co-occur. According to studies, 33 percent of people with pyromania also have substance abuse disorders. Additionally, 22 to 50 percent of people with kleptomania struggle with substance abuse as well. Since a lack of control and compulsion characterizes the two types of disorders, sufferers are predisposed to the other condition, explaining why many people have both. Additionally, many researchers believe that both disorders involve the reward system of the brain.
What are the Types of Impulse Control Disorders?
Five types of impulse control disorders are distinct and widespread enough to be considered separate, standalone conditions. These are pyromania, intermittent explosive disorder, kleptomania, trichotillomania, and pathological gambling. It’s important to note that impulse control is also present in other mental illnesses such as substance abuse, bulimia, and paraphilias. However, these are not classified as impulse control disorders since other symptoms are more prevalent.
- Pyromania is the inability to control the desire to start fires. A person suffering from pyromania often feels an insatiable urge, such as an emotional blockage or anxiety, that they relieve only by setting objects on fire. Seeking relief from such feelings is the primary reason for the disorder, although some people with the condition say that they feel intense pleasure when setting fires.
- The intermittent explosive disorder is characterized by the inability to control the urge to react furiously to minor triggers. The rage these people feel may sometimes spiral into physical violence. Those with the disorder experience frequent bouts of impulsive outbursts of seething anger, which often seem disproportionate to the triggering event.
- Kleptomania is the inability to manage or restrain the impulse to steal. It doesn’t apply to those stealing for survival and necessity, such as food. The disorder refers to stealing leisure items that are meaningless, unnecessary, or not valuable.
- Trichotillomania is a disorder in which the individual experiences overwhelming impulses to pull their hair out, whether on their scalp or other areas of their body. However, not everyone with trichotillomania finds the act to be pleasurable or pain-free. Still, the intense desire to pull hair often overrides their worries about pain. The disorder was recently reclassified into an obsessive-compulsive disorder.
- Pathological gambling used to be considered an impulse control disorder, although it was recently recategorized as a symptom of addiction. Also known as compulsive gambling, those with the disorder cannot fight the urge to gamble, as it becomes overpowering and unbearable that abates once they gamble.
What are the Symptoms of Impulse Control Disorder?
Sometimes, people exhibit general signs of an impulse control disorder without falling under any of the five types mentioned above. These symptoms include obsessive thoughts, inability to delay gratification, impatience, feelings of severe anxiety before performing the impulsive behavior, and acting on a specific impulse repeatedly despite adverse outcomes.
How Can You Identify Impulse Control Disorder?
It is considerably challenging to spot impulse control disorder symptoms in children since they naturally are less skilled at controlling their feelings and expressing their emotional experiences and thoughts. For this reason, impulsive behaviors in this age group are prevalent.
However, once individuals have reached adulthood, they have acquired the skills needed to express their feelings and thought processes more articulately. This ability makes it easier to diagnose impulse control disorders. An adult may describe the intense anxiety and tension they feel when faced with an urge to perform impulsive behavior, finding relief or pleasure once they give in to the impulse. Usually, these impulsive behaviors result in adverse consequences.
Conclusion
It is entirely normal to give in to your impulses once in a while, such as eating ice cream when you’re trying to eat healthily or purchasing a nice pair of shoes when you’re keeping a closer eye on your budget. However, when these behaviors are exhibited in more intense degrees, they can lead to impulse control disorders and, subsequently, substance abuse.
Sources:
https://www.samhsa.gov/data/report/2017-nsduh-annual-national-report
