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There are many different types of mental health disorders, each with its own unique characteristics and traits.
For example, people with anxiety disorders (general anxiety disorder, phobias, etc.) respond to certain objects, persons, or situations with fear and agitation. Those who have mood disorders, like depression or bipolar disorder, experience extreme and persistent feelings and emotional fluctuations (sadness, despair, mania, etc.). And people with impulse control disorders, like kleptomania (stealing) or pyromania (starting fires), are unable to resist urges that may lead them to harm themselves or others.
Here’s what you need to know about impulse control disorders.
What are impulse control disorders?
Impulse control disorders are a category of mental health conditions whose primary symptom is impulsivity. When people are impulsive, they tend to act quickly and without thinking, like when you blurt something out that you didn’t mean to say or interrupt others while they’re talking.
In psychology, impulsivity refers to a personality trait that causes individuals to put themselves or others in dangerous situations. Many mental health disorders have impulsivity as a symptom, like ADHD, OCD, and borderline personality disorder. Read more about impulse control disorder and its treatment here.
Types of impulse control disorders
Impulse control disorders tend to appear during adolescence or early adulthood. Experts have identified five types:
Intermittent explosive disorder
A type of impulse control disorder that involves episodes of extreme and disproportionated anger. Intermittent explosive disorder tends to be more common during late childhood or adolescence. Signs and symptoms include:
- Flying into a “blind rage” unprovoked
- Become easily frustrated
- Sudden and severe verbal or physical outbursts that may result in injury or material damage
- Getting into fights often
- Assaulting people or animals
Conduct disorder
Conduct disorder develops during childhood, and is marked by repetitive or persistent antisocial behaviors, including rebellion, impulsivity, aggression, and unnecessary risk-taking. Children with conduct disorder are at a higher risk of developing antisocial personality disorder (psychopathy) when they’re adults. Signs and symptoms include:
- A general disregard for social norms
- Destructive behavior, such as arson (burning things) and vandalism
- Compulsive bullying or threatening others
- Missing school frequently
- Running away from home
- Physical aggression towards people and animals
Oppositional defiant disorder
Oppositional defiant disorder is mostly diagnosed during childhood. Children and teens with this disorder are hostile, defiant, and uncooperative towards others, especially authority figures like parents and teachers. Signs and symptoms of oppositional defiant disorder include:
- Frequent temper tantrums
- Refusing to do what others tell them to do (particularly adults)
- Doing things to annoy, frighten, or upset others
- Constant angry or irritable mood
- Vindictiveness
- Blaming others for their acts
Kleptomania
A person who has kleptomania cannot resist the urge to steal items, sometimes for personal or financial gain, and sometimes just for their own amusement. Kleptomania is not the same as shoplifting, but experts estimate that anywhere between 4 and 25 percent of shoplifters actually have kleptomania. The disorder also seems to be more common among women than men. Signs and symptoms of kleptomania include:
- Feeling a strong, unshakable urge to steal
- Stealing items that are not needed or of little to no value just for “the heck of it”
- Feelings of guilt or shame after stealing
- Feelings of relief after stealing
Pyromania
Pyromania is when individuals cannot resist the impulse of deliberately starting fires. It is a very rare condition that only seems to affect between 3 and 6 percent of psychiatric patients.
The main difference between pyromania and arson, which is a criminal act and not a mental health disorder, is that a person with pyromania is strictly pathological or compulsive. This means that the act of starting fires stems from a psychological urge, so the objective is to fulfill that need. A person who engages in arson, on the other hand, often does it with malicious intent and with the goal of harming people or damaging property.
Signs and symptoms of pyromania include:
- Experiencing tension just before starting the fire and a sense of release after
- Intense attraction to fire and fire-related items
- A strong pleasure or rush from setting fires
- The urge to start fires is not a response to anger or vengeance
Other impulse-related disorders
Although there are only five official types of impulse control disorders, many other condition disorders are associated with impulse control, including:
- Compulsive sexual behavior: sometimes called hypersexuality or sexual addiction, it is when a person has repetitive and intrusive sexual thoughts and fantasies that interfere with their daily living. Many individuals with this disorder have a difficult time controlling their sexual urges and may engage in non-consensual sex as a result.
- Trichotillomania: also known as hair-pulling disorder, it involves recurrent and irresistible urges to pull out your hair from areas like the eyebrows, arms, or scalp.
- Pathological gambling: a person who is a pathological gambler is unable to resist urges related to gambling. Without treatment, people with this disorder may face serious financial trouble and strained interpersonal relations.
- Substance abuse: like other impulse control disorders, substance abuse issues are characterized by compilation and a lack of control over the use of a substance, like alcohol or drugs. They also experience a strong craving or tension before consuming the substance, and a sense of pleasure or release immediately after.
