Most people occasionally act without thinking, often following through with impulsive actions that are fun and harmless. But impulsivity is also a troubling symptom of many mental health conditions treated by the team at Beyond ADHD, located in Midtown Manhattan in New York, Brooklyn Heights in Brooklyn, and Elmhurst and Rego Park in Queens. In addition to impulsivity associated with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), they offer personalized care for other impulse-control disorders. Call the nearest New York City office or request an appointment online today to learn about treatment options for impulsivity.
Impulsivity refers to acting or reacting quickly without thinking about your behavior or the consequences of your actions. Impulsivity is a symptom of ADHD, impulse-control disorders diagnosed in children and adolescents, and other mental health conditions.
If your child is impulsive, they may have:
Hyperactive-impulsive ADHD is one of three types of ADHD. Impulsivity in ADHD includes behaviors such as interrupting conversations, disrupting activities, and having difficulty waiting your turn.
IED refers to repeated and frequent outbursts of anger or aggression disproportionate to the situation.
ODD causes a long-lasting pattern of behaviors, such as disobedience, hostility, and defiance toward teachers, parents, and authority figures.
CD involves behaviors that violate the rights of others and ignore social standards. A few examples of CD behaviors include lying, theft, aggression, animal cruelty, and fighting.
Kleptomania is an impulse to steal objects you don’t need.
Pyromania is a rare disorder causing an uncontrollable impulse to set something on fire. People with pyromania have extreme internal tension that’s released when they light a fire.
Other mental health conditions that often cause impulsive behaviors include:
Impulsivity in these conditions can lead to a wide range of symptoms.
In addition to the symptoms mentioned in the descriptions above, impulsive behaviors are often accompanied by one or more of the following:
When symptoms disrupt family, school, or work life, or your child’s impulsivity leads to behaviors that could harm them or others, it’s time to seek help from the team at Beyond ADHD.
The Beyond ADHD team treats impulsivity with therapy, medications, or a combination of both, depending on the underlying cause. The team teaches children to solve problems, manage anger and other negative behaviors, and interact with others.
They also work with parents, teaching them new skills and discipline techniques for managing their child’s challenging behaviors.
Seeking early treatment for your child can help prevent these problems from continuing into adulthood. Call Beyond ADHD or book an appointment online today.