Impulse control disorder is a set of psychiatric disorders including intermittent explosive disorder

Intermittent explosive disorder

Intermittent explosive disorder is a behavioral disorder characterized by extreme expressions of anger, often to the point of violence, that are disproportionate to the situation at hand. It is currently categorized in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders as an impulse...

, kleptomania

Kleptomania

Kleptomania is an irresistible urge to steal items of trivial value. People with this disorder are compelled to steal things, generally, but not limited to, objects of little or no significant value, such as pens, paper clips, paper and tape...

, pathological gambling, pyromania

Pyromania

Pyromania in more extreme circumstances can be an impulse control disorder to deliberately start fires to relieve tension or for gratification or relief. The term pyromania comes from the Greek word πῦρ . Pyromania and pyromaniacs are distinct from arson, the pursuit of personal, monetary or...

 (fire-starting), and three body-focused repetitive

Body-focused repetitive behavior

Body-Focused Repetitive Behavior is an umbrella name for impulse control behaviors involving compulsively damaging one's physical appearance or causing physical injury.The main BFRB disorders are:*Trichotillomania, compulsive hair pulling...

 or compulsive behavior

Compulsive behavior

Compulsive behavior is behavior which a person does compulsively—in other words, not because they want to behave that way, but because they feel they have to do so....

s of trichotillomania

Trichotillomania

Trichotillomania, which is classified as an impulse control disorder by DSM-IV, is the compulsive urge to pull out one's own hair leading to noticeable hair loss, distress, and social or functional impairment. It is often chronic and difficult to treat....

 (a compulsion to pull one's hair out), onychophagia (compulsive nail biting) and dermatillomania

Dermatillomania

Dermatillomania is an impulse control disorder characterized by the repeated urge to pick at one's own skin, often to the extent that damage is caused...

 (compulsive skin picking). The onset of these disorders usually occurs between the ages of 7 and 15. Impulsivity

Impulsivity

Impulsivity is a personality trait characterized by the inclination of an individual to initiate behavior without adequate forethought as to the consequences of their actions, acting on the spur of the moment. Eysenck and Eysenck related impulsivity to risk-taking, lack of planning, and making up...

, 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. (See also 'behavioral addiction

Behavioral addiction

Behavioral addiction is a form of addiction which does not rely on drugs or alcohol. Increasingly referred to as process addiction or non-substance-related addiction ) behavioral addiction includes a compulsion to repeatedly engage in an action until said action causes serious negative consequences...

)

Classification

Considered to be part of the obsessive-compulsive disorder

Obsessive-compulsive disorder

Obsessive–compulsive disorder is an anxiety disorder characterized by intrusive thoughts that produce uneasiness, apprehension, fear, or worry, by repetitive behaviors aimed at reducing the associated anxiety, or by a combination of such obsessions and compulsions...

 spectrum, impulse control disorders are often associated with substance use disorder

Substance use disorder

Substance use disorders include substance abuse and substance dependence. In DSM-IV, the conditions are formally diagnosed as one or the other, but it has been proposed that DSM-5 combine the two into a single condition called "Substance-use disorder"....

s because "it has been speculated that these disorders are mediated by alterations of partially overlapping neural circuits".

Treatment

Impulse control disorders have two treatment options: psychosocial and pharmacological. Treatment methodology is informed by the presence of comorbid conditions.

External links

• University of Minnesota Impulse Control Disorders Clinic Provides useful information and resources for patients and their families, including free questionnaire-based rating scales that patients can use to assess and track the severity of their condition.