If you struggle with impulse control, a therapist who specializes in this area can help you. Those with poor impulse control can see this issue negatively affect many areas of their lives. You may harm the relationships that you have with family and friends, struggle to remain employed, and perhaps even run into trouble with the law. Not everyone who has impulse control can easily identify this issue as a concept. Instead, it's better to think of some common examples of poor impulse control and then assess whether they might be a part of your life. If so, you can then seek counseling. Here are some examples that may be a factor for you.

Failing To Hold Back Words

An earmark of having poor impulse control is that you often say things that you quickly regret. Sometimes, you might blurt out something that you think is funny before you evaluate whether it might be hurtful to someone around you. In other cases, you might simply say something that is on your mind without bothering to consider the negative repercussions that such a statement may create. When you can't hold back potentially damaging words, you may find that you're frequently in conflict with family members and that friends start to distance themselves from you.

Sabotaging Others At Work

Being ultra-competitive can be an issue that requires counseling in its own right, but you may see signs of having a lack of impulse control through your competitive nature at work. If you're a competitive person, you might try to get ahead at work in any way that you can — including through compulsive activities that are disruptive. This behavior can take many forms. For example, perhaps you tell a client who is calling that the co-worker he or she is asking for isn't there, but that you can be of assistance. This could help you to steal the client for yourself but have a negative effect on your reputation in the workplace.

Breaking The Law

Those who have a lack of impulse control can also make spur-of-the-moment decisions that cause them to break the law. You may do things of this nature without thoroughly thinking them through. For example, you might be in a store, see something that you like, and place it in your pocket without ever stopping to consider that this is shoplifting and could get you arrested. In some cases, you may have a criminal record that you can directly link to your poor impulse control. Should you identify such examples of this issue, counseling is the right choice.

For more information, contact a professional like Barbara Saban, LCSW.