Impulsivity - what is it? How do you know if you are an impulsive person?

We are all different people: some take it for granted and feel comfortable to weigh every step in life many times over, while others are capable of making serious, life-determining decisions on the fly. Among a wide range of bright human character traits, impulsiveness stands out - this is the tendency of a particular individual to act quickly and rashly, when only one’s own motives, emotions, circumstances and people nearby are taken as a basis.

Surely everyone in their own environment has met such a person: he does not think about his actions, speech, decisions, he instantly reacts to circumstances and the actions of other people, but this haste often makes him repent of his own behavior. Impulsivity is typical for children - preschoolers or children of primary school age cannot yet give an adequate assessment of their actions, and therefore do not bother much about thinking about them. For teenagers, impulsivity can be a consequence of increased emotional and hormonal excitability. Impulsivity in adults manifests itself in neuroses, overwork, states of passion and in some diseases.

Impulsivity comes in different forms and, depending on the degree of manifestation, can cause slight inconvenience to its owner or become a real problem in his life and environment. Impulsive behavior ranges from mild expressions of dissatisfaction, hasty decisions and rapid return of self-control to painful impulsive manifestations:

kleptomania (craving for theft); gambling addiction (compulsive gambling); fetishism and other manifestations of impulsive sexual behavior; anorexia or, conversely, overeating, etc.

Causes

Impulsive individuals have no plans for the future or big life goals.
They have few friends, no favorite pastime, and have long been tired of work. They live one day at a time. Therefore, they satisfy immediate needs. They simply have nothing to compare their desires with. I don’t want to listen to other people’s opinions, since they are of no value. For example, if a person is saving for a house, then he is ready to restrain himself and refuse entertainment. And if there is no such goal, then all the funds are spent on spontaneous trips to the cinema, theater, or store. The decision-making scheme of an ordinary individual is as follows: impression – analysis of information – comparison of different options – choosing the best – action. And for an impulsive person it is as follows: impression - action.

Motivated impulsivity

Impulsivity is making decisions under the influence of one's own desires, emotions and mood. However, there are two more types of impulsive behavior: motivated and unmotivated.

Now let's talk about the first one. Motivated impulsivity manifests itself under the influence of stressful situations. In such a state, even the most reasonable and thoughtful person has to act, sometimes, impulsively. And this is a normal reaction of the body. There is nothing wrong with such impulsiveness.

ADHD or personality?

Increased activity of a child may be a manifestation of his innate temperament.

Unlike children with ADHD, a temperamental healthy child:

• After active running or other activity, he sits or lies calmly, that is, he can calm down on his own.
• He falls asleep normally, and the duration of his sleep corresponds to the age of the baby.
• He sleeps long and peacefully at night. If this is a baby, then he wakes up to be fed, but does not cry and quickly falls asleep again.
• Understands the concept of “dangerous” and experiences fear. Such a child will not climb into a dangerous place again.
• Quickly masters the concept of “no”.
• May be distracted by a story or some object.
• Rarely shows it towards mother or other child. The baby can share his toys, even if sometimes only after persuasion.

Impulsive drives

Impulsive drives, which were previously designated as monomania, manifest themselves episodically or periodically arising uncontrollable urges to commit socially unacceptable, including illegal actions, often or even most often contrary to the conscious needs of the individual. Most impulsive impulses arise suddenly. Their appearance is preceded by growing affective tension, sometimes a short struggle of motives, and attempts to resist a rapidly growing impulse.

During a painful episode, the pathological urge is perceived by the patient as a passionate, “wild” and uncontrollable desire to realize this urge. The painful episode ends after some time with a feeling of great relief: the pathological urge fades away, disappears into the abyss of the unconscious, but patients, even in a normal state, somehow feel that it still exists, or notice that it leaves traces in the form of some then thoughts, interests, actions. If patients have not lost the ability to objectively evaluate such episodes, they understand their morbidity and alienness to the conscious mind. Ya E. Bleuler, referring to homocidal impulsive desire, points out: “Crime seems to be accompanied by clouding of consciousness and even a real hysteriform twilight state... Criminals usually cannot indicate no explanation for your actions,” as if thereby emphasizing the fact of amnesia of the motives of painful behavior. Often the actions and the environment in which the pathological actions were committed are amnesic. After emerging from a painful episode, E. Bleuler continues, various sociopathic manifestations may be identified in patients, but this cannot be considered a mandatory rule, since “otherwise, these people can be quite moral (and) decent.”

Cases in which the patient would commit impulsive acts of various types seem to be quite rare, if at all. The duration of individual impulsive episodes ranges from several minutes, hours (kleptomania) to a number of days, weeks and even months (dromomania, dipsomania, fugues). Patients vary widely in terms of the frequency, rhythm, and frequency of recurrent impulsive episodes. The latter can be facilitated by factors such as intoxication, menstruation, nostalgia, stress, digestive disorders, mood changes (depression, dysphoria), and some random circumstances. These factors can trigger an impulsive episode, but are not the main cause. The nosological affiliation of impulsive drives remains not entirely clear. The number of currently distinguished impulsive drives ranges from 4 to 10 or more. In ICD-10, trichotillomania is classified as impulsive drives. Let us describe the main ones.

1. Pyromania is an impulsive urge to set fires that does not pursue the goal of causing material or other damage to anyone. Pyromaniacs tend to set fires repeatedly; Usually, patients have time to carefully prepare them, carry them out with dexterity, and often skillfully hide the traces of the act, so that it is not easy to incriminate the patients. Watching the fire, they seem to be fascinated by it for some time, and then they can take part in putting it out, feeling satisfaction from their help.

Let us remember that, unlike pyrolagnia, pyromaniacs do not experience sexual feelings. In the intervals between attacks of pyromania, patients are often interested in everything that is in one way or another connected with fire and fires (reports of fires, fire equipment, fire extinguishing means, flammable substances, the sight of burned people, etc.). An episode of pyromania is not amnesiac. Some pyromaniacs experience a feeling of guilt and, although they rarely admit to their crime, they may feel relieved when they are detained by law enforcement officers. Pyromania is a relatively rare phenomenon (there is no exact data on its distribution); it is more often found in men, who are more likely to show signs of mild mental retardation and a tendency to abuse alcohol. In childhood, some pyromaniacs show cruelty to animals and a tendency to commit arson. Women who are pyromaniacs exhibit a tendency toward sexual promiscuity and petty theft, sometimes reminiscent of kleptomania.

The etiology of pyromania is unknown. Psychodynamic theories (fire is a symbol of sexuality, heat excites the same feelings, the shape and movement of the flame remind the patient of the penis; pyromania expresses the phallic desire for power and social prestige, and putting out a fire proves courage and one’s strength, etc.) have not received evidence. No connection was found between the disorder and any known mental illness, although long-term follow-up data are not provided in the literature. In episodes of pyromania, there are undoubtedly signs of altered consciousness and self-awareness, which may indicate that the disorder is similar to the phenomenon of multiple personality, as well as other impulsive drives. In this case, impulsive drives serve as a manifestation of a very long prodromal or initial stage of schizophrenia in the form of a psychopathic syndrome. Treatment (mainly behavioral psychotherapy) is ineffective.

2. Kleptomania - episodes of impulsive urges to commit petty thefts, not pursuing the goal of enrichment. As unnecessary things are stolen, they are then thrown away, returned to the owner under a plausible pretext, or for some reason kept and accumulated, although we are not talking about kleptolagnia or theft of sexual fetishes. At the moment of theft, patients seem to experience some pleasure and a sense of relief, temporarily freed from the tension of the painful impulse.

Sometimes thefts are not planned, the patient does not seem to prepare for them, and behaves insufficiently carefully; exposing such patients is not difficult. Some patients have been stealing for a number of years with remarkable dexterity, so that it is quite difficult to catch them. Thus, a recently identified kleptomaniac was found at home with a whole warehouse of stolen CDs, even in unopened boxes: he had been stealing for more than ten years. Thefts are committed alone with different frequencies, reflecting the dynamics of the painful impulse. After episodes of kleptomania, patients often experience anxiety, guilt, and even depression, but the disorder nevertheless persists.

A feeling of shame stops patients when they think about reporting themselves somewhere, but arrested patients sometimes thank the police for finally catching them. Kleptomania is detected in less than 5% of thieves. Once upon a time, kleptomania was very often feigned. Kleptomaniacs never become ordinary thieves, and vice versa. The combination of kleptomania and ordinary theft, if it occurs, is extremely rare. Isolated cases of kleptomania occur in patients with obsessions—ritual theft. It is believed that kleptomania is more often observed in women, who are supposedly more prone to ordinary theft. There are cases when the disorder persists into old age. There is a known case where a kleptomaniac was already over 70 years old and she was arrested more than 60 times.

Kleptomania is often combined with chronic depression, anorexia nervosa, bulimia and pyromania (in women); episodes of kleptomania can occur after stress.

The nature of the disorder is unknown. Psychoanalysts associate kleptomania with such reasons as attempts to restore the lost mother-child relationship, aggression, women's search for the penis or its symbol, protection from the castration complex, masochism (search for punishment), the desire to maintain positive self-esteem or restore it, reaction to a family secret, replacement sexual intercourse. Psychodynamic theories have not been confirmed, at least not yet. Kleptomania is a personality disorder, possibly of process origin in the form of a psychopathic syndrome.

The course of kleptomania is wavy, periodic, and generally chronic. Kleptomaniacs themselves extremely rarely seek medical help on their own; in remission, they either calm down and think that the disorder has passed, or they don’t think about it at all, as if they forget. Socially, many kleptomaniacs are adapted quite well, if their bad reputation does not harm them. Cases of theft by psychiatric patients (in mania, under the influence of auditory deception, etc.) are usually not kleptomania. The disorder cannot be treated.

3. Dipsomania is an impulsively occurring uncontrollable urge to drink in people who do not show signs of alcohol dependence. Binges last up to a number of weeks. Patients drink mostly alone, almost all day long, absorbing gigantic quantities of alcohol. Thus, the patient reports that he drinks up to 6 liters of vodka per day during a binge. Characterized by super-endurance of alcohol. In behavior, patients become unrecognizable: extremely aggressive, cruel, prone to sexual excesses and deviations, as well as to dromomania. They partially remember their behavior during the period of heavy drinking, and they are surprised to learn many details from friends.

Binges occur relatively rarely - once every year or two or more. They stop suddenly. The attraction to alcohol is replaced by complete indifference or disgust towards it. Subsequently, if patients drink at all, it is in moderation, as before the attack of dipsomania; there is alcohol intolerance. There are indications of a connection between dipsomania and affective disorders (dysphoria, depression).

4. Attacks of nymphomania and satyriasis are impulsively occurring attacks of sexual passion, sexual obsession in women and men who, in their normal state, are not inclined to hypersexuality or even with hypo- and alibidemia. The attacks begin suddenly, last up to several hours or days, then end just as abruptly. One of the patients with schizophrenia suffered from attacks of satyriasis that lasted up to two hours.

Outside of attacks, he had no interest in women. Eyewitnesses said that during the attack he became “completely wild, running around foaming at the mouth” in search of a victim. He himself associated such attacks with the fact that someone secretly put “Spanish flies” in his food. Sexual urge, however, was perceived by him as “a terrible desire of a woman.”

He had no cases of sexual violence, since he worked at a remote weather station, and women knew when he was “in the mood” and managed to hide from him. After the attack ended, he behaved as if nothing had happened to him. Amnesia did not occur during the attack, but he could not tell about the details of what happened to him and around him during the episode. There are patients who, during a painful episode, become aggressive and commit acts of sexual violence.

5. “Monomania of murder” (K. Jaspers) or homicidomania is an impulsive urge to kill without any motivation in persons who normally do not show signs of pathological aggressiveness. G.V. Morozov and N.G. Shumsky illustrate the disorder with the following observation. The patient felt for five months that “something was pushing” him to kill his children. He could not “get rid of this urge, either day or night, or at work.” For the last three nights, he resisted this urge with all his might, and “looked at the children with bloodthirstiness.”

Finally, he said, “I was ready” to do it. “Before the murder, I didn’t think about anything other than killing and running away.” Having killed the sleeping children, he experienced “very great relief” until he came to the forest. In the forest he shouted: “I am a lost man.” He later said: “It had to happen, I couldn’t stop myself from committing this infanticide.” A similar example is given by A.S. Kronfeld, reporting on a patient who was forced by “some force” to throw himself into the water and swim until this “force” disappeared. In both cases, patients showed delusions of mastery (“something was pushing,” “some kind of force”) or, in other words, delusional depersonalization with the experience of alienation of their own painful impulses.

Impulsive drives, on the contrary, are experienced with a sense of appropriation of painful impulses, the latter at the time of a pathological episode are perceived as belonging to their ego. Perhaps, the following observation characterizes homicidomania more accurately. A 21-year-old patient (schizotypal disorder) reports that at times he has a “mad desire” to shoot people and “it would be nice with a machine gun.” “I would mow down everyone, I would not spare anyone, neither women nor children. At such moments, I really regret that I don’t have a machine gun or any other weapon with me.”

In response to the doctor’s doubt that it was difficult to believe how he, in general, not an evil person at all, could do such a thing, the patient replied: “I assure you, I would do it, you have no idea how much, how crazy it makes me feel.” I want to". “If I had any weapons,” he added, “I, of course, would try to get rid of them as quickly as possible. This desire appears suddenly, and I cannot predict when it will arise next.”

6. Suicidemania is a sudden, irresistible urge to commit suicide. For example: “Suddenly an acute reluctance to live arose. I immediately imagined that I would hang myself and where I would do it. I immediately found a rope, made a loop, soaped it, and wrote a note “thank you for everything, don’t blame me.” I put the rope in a bag and went to the place. On the way, I didn’t think about anything, didn’t remember anyone, it never occurred to me that my loved ones would suffer. An acquaintance stopped me. He asked what was wrong with me and said that I didn’t look like myself. I told him where I was going and why. He snatched the package from me, forcibly took me by the arms to his home, and gave me vodka to drink. I burst into tears and seemed to come to my senses. That was the end of it. This is the first time this has happened to me.”

7. Impulsive attacks of sadism - a sudden strong desire to cause someone pain, torment, suffering: “Suddenly I wanted to mutilate my father, gouge out his eyes, cut off his ears, nose, lips, tear out his tongue, cut his body with a knife or stab him with an awl. The desire was crazy. I could barely hold on, I thrashed about, bit my hands, banged my head against the wall, and then in a wild rage I broke everything in the house.” The patient did not experience sexual feelings.

8. Fugues or episodes of escape, during which the patient completely falls out of his familiar and home environment, often acquiring a new identity. Days, weeks, or even years later, such patients may come to their senses and find that they are in a different place. Usually they don’t remember how they got here or what they were doing all this time. Their actions during a painful episode can vary from simply going to the movies to traveling across the country, acquiring a new profession because they forget about the old one, leading a completely new life, as if starting from scratch. Fugues occur in some emergency situations that patients cannot cope with.

However, even before this, from time to time they experience conscious impulses to forget about everything and run away somewhere. During the period of such a “dissociative” fugue, outwardly the individual seems to those around him to be a completely normal person, but upon careful examination it turns out that with new activities he seems to be rejecting his previous behavior. R. Carson et al. illustrate the disorder with the following observation: B., 42 years old, a cook, attracted the attention of the local police by getting into a violent altercation with a cafe visitor. During interrogation, he identified himself as Bert Tate and said that he had arrived in the city a few weeks earlier. However, he did not have any documents and could not say where he had lived and worked before. He was asked to go to a local hospital for examination, to which he agreed.

The examination revealed no recent TBI, somatic abnormalities, or signs of alcohol or drug abuse. The patient correctly oriented himself in place and time, but did not remember his life at all before arriving in the city. This amnesia didn't seem to bother him too much. The next day he was released from the hospital.

Meanwhile, the police were checking the list of missing persons and discovered that B. matched the description of a certain D., who lived in another city and disappeared a month ago. D.'s wife was brought in for identification, and she confirmed that it was her husband. B. was noticeably alarmed. He stated that he did not know this woman. Before his disappearance, B., a company manager, faced serious problems at work and at home. The latter arose in a short period of time. At home, he became withdrawn and detached, constantly scolding his wife and children. Two days before his disappearance, he had a big fight with his son and left home, intending to live with friends.

This case is more suitable for the definition of hysterical twilight disorder of consciousness, it is very reminiscent of the phenomenon of multiple personality, but it is perhaps impossible to regard it as an impulsive attraction. Unfortunately, the ending of this story remains unknown. Such cases are not so rare, even if one judges their prevalence from television reports about people who have lost their autobiographical memory.

9. Dromomania (vagobandage, poriomania) - attacks of vagrancy with an inexplicable passion for changing places. The patients themselves explain the painful episodes by curiosity, a thirst for new experiences, and also by the fact that the usual way of life suddenly “gets boring”, begins to weigh down, and seems repulsive. Something like longing for unknown lands appears, and then an irresistible desire to go on a trip. Without resisting him, patients immediately abandon everything they are doing, the house and go “wherever they look” on the first train or plane they come across. The consciousness of the patients appears to be somewhat altered, and the reckless desire to wander is subjectively experienced as one’s own very acute desire. There are no significant memory impairments during the period of vagrancy.

Sometimes the onset of painful episodes dates back to childhood and adolescence. Illustration: patient K., 19 years old, was admitted to a psychiatric hospital due to bouts of vagrancy that lasted up to 1–2 months. It turned out that at the age of about four years, he began to disappear from home from time to time for the whole day, and it was not possible to find him. He returned home alone or accompanied by the police.

It turned out that he wandered around the city, traveling on different types of transport. No matter what his mother did (she locked him in the house, tried not to lose sight of him, asked neighbors to keep an eye on him, contacted the police), the boy still found an opportunity to escape from control and continued to run away. By the age of 6–7, the geography of his wanderings had expanded, he began to travel throughout the region, and, it seems, there was no place in it that he would not visit. He was not home for several days. It became impossible to find him. He returned home himself, dirty, hungry, sometimes bruised. At the same time, while away, he apparently began to steal, but only food or beg for it from local residents. From the age of 13–14 I began to travel outside the region, using trains and buses. He did not steal money from home; he apparently traveled as a “hare.”

The absences became longer, and he was absent from home for weeks. From the age of 16–17 he began traveling throughout the country. He preferred to fly by plane, not alone, but with one of his friends. It was unclear how he managed to do this without any money, but the police never detained him. The only thing the mother managed to do was to persuade the patient to at least report himself. Every time he disappeared from home, she received 10–15 telegrams informing her where he was at that time and where he intended to go next. During the examination, the patient turned out to be sociable and friendly, he talked about where he had been, and also that now he would like to travel around the world. He behaved adequately in the department; it was not possible to identify any symptoms of a mental disorder. The only thing he did not answer was questions about where he obtained funds for food, telegrams, and travel.

Most likely, he simply stole them. It was possible to establish that by this time he had begun to smoke hashish. After discharge from the hospital, the patient's behavior remained unchanged. He never finished school; attempts to place him in a vocational school were unsuccessful, since he was expelled for long absences. He left every time he heard on the radio or television that some important event was planned somewhere: a parade, competition, funeral ceremonies, something else. He said that he was interested in it and really wanted to visit the scene of the event.

At the age of 24 he was hospitalized again. This time he was clearly in a painful state: auditory deceptions of various contents, paranoia, and symptoms of mental automatism were detected. After treatment, the condition improved somewhat. Individual hallucinations and residual delusions remained, the patient noticeably changed in personal terms: he became fenced off, closed, lethargic, and emotionally monotonous. A diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia was made. According to the follow-up data, in subsequent years the patient’s travels stopped, he was treated several times in a local psychiatric hospital, and died under unclear circumstances.

Bouts of vagrancy and vagrancy as a way of life are apparently different things. M. Gorky, O'Henry, and other authors wrote about tramps, describing them as asocial individuals, completely cut off from society. F.M. Dostoevsky, talking about one such tramp, suggested that this is the same type of eternal and restless wanderers who gave the world pioneers and discoverers of new lands and continents.

To the previously noted signs characterizing patients with impulsive drives, we believe it necessary to add that all of them are characterized by drives with contrasting content that contradict the image of the conscious self. Impulsive drives at this point converge with contrasting obsessions, including obsessive urges to do something as opposed to conscious motivation. From a diagnostic point of view, this feature of impulsive drives is probably of the greatest value, if we keep in mind that contrasting obsessions are most common in schizophrenia.

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Vegetative-vascular dystonia in adolescents and children

The disorder can occur already in early childhood, which is important to take into account for parents who send their child to kindergarten or notice changes in the teenager’s behavior. The first symptoms may appear when the child goes to kindergarten or finds himself in a stressful situation

Temperature during VSD is not the only sign of a child’s disturbed condition. Such children, as a rule, are capricious, do not want to go to kindergarten, often get sick and often come into conflict with other children. They have noticeable mood swings, and they tolerate any stress, be it physical or intellectual, worse than their peers.

In adolescence, hormones come into play, the need for self-affirmation in a team, and constant comparisons of oneself with others. When these comparisons are not in your favor or conflicts regularly arise with peers and parents, the load on the nervous system increases. The psyche becomes unstable, which is manifested in girls’ behavior by tearfulness, nervousness, and rudeness towards parents and teachers. In boys, there are outbursts of anger and pronounced negativity towards everything that surrounds the teenager. And if a teenager cannot show aggression openly, another extreme occurs - panic attacks, which are no less difficult to experience.

This behavior is often attributed to hormonal surges and age-related characteristics.

But it's important to understand that hormonal changes don't have to manifest themselves this way. Moreover, they are more likely to create the ground for the development of the disorder, and the task of parents is to recognize the problem in time

If a teenager has become emotionally unstable, his behavior has changed, he blushes and turns pale easily, experiences hot flashes and sweats a lot, and has blood pressure surges, you cannot expect this to go away on its own. In this case, characteristic symptoms of a nervous system disorder appear, which can and must be stopped at the very beginning of development.

Causes of impulsive behavior

Experts have identified the biological origins of impulsivity. The trait in question is inextricably linked with the production of dopamine, which is a substance that transmits information in nerve structures. Impulsive behavior is accompanied by excessive production of dopamine, which results in a change in the activity of the frontal areas responsible for control over activity and programming. As a result, analysis of the event and prediction of the fruits of actions are either completely absent (the execution stage immediately begins), or the time for the process of analyzing the situation is reduced.

The reasons for the above biochemical transformations can be age-related changes in the nervous system, persistent pathological formations in the nervous system, fixation of certain behavioral patterns, and transient physiological disruptions.

Factors that give rise to impulsivity should be divided into two subgroups: psychophysiological factors and mental illnesses.

Impulsivity is found in most individuals. For the most part, it is unstable and is not characterized by the occurrence of serious bad consequences. Imprudent actions are committed due to the influence of strong emotional disturbances, intense external stimuli, a state of loss or fatigue. All of these factors temporarily reduce self-control. Sustained impulsiveness of a non-pathological nature is detected at certain phases of an individual’s mental maturation and with certain types of character.

The following are reasons for mild to moderate impulsiveness.

The phenomenon under consideration manifests itself in preschoolers and primary school students. It is caused by insufficient maturation of the function of control over behavioral patterns. In the future, the comprehension of social roles and the adoption of behavioral attitudes are noted, which forces one to restrain one’s own impulses and take into account the interests of the environment.

Puberty is marked by puberty, accompanied by hormonal imbalance, which invariably affects emotionality: adolescents become more excitable, they easily become angry, irritated, and despair. Simultaneously with physiological transformations, an adolescent crisis arises, which is accompanied by a confrontation between the teenager’s needs and the social circumstances that have formed around him (parental expectations, teachers’ demands). Affective uncontrollability is the basis of impulsive actions.

Impulsiveness is often a personality trait. It is due to the lability of the processes of higher nervous activity. This is inherent in the sanguine and choleric variants of temperament. During socialization and thanks to the educational process, impulsive traits are fixed.

Depletion of the body’s energy reserves is manifested in a decline in its tolerance to psychological discomfort: affective “explosions” (screaming, sobbing), frivolous actions. Therefore, the probable cause of impulsive behavior may be asthenia caused by overwork, lack of sleep, poor health, long waits, and a series of failures. Impulsivity here acts as a tool for relieving psycho-emotional stress.

The environment is filled with many stimuli, which helps to encourage uncontrollable outbursts.

The causes of persistent pathological impulsivity are due to mental disorders. Insufficient control over behavior, emotional instability, decline in critical abilities are the basis for committing actions that impede social adaptation, frustrate the learning process, and disrupt professional activities.

Impulsivity is associated with the following illnesses:

– attention deficit hyperactivity disorder;

– behavioral disorders;

– autistic disorders;

– mental retardation – predominantly, patients suffering from oligophrenia are insufficiently adapted, they are affectively unstable, feel illogical fears, and are characterized by low volitional regulation skills;

– epilepsy – in people suffering from this disease, impulsive reactions are a common form of response to everyday difficulties;

– excitable psychopathy;

– dementia, in which transformations of the emotional-personal field are represented by behavioral passivity, lack of criticism, impulsiveness, patients become rude, use foul language, and are inadequate.

Impulsive person

Weigh the pros and cons? – no, this is not about an impulsive person. And he is also beyond the control of even a momentary reflection on his actions, and it is this factor that distinguishes an impulsive personality from a decisive one. In both cases, there is a quick and energetic reaction, but for impulsive people it is more likely to have a minus sign than a plus - just as quickly as they do, they repent of their rash and inappropriate actions.

How do you know if you are an impulsive person? There are several signs that determine the manifestations and tendency to impulsiveness:

previously unnoticed things and people in the environment begin to irritate; emerging neuroses, stress, inability to cope with one’s own excited psychological state; “starting up half a turn” is now not a problem at all; – from melancholy to unreasonable aggression; After the successful manifestation of a rash act or actions caused by impulsiveness, a person feels satisfied.

If impulsivity begins to create serious problems that a person cannot cope with on his own, it is recommended to seek specialized help. Psychologists and psychotherapists will be able to professionally assess the patient’s condition, and questionnaires and tests will specify the problem. It is imperative to fight the impulsiveness that subjugates a person: this will straighten out relationships with others and increase the quality of a person’s life. In case of serious problems and in accordance with the reasons that caused impulsivity, medical specialists will recommend an individual (according to the patient’s personal characteristics) treatment method.

Female impulsiveness

If you look at gender, women for the most part are much more impulsive and this is understandable: emotional, without sufficient conscious control, they are driven by their own impulses without logical planning of consequences. This does not apply to every girl or woman: some sensible ladies, when buying their fiftieth blouse, try on another twenty, and, for example, having their own baby in a stroller adds a sense of responsibility to a woman, forcing mommy to work on herself.

Women are more emotional creatures than men, and therefore more susceptible to a psycho-emotional state, which is impulsiveness. For women, and for any other person, impulsiveness can create considerable problems at work, in close relationships, in raising children - negative impulsiveness requires “blowing off steam”, and therefore an impulsive person (regardless of gender) is advised to understand himself and understand the reasons the emergence of this state and learn to master it.

Symptoms and diagnosis

Let's figure out what ADHD is? “First of all, this is a disorder that includes a whole complex of symptoms that can manifest themselves with varying degrees of brightness,” says Vera Lachinova. — The so-called “four deficit theory” put forward by Canadian researcher Virginia Douglas in the 1980s is quite understandable and complete.

This is a decrease in the ability to maintain or switch voluntary attention, weakness in the inhibition of impulsive behavior, uncontrolled motor activity and an unusually strong tendency to immediate reward. ADHD should be distinguished from mental retardation, pedagogical neglect, mental deficiency, manifestations of psychopathy, asthenic syndrome, etc.”

For diagnosis, it is important that the syndrome is observed for at least 6-8 months and is not associated with concurrent diseases or difficulties in the family or school. Manifested simultaneously in several areas of the child’s life (at home, at school, in communication with peers)

According to our specialist, ADHD is diagnosed closer to adolescence. This is due to the fact that in the preschool period the child’s brain is not yet physiologically mature enough to control impulses. Therefore, it is premature to talk about the absence of such control.

In the photo: Vera Lachinova, child and family psychologist, teacher, alternative education consultant.

Diagnosis of impulsive disorder in medical

The diagnosis is made based on generally accepted diagnostic criteria:

• tendency to rash, impulsive actions;
• tendency to groundless quarrels and conflicts;
• attacks of uncontrollable explosive behavior;
• emotional lability.

Special psychological tests are used to rule out other types of personality disorders. According to indications, a comprehensive examination is carried out to identify possible neurological pathologies (epilepsy, tumors, hematomas, thrombosis of cerebral vessels).

Demonstrative type.

People of this type strive to show themselves in society, they love to be the center of attention, communication comes easily to them. They tend to start intrigues. These people are attracted by their originality, activity, artistry, and they are also able to interest anyone in anything. However, according to Leonhard's theory, people dislike this type because of excessive self-confidence, egocentrism, and laziness. They provoke conflicts. Characterized by demonstrative behavior, liveliness, mobility, ease of establishing contacts, and artistry. Inclined to fantasizing, posing and pretense. He has an increased ability to repress, he can completely forget what he does not want to know about, which unchains him in lies. Usually he lies with an innocent face, because what he is talking about, at the moment, is true for him; Apparently, he is not internally aware of his lie, or he is aware of it without remorse. Lies and pretense are aimed at embellishing oneself. He is driven by a thirst for constant attention (even negative) to his person. This type demonstrates high adaptability to people, emotional lability in the absence of truly deep feelings, and a tendency to intrigue (with an outwardly soft manner of communication).

The main feature of a demonstrative personality is the need to make an impression, attract attention, and be in the center of events. This manifests itself in vain, often deliberate, behavior, in particular, in such traits as self-praise, perception and presentation of oneself as the central character of any situation

Much of what such a person says about himself often turns out to be a figment of his imagination or a significantly embellished account of events.

Preventing impulsivity

If you do not promptly respond to the first signs of impulsiveness, it can very quickly turn into a permanent character trait , worsening relationships with other people who will not be interested in the cause of its occurrence, but will only notice the person’s unpleasant behavior.

To prevent impulsivity, a set of means is provided. This can be relieving nervous tension, confronting stressful situations: meditation, yoga, SPA treatments, massage, pleasant hobbies, sports, visiting the pool, even shopping. Any of these methods will help restore a harmonious emotional state and protect you from the release of the genie of impulsiveness.

Impulsivity can even arise due to lack of time: incessant requests from relatives, tasks and orders from bosses, children who constantly demand attention. Not every person is able to devote their time to this. Even an efficient woman can turn into a nervous monkey who doesn’t have time to look at herself in the mirror. In this mode, when do you find time to sit down and analyze your affairs? The solution may be healthy selfishness : relatives need to be told in a calm tone that they are able to independently buy a new leash for the dog in the store. Yes, you won’t be able to argue strongly with your superiors, but a competent and adequate leader will always listen to real arguments and take them into account in the future. For children, you can find an interesting activity that will help distract them for several hours.

The main thing is to figure out what is causing the problem. If you eliminate it, you will be able to calm the emotional background and make it more balanced. After this, you will immediately be able to achieve rationality in thoughts and actions.

Causes of mental disorders in children

The appearance of mental disorders can be caused by various reasons. Doctors say that their development can be influenced by all sorts of factors: psychological, biological, sociopsychological.

Provoking factors are: genetic predisposition to mental illness, incompatibility in the type of temperament of parent and child, limited intelligence, brain damage, family problems, conflicts, traumatic events. Family education is not the least important.

Mental disorders in children of primary school age often arise due to parental divorce. The risk of mental disorders often increases in children from single-parent families, or if one of the parents has a history of mental illness. To determine what type of help needs to be provided to your baby, you must accurately determine the cause of the problem.

Minuses

But, as practice shows, impulsive people cause many problems to society. Quick decisions often lead to poor judgment and unfair consequences.

Their mood changes quickly, the cause of which is almost impossible to find out. An impulsive person himself does not know why he is angry or upset.

An emotional individual is not inclined to be reliable due to sudden changes in decisions and mood. It is almost impossible to predict the behavior of this person, since he is guided only by his emotions, and not by a logical sequence of actions.

Signs

The severity of impulsivity is determined by the specific functioning of the brain. As a rule, it is genetically determined. Excessive impulsiveness is often considered a negative trait. However, in some situations, the ability to make instant decisions is considered a feature of creative thinking.

Impulsivity of behavior is represented by four main signs. First of all, the phenomenon under consideration is determined by the inability to predict and plan. People perform actions while controlled by emotions, so they cannot foresee the expected consequences. For them, any outcome is a surprise. They prefer to achieve an insignificant, but rapid result, rather than spend a little more time in order to wait for a more significant result.

A weak level of control is also characteristic of impulsive individuals. They are subject to their own momentary desires.

Such persons are looking only for brightly acute emotions. Therefore, they are characterized by insufficient persistence, expressed in postponing uninteresting things, in procrastination.

Impulsive individuals invariably “scour” in search of fresh impressions; they are subordinated to the need to urgently receive a portion of new emotions. Thus, people tend to act as a result of the influence of intense positive or negative experiences that distort the ability to make thoughtful decisions and multi-choice moves. Thus, they lose the opportunity to avoid endless remorse and pangs of conscience, characteristic of impulsive individuals.

In addition, the described category of people is characterized by endless haste. They “rush” at crazy speed through the milestones of life, they are impetuous, and it is extremely difficult for them to force themselves to sit in one place for a long time. At the same time, they themselves do not know what reaction they will give to the next external impulse.

Impulsivity in adults

Adults prone to impetuosity in behavior are predisposed to an unregulated, instant reaction to any internal or external stimuli. At the same time, they are not worried about the possible consequences. Often such persons act thoughtlessly, and even more often after their actions they are tormented by remorse.

Impulsivity in psychology is considered a painful variation of behavioral response, in which an individual performs certain manipulations, obeying irresistible impulses, almost unconsciously.

The described type of behavior in its manifestation can vary from the rapid resumption of self-control to pathological impulsive addictions: kleptomania, gambling addiction, fetishism, shopaholism, anorexia, overeating.

The analyzed phenomenon manifests itself in a wide variety of situations and spheres.

People who have the described trait are most often characterized by a pronounced attachment to animals. They are compassionate and feed stray animals.

The main characteristics of impulsive individuals can be considered high emotionality and increased activity. They “flare up” easily and “fade out” just as quickly.

Hyperbolic impulsiveness often causes significant harm to relationships with the environment. Because it forces a person to utter phrases without thinking about the consequences. With their rash words, such people cause resentment and sometimes anger. Impulsive people tend to interrupt their interlocutor. Such behavior pushes away loved ones, so impulsive individuals often feel worthless, lonely, suffer from shame and have low self-esteem.

In the professional field, problems also arise due to the manifestation of the trait in question. First of all, impulsiveness leads to constant friction with employees and conflicts. In addition, the tendency to act frivolously can lead to dismissal.

Signs and symptoms, diagnosis of ADHD

Hyperexcitability and lack of attention manifest themselves in different ways. There is even a special classifier by which you can divide patients into groups:

1. inattention prevails in the diagnosis;
2. there is more impulsiveness in behavior;
3. combined type.

The last group includes patients who have severe symptoms of the first 2 types. To make a diagnosis of ADHD, psychology offers a list of signs by which each type is determined.

Criteria for diagnosing ADHD

This is how hyperactivity manifests itself

Note! If at least some of the symptoms are present and observed for six months, we can say that this is a syndrome of hyperactivity and lack of attention

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in a child

The described symptoms in children under 3 years of age are not always taken into account. But as soon as a child goes to kindergarten, then to school, differences in behavior are immediately observed. Each age group has its own characteristics of nervous disorders.

ADHD in children

Lack of attention

It is advisable to diagnose the syndrome at an early age in order to have time to smooth out the problem. When a child reaches adolescence, it will be difficult to change anything, and you will have to “reap the fruits of missed opportunities.”

ADHD in an adult

In adults, hyperactivity does not develop out of the blue. If it appears, it means that signs were already observed in childhood, but either they were not paid attention to or were not interpreted correctly. In half of those suffering from ADHD, the childhood disease persists until adulthood and is manifested by the following symptoms:

• difficulties arise in completing assigned tasks;
• executive functions are impaired;
• there are difficulties concentrating;
• the person has difficulty making contact and is unable to maintain relationships;
• He is characterized by mood swings and impatience.

ADHD in adults

If children are characterized by motor hyperactivity, then ADHD in adults is expressed by fussiness and restlessness. They are not able to get an education or master most labor skills. Therefore, patients are at risk for unemployment. Among them are many law enforcement offenders, participants in road accidents, and drug addicts.

Are there positive sides to being impulsive?

It would seem a strange question. What good can come from mental disorders? However, positive aspects can be found everywhere. And even in such an unpleasant thing as impulsivity syndrome:

1. Ability to make decisions quickly. An impulsive person will become indispensable when circumstances require a quick response to a certain situation. And you have to adapt to it, because there is absolutely no time to think about it.
2. Developed intuition. Oddly enough, people who tend to make decisions under the influence of emotions have this quality quite well developed. And it helps them on their life's journey.
3. Openness. Impulsive people are very emotional and open. In this regard, it is easier to communicate with them. For when you can understand a person’s emotional state, it is easier to find a common language with him. And you can even help in extinguishing this or that surge. For which the impulsive comrade will be very grateful. They themselves suffer from their antics.
4. Truthfulness. As a rule, impulsive people do not know how to lie. Emotions boil and seethe inside them. And under their influence, such types lay out everything they think. Whether it’s good or bad, they don’t think about it. They just say everything honestly.

Types of impulsivity

Impulsivity is a mental disorder in adults. It is divided into the following types:

• children's;
• teenage;
• adult.

Children are not inclined to think about their actions and analyze their consequences. That's why they are children, just to live. And their parents make decisions for them. Therefore, among the youngest inhabitants of the earth, impulsive behavior is a regular occurrence. And psychologists consider it as the norm.

Adolescent impulsivity can be triggered by attempts to draw attention to one's actions. We should not forget that the younger generation perceives many things in an aggravated form.

Their life during puberty is full of stress. Stress, overwork, overexcitation of the nervous system, stubbornness and attempts to show independence give rise to impulsive behavior.

What is impulsivity?

Impulsivity is a specific character trait that implies a tendency to react sharply and thoughtlessly to external circumstances and life situations, and a lack of proper control over the actions taken.

Most often, an impulsive person cannot give a real assessment of his actions and regrets them in the future. Impulsive individuals lack emotional restraint and patience. They are characterized by irritability. They often behave irresponsibly, frivolously, and harbor resentment.

Taking into account the level of manifestation, it is customary to distinguish different impulsivity. It can be a minor problem for a person or make the life of him and others a living hell. Impulsive behavior can range from small displays of dissatisfaction, rushing to make decisions, quickly regaining control of oneself, to manifestations of impulsive emotions that only bring pain.

The opposite trait of impulsivity is self-control. It implies the ability to restrain momentary impulses, analyze the results of actions taken, take into account personal interests and the judgments of others. This is the main difference between impulsiveness and decisiveness. A person endowed with determination does his actions confidently, understanding in advance their results. An impulsive individual performs actions spontaneously. He doesn't think about their consequences.

Signs of mental disorders in teenagers

It is during adolescence that many mental illnesses begin to form, including schizophrenia and various types of psychoses. Signs of such disorders include the following symptoms:

• the child has a new hobby to which he devotes all his time, but there is no success;
• abruptly abandoned old hobbies;
• began to do poorly at school when he had previously achieved significant success;
• I lost interest in everything I was previously passionate about.

But these symptoms do not 100% indicate mental disorders in adolescents. Perhaps this is how the accentuation of character manifests itself, which we will discuss in the following sections.

pros

Most often, if they tell you “he is an impulsive person,” then you will initially treat him with a slight shade of negativity. Why is this happening?

Because impulsivity is more associated with a negative assessment: unreliability, ambiguity, short temper, irritability, and so on. But we'll talk about the disadvantages later. Let's try to understand the strengths of an impulsive person.

An impulsive nature allows a person to make decisions quickly. After all, most often such people quickly react to external circumstances. Thus, we get a person who will perfectly adapt to a rapidly changing environment.

Quick decision making, in turn, develops intuition, which greatly helps in life. Agree, a person with more developed intuition is more likely to achieve success. What skill can be compared to intuition? Probably none.

You will immediately know what emotion an impulsive person is experiencing. Have you ever met people who have nothing written on their face and it is completely impossible to understand what they are feeling right now? This cannot happen to an impulsive person.

If he is angry, then you will understand it perfectly. And the better you understand other people’s emotions, the easier it is for you to communicate with a person. Therefore, when such a person is angry, you can simply not approach him at that moment. And wait until he comes to a calm and balanced state.

An impulsive person is a bad liar. To lie well, you need to have composure and calmness. An emotional person will definitely miss and will not complete the lie. Therefore, most often such people do not even resort to lies. Suspicious manipulations will be clearly visible in their behavior.

Varieties

Sometimes the level of impulsiveness in a person, under certain external circumstances, “goes off scale.” And this results in the formation of the following deviations from established norms in society:

The desire to steal. The man saw some trifle thing on an open tray. The saleswoman turned away. And the individual’s “hands itched,” his mind turned off. He didn’t even understand how he grabbed the thing, put it in his pocket and slowly walked away. Why did you do this? This is evidence that the desire to steal, which we also call kleptomania, has awakened.

• A problem that is associated with the fact that it is difficult for a person to pass by gambling establishments. Now they are being closed en masse, but people manage to find illegal ways. This is gambling addiction - a craving for gambling.
• Did you play firemen as a child? Have you made fires from brooms at home in order to put them out? This behavior is normal for children, but not normal for society. Now imagine that an adult lights fires at home. Or not at home, but under a neighbor’s door, visiting friends, or in the bathroom at work. This is impossible, someone will say, but there is an explanation for this too. This behavior is called pyromania.
• There is also such an option as food impulsiveness. This is when the house is full of food, and a person is inspired to eat a pie. And he will go to the store, despite the fact that there is almost no money in his wallet, that it is raining or dark outside the window. And he will buy himself this pie. By the time he gets home with him, he won’t want to eat anymore.

Impulsivity is a painful condition, as can be seen from the sub-points listed above.

Impulsive adult

In psychology, the definition of impulsivity is making decisions thoughtlessly, under the influence of feelings and emotions. And for an adult, such behavior, if it occurs too often, is a deviation from the norm.

When a person commits impulsive actions, this is clear evidence that he is not always able to control his behavior. And it's quite dangerous. Such an individual seems harmless, and his antics seem bad. But you never know, under the influence of particularly strong emotions, he can cause trouble! In case of severe fear or rage, grab a knife, for example. If there is such a person among your loved ones, friends or colleagues, it is advisable to be able to correct his behavior. When we are talking about family members or friends, this is easier to do than in a situation with strangers, for example.

Hyperthymic type.

Such people are very sociable, they strive for people. When talking, they actively gesticulate and also have pronounced facial expressions. These people are fickle, so conflicts often arise due to failure to fulfill their duties and promises. They are distinguished by activity, activity, initiative, and optimism. Despite all this, they are frivolous, unnecessary, and sometimes commit immoral acts. High mood is combined with a thirst for activity, increased talkativeness, and a tendency to constantly deviate from the topic of conversation. Characterized by great mobility, sociability, and expressiveness of non-verbal components of communication. They make a lot of noise everywhere and strive for leadership. They have high vitality, good appetite and healthy sleep. Self-esteem is elevated and they are characterized by an insufficiently serious attitude towards their responsibilities. Since they are sociable people, they have a hard time withstand stability. It is difficult to endure the conditions of strict discipline, monotonous activity, and forced loneliness.

A noticeable feature of the hyperthymic personality type is the constant presence in an elevated mood, even in the absence of any external reasons for this. High mood is combined with high activity and thirst for activity. Hypertims are characterized by such qualities as sociability, increased talkativeness, and an optimistic outlook on life. Difficulties are often overcome without much difficulty.

Negative points

Alas, the most striking drawback of impulsiveness is the constant change of mood. You don’t know what to expect from a person with such a trait. Either one thing comes to his mind, then he’s already thinking about something else.

We all want consistency and comfort around us. And when such a person is found nearby, it is very difficult to deal with her. What is the comfort here? You live like on a powder keg.

Consequences of the disease

Children with this diagnosis inevitably have problems communicating with peers, as well as in relationships with parents and teachers. In this case, ADHD often affects learning and health. It is customary for those around him to condemn such a child, considering his behavior to be a consequence of flaws in his upbringing and whims. As a result, children with this syndrome develop low self-esteem, which is often accompanied by bitterness.

Adolescents with such a neurological disorder may become addicted to smoking, drinking alcohol and drugs early on. They often exhibit antisocial behavior. Among children with ADHD there are many hooligans and brawlers. In addition, such teenagers can be particularly cruel to animals and people. According to experts, they often grow into criminals and murderers.

Along with this, advanced forms of the disease can lead to severe mental disorders and repeated suicide attempts. Timely diagnosis and immediate adoption of measures to correct ADHD will help to avoid these consequences.

Disease detection

We discussed above how to recognize an impulsive person in your environment. Now let’s find out how to identify the disease in a particular individual. We can talk about deviation in the following cases:

• Impulsive actions are performed regularly. Even their negative consequences do not stop a person. He accomplishes another “feat.”
• A person is simply not able to independently control behavior.
• The individual experiences a urge to commit an ill-considered act.
• After the impulsive act is successful, the person feels satisfaction from what he has done. He does not repent of his action, but enjoys it.
• Sometimes impulsivity may be accompanied by attention disorder and motor disinhibition.

Symptoms of pathology

Some parents mistake the symptoms of hyperkinetic disorder for their child's temperament or believe that it is a reaction to their parenting style. But experts consider this condition as a pathology (F 90.1), which requires medical diagnosis and correction.

This behavior disorder can manifest itself in various symptoms, which depend on the age, motivation of the child and his environment.

Some children primarily have problems with attention. They are easily and often distracted, do not finish the dialogue they start, are forgetful, disorganized, switch from one task to another, without completing anything completely.

Another category of children shows more symptoms of hyperactivity: they fuss a lot, worry, cannot sit still, make a lot of unnecessary movements and make noise. The hyperactive kid loves to chat non-stop, and accompanies his every action with comments.

If a child has a predominant symptom of impulsivity, then it is very difficult for him to show patience (waiting for his turn in a game or permission to answer in class). He does not think about what actions he commits, so he often has problems with discipline.

Hyperkinetic disorder may be accompanied by other symptoms: lack of coordination and undeveloped fine motor skills, problems with social adaptation, learning and compliance with rules and requirements. Neurological manifestations also occur: nervous tics, anxiety, autism, epilepsy, Tourette's syndrome, depressive states.

Parents and teachers should respond in a timely manner to such behavior of the child and seek medical help. Hyperkinetic disorder provokes problems both in childhood (academic performance, discipline, social contacts, etc.) and in adulthood (relationships, career, addictions). According to statistics, in 15-20% of cases of this pathology, the signs persist in a person throughout his life, without disappearing by the age of 12-20, as in other children.

Causes of impulsivity

Scientists have identified the biological mechanisms of impulsivity. This quality is highly dependent on the activity of dopamine , which transmits signals to nerve cells. Behavior at the impulse level involves the production of a large amount of dopamine in the midbrain, which leads to a change in the activity of the frontal lobes, affecting programming and checking activities. As a result, the process of assessing the situation and developing a forecast of consequences is reduced and absent.

If we specify the reasons for the emergence of impulsivity, we can highlight the following:

• Adolescence.
  It is characterized by puberty, the emotional state depends on hormonal imbalance: the main features of adolescents are excitability, irritability, anger, despair. Along with physiological changes, a crisis begins, which implies the presence of a conflict between desires and the social situation that has developed around the teenager. The basis of impulsive actions is considered to be affective incontinence.
• Character specifics.
  In some cases, impulsiveness is a personality trait. Its basis is the dynamism of the processes of higher nervous activity inherent in sanguine and choleric people. Fixation of impulsive traits is carried out during the educational process and adaptation to society. Such people are characterized by short temper, lack of self-control, and a desire to perform actions that are devoid of goals. Very often their motive is momentary desires and needs. They incorrectly assess the negative consequences of their own actions.
• Stimulus-rich environment.
  The environment causes impulses that are uncontrollable. An example is a large store with a wide range of products, advertising, and music. In such an environment, a person who buys on impulse will buy items spontaneously.
• Excitable psychopathy.
  A person with such a disorder is considered explosive, unrestrained, and conflictual. An explosive psychopath is characterized by a low degree of self-control and causeless aggressiveness towards himself and other people. Impulsivity increases the risk of self-harm, drug abuse, and alcohol abuse.

Treatment of mental problems in children

For help in choosing a treatment method, you should contact a child psychiatrist or psychotherapist. Most disorders require long-term treatment. To treat young patients, the same drugs are used as for adults, but in smaller doses.

How to treat mental disorders in children? Antipsychotics, anti-anxiety drugs, antidepressants, various stimulants and mood stabilizers are effective in treatment

Family psychotherapy is of great importance: parental attention and love. Parents should not ignore the first signs of disorders developing in a child

If incomprehensible symptoms appear in a child’s behavior, you can get advice on issues of concern from child psychologists.
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It can be treated

But the diagnosis described above is curable. If such behavior was noticed in childhood, then it is the parents’ fault. It’s one thing when impulsiveness manifests itself in a child often, but irregularly. But it’s different when all children’s behavior is built on actions of this kind. This is a deviation from the norm. And if measures are not taken in a timely manner, then it will be too late, as they say, to wave one’s fists.

In adulthood, such a trait as impulsiveness can be removed by an experienced specialist. She is treated with psychotherapy. You can study individually, or you can attend group classes.

In some, particularly difficult cases, antidepressants and antipsychotics are prescribed to treat this behavior. The course is conducted under the strict supervision of a psychotherapist. He also prescribes medications.

You can’t self-medicate, but you also can’t leave things to chance.