Psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan stated that the feeling of shame has significantly weakened in our era, saying, “The most important emotion that provides impulse control is the feeling of shame. The feelings of shame and compassion are two fundamental emotions that are weakening among young people in this era.”
Expressing that a portion of impulse control disorders stems from personality disorders, Prof. Dr. Tarhan stated, “If the predominant finding is an impulse control disorder, the person receives an impulse control disorder diagnosis. Impulse control disorder is rarely seen as a standalone condition.”
Üsküdar University Founding Rector, Psychiatrist Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, evaluated the topic of impulse control disorder on TRT Radyo 1's Ailece program.
Those with impulse control disorder immediately turn thoughts into action
Stating that impulse control disorder is one of the main topics in the psychiatric classification system, Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan said, “Impulsivity refers to a person’s failures in controlling their impulses and desires. Everyone can have momentary thoughts. But those with impulse control disorder immediately turn thoughts into action and can act uncontrollably.”
Tarhan explained that in Kleptomania, individuals cannot control their urge to steal; Pyromania patients cannot suppress their desire to start fires; people with explosive disorder can react disproportionately and excessively to minor frustration; and in Trichotillomania, individuals constantly pull out their hair, eyebrows, or eyelashes, sometimes to the point of causing skin bleeding. He added, “Forensic cases are also very common. Impulsive behaviors are known to underlie many violent crimes such as rape, assault, and murder.”
They can fall into the wrong even when they are right by giving disproportionate reactions
Expressing that these individuals harm both themselves and others, Prof. Dr. Tarhan said, “The person feels a strong urge to carry out an action that harms both themselves and others, and they cannot resist this urge. Their actions can be planned, but most of the time they occur unplanned.”
Prof. Dr. Tarhan explained that these individuals feel significant distress, anxiety, and aggression before the action, and feel relieved after carrying it out. He said, “This feeling of relief causes them to continue the action. While there are cases who feel guilty after the act, in more advanced cases, there are those who do not feel guilty. These impulse control disorders can be the underlying cause of many problems, especially in marriage. A temporary storm brews. When this storm hits, the intention is not actually to harm or hurt the other party, but due to impulsivity, when they are frustrated in any way or their anxiety is not resolved, they can give disproportionate reactions and end up in the wrong even when they are right.”
Children learn to control impulses later…
Stating that this situation is naturally present in children because children learn to control impulses later, Prof. Dr. Tarhan continued:
“In fact, the orbit frontal cortex is located in the frontal region of our brain. This region is responsible for the repetition of our behaviors and is the most important area in our brain that decides 'Stop, suitable/not suitable for doing, valid/not valid.' Obsessive Compulsive Disorder also originates from a dysfunction in this region. Since the frontal region of the brain is not yet mature in children, they cannot make distinctions. For example, a child went to the market, to the grocery store, took something that wasn't theirs without paying, and came back. The child doesn't know that this is shameful, forbidden, wrong, or against the rules. They just take it and come home. When asked at home, 'How did you get this, did you pay for it?' if the father says, 'Well done, my clever son, you're a natural!' then that child continues this behavior and after a while starts experiencing legal problems. But if the father says, 'Look, my child, you took this but forgot to pay for it, let's go give it back' and takes the child to the grocery store and makes them give the money they have to the grocer, then the child learns where to stop, learns the boundaries. The child learns where to stop. They learn the boundaries. This is how impulse control is learned. The most important emotion that provides impulse control is the feeling of shame.”
The feeling of shame has weakened significantly!
Stating that the feeling of shame has weakened significantly, Prof. Dr. Tarhan said, “The feelings of shame and compassion are two fundamental emotions that are weakening among young people in this era. Empathy is actually expressed as compassion in our culture. The weakening of these emotions also affects the feeling of shame, which is of great importance in impulse control. Wise people say 'May Allah not shame us' or 'May Allah not embarrass us' in the face of an event. Why? Because that emotion deters children, young people, and adults from many evils. This is the sensitivity to not harm others.”
A portion of impulse control disorder stems from personality disorders
Stating that a portion of impulse control disorder stems from personality disorders, Prof. Dr. Tarhan noted the following:
“For example, there are Cluster B personality disorders. Impulsivity is very common in conditions like Antisocial Personality Disorder and Histrionic Personality Disorder. These individuals are prone to criminal behavior and are adept at it. Antisocial personalities are criminal types. Impulse control disorder is frequently found in them. Most of the time, they don't plan their actions, but they crush anything they like or anything that hinders them. On the other hand, there are borderline personality disorders, also known as Borderline Personality Disorder. As the name suggests, these individuals have not fully developed behavioral boundaries. They experience four seasons in one day. They can love something they hated in the morning by evening. Another type of impulsivity involves disorders that include self-harm behavior. Additionally, compulsive shopping can be observed. The person shops, comes home, but doesn't even open the boxes. Only the act of buying itself is important; it is done aimlessly. Impulse control problems and compulsive behaviors are also frequently seen in autism spectrum disorder.”
Those with narcissistic traits destroy what they perceive as threats
Prof. Dr. Tarhan also explained that individuals with narcissistic traits often demonstrate their impulsivity by perceiving people who do not conform to them or approve of them as threats. He said, “They believe they need to destroy what they perceive as threats and act accordingly. This is also one of their other weaknesses. Although they often appear good when they have power, they end up completely alone when they lose their power. Impulse control disorders greatly damage human relationships.”
This condition is very common in pathological gambling
Noting that this condition is also encountered in agitated depression and bipolar disorder, Prof. Dr. Tarhan stated the following:
“In mood disorders, individuals cannot manage their emotions and may experience extreme and disproportionate ups and downs, such as intense love or hatred. In this disorder, the person looks at their own personality like an external observer and is not fully aware of themselves. This situation is very common in pathological gambling. Currently, cyber gambling has become very widespread, and a serious industry has emerged. The internet environment is a conducive and rewarding environment that triggers impulse control disorder. Individuals with a gambling tendency can easily turn to pathological gambling. Sexual compulsions are experienced similarly. Because the person cannot control their sexual impulses, they experience many problems, and this situation can turn into forensic cases. Binge eating disorder is also an example of eating disorders. The person continuously eats and then induces vomiting or exercises five hours a day to burn off what they ate. These are also cases of impulse control disorder that we encounter.”
Impulse control disorder is rarely seen as a standalone condition
Prof. Dr. Tarhan stated that impulse control disorder can be found within every illness, saying, “If the predominant finding is an impulse control disorder, the person receives an impulse control disorder diagnosis. However, it almost always has a connection with other illnesses. That is, impulse control disorder is rarely seen as a standalone condition.”
Prof. Dr. Tarhan stated that if a person is aware of their condition, there is a 50 percent chance of a solution, because the brain is the organ that controls behaviors, impulses, and desires. He said, “Just as our stomach is our digestive organ, our brain is the organ of emotion, thought, and behavior. If the brain's infrastructure is damaged, advice is useless. Advice like 'Don't do it, don't worry about it, you have everything, why are you doing this?' will have no effect. Because the neurological and neurobiological infrastructure in the brain is impaired. There are problems in chemical and electrical transmission. We can make 50 percent progress after first correcting this infrastructure. Then we continue with therapy.”
Individuals with attention deficit are impulsive…
Prof. Dr. Tarhan stated that if impulse control disorder is due to substance use, this disorder cannot be corrected without first eliminating substance use. He said, “In necessary cases, individuals stay in rehabilitation centers for 3 to 6 months, receive treatment, and are supported. Even if the person doesn't want to and leaves the hospital after a while, they may start using substances again within a few weeks. This is a reflection of impulse control disorder. The person cannot stop themselves despite being aware that they regret it and will harm themselves and others. Even if they regret it later, they avoid paying the price for this regret. Adolescence is already the most turbulent period where impulse control disorder naturally exists. Attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder has four main symptoms: attention deficit, hyperactivity, impulse control disorder, and behavioral disorders. Impulse control disorder is one of these four main symptoms. Individuals with attention deficit are impulsive. This characteristic already stems from insufficient dopamine metabolism in the brain.”
Impulse control disorder can be noticed in adolescence
“The most important thing families should pay attention to regarding impulse control disorder is whether the child feels remorse when they make a mistake, break something, or spill something,” said Prof. Dr. Tarhan, concluding his words as follows:
“If they feel remorse, this situation is a 50 percent gain in terms of the child recognizing remorse. The family's approach of 'What do we need to do to prevent this from happening again?' helps the child learn things in life regarding impulse control disorder. These learned things help the child enter a maturation process. Impulse control disorder can be noticed in adolescence and emerges later in untreated cases.”