Trauma-induced substance abuse can elevate impulsivity when a person engages in risky activities, such as stealing, self-injury, unprotected sex, binge drinking, intravenous drug use, or developing an eating disorder. These dangerous activities are based on a person’s impulsive nature to cope with the pain of trauma. They often do not realize they are suffering until they are so far gone in these adverse activities that they need help to stop.
Impulsivity is not something that can just be removed. A person must change the way they think to diminish their impulsive nature, and here are a few suggestions to do so.
Identify Impulsive Behaviors
The more you know, the easier it is to make changes. Your impulsive behaviors are deeply-rooted within your character. Without pinpointing them and understanding why they come out when they do, you may not be ready to rectify these impulses as they come up. As soon as you comprehend why your impulsivity started, you can move forward with practical decisions.
Evaluate the Feelings Surrounding the Behaviors
Feelings will keep you acting on your emotions instead of acting on the right thing to do. Assessing your perception will give you a leg up on stopping your impulse before it even starts. When you recognize the emotions that go side by side with your behaviors, you can alter your feelings as they come up and redirect your impulsivity to something more productive.
Determine the Consequences
Impulsivity, along with addiction, equals severe consequences. Jails, institutions, breakups, and financial ruin are usually a harsh reality when you continue to display poor judgment. When you realize what happens when you act without impulse control, you may think twice before you keep going. You can learn to pause before you do something that you may genuinely regret and set yourself back.
Impulsive behaviors will take time and effort to get a handle on them. When you feel the urge to engage in risky activities, you can make the necessary changes to not act on them. Staying sober and working through trauma can allow you to take better care of yourself ongoing and make better choices in your recovery.
At The Guest House Ocala, our recovery programs include many experiential modalities, including traditional therapy, conscious connected breathwork, equine therapy, somatic experiencing, art in healing, grief therapy, mindfulness, and other forms of therapy. Call (855) 372-1079 today for more information.