Many people do not know the signs and how to deal with impulsive behavior. In fact, this behavior is often done by many people, for example, excessive shopping. If it rarely happens, this is nothing to worry about. However, when it becomes increasingly difficult to control, impulsive behavior needs to be addressed immediately.
Impulsive behavior is an attitude when a person performs an action without thinking about the consequences of what he does. This condition is generally shown by children, because they do not understand how to convey emotions or suppress the impulses they feel.
Not only children, basically, almost everyone has probably done some impulsive behavior once in a while. For example, buying something when you are at the mall, even though you are thrifty. However, this occasional behavior is not something to be wary of.
New impulsive behavior can be referred to as a psychological disorder if it occurs more often or feels difficult to control. The exact cause of someone doing impulsive behavior is not known for certain.
However, there are several psychological conditions that tend to make a person often engage in impulsive behavior, including:
- BPD (Borderline personality disorder)
- ADHD (Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder)
- Bipolar
- Kleptomania
- Parkinson's disease
Some Signs of Impulsive Behavior
A person who is impulsive often acts as he pleases without realizing that his behavior can have consequences. When there is an urge to do something, such as shopping, he will immediately do it without thinking.
The following are some signs that someone has impulsive behavior:
- Take something you want forcibly without having to wait or ask first
- Indulging in things, like shopping or overeating
- Damage personal property or other people when angry
- Speak without considering the good or bad of the words
- Hurt yourself when angry, sad, or disappointed
- Yell when you feel stressed
- Find it difficult to focus and complete tasks
In children and adolescents, impulsive behavior can also be seen from a tendency to annoy friends or those around them, can't stay still, or have trouble concentrating in class.
How to Diagnose and Cope With Impulsive Behavior
Impulsive behavior that often appears or has caused problems in daily life needs to be evaluated by a psychologist or psychiatrist. This is important to do to determine whether the behavior arises as a result of certain psychological disorders.
If the results of a psychiatric examination show that the impulsive behavior experienced by a person has led to a mental disorder, the psychiatrist or psychologist will take several steps to handle it in the form of:
Administration of drugs
Impulsivity can be a symptom of a psychological disorder, such as: attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and bipolar disorder. To treat ADHD, doctors can prescribe medications such as: amphetamine, dextroamphetamine, or methylphenidate.
Meanwhile, impulsive behavior due to bipolar disorder can be overcome by giving antimania drugs. Giving these drugs serves to improve focus or concentration, and overcome mental disorders that cause impulsive attitudes.
Psychotherapy
Handling of impulsive disorders can also be done with psychotherapy in the form of: dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) and cognitive behavioral therapy.
Through this psychotherapy method, patients will be guided and trained to reduce impulsive behavior and improve their ability to think before acting. By changing his mindset, the patient will be able to consider the impact of each of his actions.
A person may engage in impulsive behavior only occasionally. However, if this impulsive attitude often occurs and harms yourself and others, this needs to be watched out for and handled appropriately.
Therefore, immediately consult a doctor if impulsive behavior occurs frequently or you already find it difficult to control the behavior.