We need to meet our basic needs in order to continue our lives. It is our impulses that motivate us to meet such needs. What creates impulse disorder is our inability to prevent the impulse we feel and to realize it.
The fact that babies cry to meet their basic needs in the first years of their lives is an indication that they act with their impulses. We can accept that babies insist on what they want by crying because they cannot empathize and make connections such as cause and effect. Over time, babies gradually begin to learn how to control their impulses from their environment. We observe that control occurs more smoothly as they get older.
As a requirement of living in society, we need to respect the rights of the people around us. However, in impulsivity, this situation is disabled and a failure to respect these rights occurs. When we look at this situation, impulsivity is a serious disorder that disrupts the child's adaptation. We can think of children with impulse control disorders as a car without brakes. There is an innate lack of control mechanism. These children generally cannot be disciplined, and as a result of this situation, they resist authority, dislike rules, and insist on doing what they think and know. At this point, they either interpret the rules in their own way or want to make rules themselves in group activities or games. If they don't get their way, they may overreact and disturb other children with their words. As a result of this situation, unfortunately, they may become unwanted children.
If we look at other symptoms in these children; They cannot control their impulses to perform actions that may be dangerous for themselves or the people around them, they feel a sudden and intense sense of arousal before performing the action, they feel relief while performing the action, and they may experience real regret after performing the action.
Impulse control disorder in general. Although it begins to be noticed at the age of 4 - 5, it becomes evident with the start of the school year. Attention deficit and hyperactivity are seen in children with this disorder. The probability is also quite high. According to research, the incidence of this disorder is higher in boys than in girls.
As a parent, what should you do if your child has impulse control disorder?
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You can set the rules regarding the social environments your child will enter, together with your child, and ensure that he/she follows these rules. If he does not comply, you can make him take responsibility for this.
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You can encourage your child to stop and think before acting on his/her impulses and to think about what harm or benefit this will do to him/her. You will notice that once the child internalizes this, he will adapt to his social environment more easily.
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If you cannot cope, you can try to control this situation with professional support, medication and/or psychotherapy.
One of the most important things to know about this condition is that it will not go away over time. If treatment is not applied in the early stages, many behavioral disorders such as social and academic failures, depression, substance addiction, tendency to violence, and gambling may be observed in adulthood. This leads to greater impulsivity to suppress the inadequacy.
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