If you find that your impulsive behaviour leads to negative short-term and long-term outcomes, and you would like to do something about it, we can help. We can help you to control your behaviour and deal with challenging situations without having to react and act impulsively.
If you are not sure if your impulsive behaviour is our of control, ask yourself the following questions:
Unhelpful Impulsive Behaviour Checklist:
Do I have difficulties concentrating on specific tasks?
Do I often act without thinking through the consequences?
Do I act on the spur of the moment?
Do I have difficulties controlling my urges or impulses?
Am I more likely to act impulsively when I feel more emotional (anxious, angry, elated)?
Do I have difficulties tolerating boredom?
Am I often looking for novel and exciting activities?
Am I easily distracted?
If your answers to most of these questions are ‘yes’ you might like to take steps to better control your impulsivity.
There are good reasons for controlling your impulsivity. Consider whether some of your impulsive behaviours have ever caused relationship problems or if urgent urges or impulses left you unable to do your work.
The following examples show how unhelpful impulsive behaviours might cause problems in your life:
People with high impulsivity often have difficulties in their relationships with others
Unhelpful impulsivity often leads to difficulties at school or in the workplace
People who are impulsive can have difficulty controlling their eating, resulting in them being overweight or obese
Impulsive people can have difficulty managing their anger and so might appear to be aggressive. Some unhelpful impulsive behaviours include:
Self-harm behaviours
Aggression and emotional outbursts
Risk-taking behaviours
Excessive eating
Stealing
Gambling
Overspending and buying things unnecessarily
Excessive drinking and misuse of drugs
Addictions to internet pornography
Difficulty with self-management (saying or doing things), which later brings on lots of regrets. We can help you to find a way to better manage your difficult, unhelpful impulsive behaviours.