Have you often wondered why you feel the sudden urge to lash out at the site of traffic? Or why do you give up on the temptation of your favorite food? The sudden emotional outburst or reaction to a specific situation is your impulse. These reactions are relatively quicker and often leave you no room for judgment.
In the broader picture, such impulses may look pretty natural or common. But these deep-rooted reactions can sometimes run astray and leave you in an embarrassing situation. Worst still, repeated unproductive provocations fog your judgments and make you susceptible to bad behavior and habits.
Often such impulses make it challenging to communicate with others. Also, some people may experience regulating their emotions. However, the good news is that you do not have to fight that battle alone. An impulse control class can give you tools and techniques to manage impulses.
Here is a rundown of what happens in an impulse control class and what benefits it can bring you.
Who May Need an Impulse Control Class?
Theft, forgery, and criminal acts are often the results of such impulses, and a journey through an impulse control class can be a viable solution to bring change. It is for the same reason that government bodies, courts, and employers often demand certification from charged offenders before they are set free.
However, the power of such classes and courses is not limited to criminals and lawbreakers. Over the years, the masses have understood the importance of mental health. And concepts like self-care and self-regulation have become the talk of the town. So, now you can find many communities, groups, and courses that help distressed people. These classes are not merely for people striving to learn self-control. They also come handily to someone desiring robust psychology or overall well-being.
What happens in an Impulse Control Class?
An impulse reaction offers instant gratifications; however, they may not align with your long-term goals. If you try to control such impulses, you may experience discomfort and emotional blocks. Therefore, it is necessary to channel those emotions to sustain a behavior safely. For example, you may feel an impulse to project anger when your boss exerts control at the office. Or your child does not listen to you. However, you may feel distressed if you try to control that impulse.
An impulse control class can create an action plan for you to follow. A typical impulse control session can deploy one or more techniques.
- Meditation and Mediation
Through a guided process of regulating the breath, your instructor can direct you to understand the core belief behind every emotion you experience. They can provide step-by-step instructions on how to meditate. Even a five-minute mindful meditation habituates you to look inwards and compels you to pause before you react.
- Strategizing Behavioral Change Plan
Some psychologists believe you can train your self-control like your muscles. They take you through tools and exercise to develop self-control. It often includes setting a small but achievable goal for a day and, later, acknowledging your efforts and measuring performance. With gradual practice, one masters the art of self-control and thus learns a new behavioral skill.
- Developing Distress Tolerance Skills
Impulses are swift reactions to an external situation. In distress tolerance, one learns to withstand a situation that causes distress or discomfort. It involves learning skills to manage anxiety or stress without giving in to impulse reactions or harmful coping mechanisms.
It often includes observing your reactions, acknowledging and finding the best way to deal with them. The coping strategies may include guided imagery, mindfulness, and progressive muscle relaxation.
- Creating New Habits
Sometimes it is easier to develop new habits than to give up on older ones. Your guide can help you establish a three-fold system of reminders, routines, and rewards to create a new habit pattern. It includes:
- Creating many positive clues to initiate a habit
- Developing an easy-to-follow routine pattern
- Designing a Reward strategy to foster routines
Sometimes creating accountability is the most essential aspect of any behavior change. Creating a strategic plan with accountable partners or professional coaches can accelerate results.
Through an impulse control class, you can connect with other people going through the same situations. Extending help and accepting help from others can help you identify with group goals, giving you more power.
Other Benefits of Signing Up for An Impulse Control Class
Impulses can be counterproductive to your well-being. They can follow a chain reaction to stressful situations. Consider a situation where a series of impulsive anger episodes can lead to long-term anger management issues. The reason behind such behavior is often deep-seated in fear, trauma, or insecurity.
An impulse control class can help you dive deeper and identify the cause. Often working on the root cause can create better self-awareness in you. This way, you can identify and label your emotions well to become more emotionally stable.
Other benefits of impulse control class can be:
- Better decision making – When you look beyond your impulses to act irrationally. You get more time to comprehend a situation. You will learn better about the consequences of your action; hence it will help you make better decisions.
- Better social functioning – Impulse reactions can adversely affect your interpersonal relationship. By learning to regulate your impulses better, you can create healthy relationships with those around you. This can also help you enhance your social function by building better relationships.
- Improve health – People who suppress their impulses sometimes resort to substance abuse or mood disorders. Also, there is a connection between impulsive behavior and addiction. A guided session can be your first step to better mental and physical health.
- Empathy and Self-control – The impulse control class makes you more resilient with your emotions. Learning such self-regulation can help you exercise control in other facets of life and develop empathy toward others.
Conclusion
It takes courage to name and label any difficult emotions a person is going through. When these emotions reflect as impulses, they become even trickier to manage. A professional intervention provides a ground-level platform to build self-awareness and mindfulness. An impulse control class will help you identify with your emotions and provide a mechanism to cope with them.
But before you sign up for a class, check the action plan and target results. You may want to choose a course designed for your specific behavior needs, such as anger, addictions, etc. So, be rest assured that with proper guidance, discipline, and strong will, you can achieve desirable results and live a happier life.