Impulse-control disorder

Impulse-control disorder is a class of psychiatric disorders characterized by impulsivity, meaning a failure to resist a temptation, an urge or an impulse, or an inability to hold back a thought from being spoken. The fifth edition of the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, published in 2013, includes a new chapter on disruptive, impulse-control and conduct disorders, covering disorders characterized by problems in emotional and behavioral self-control. The World Health Organization publishes a similar list of impulse control disorders in its International Classification of Diseases, with some overlaps and differences between the two. Five behavioral stages characterize impulsivity: an impulse, growing tension, pleasure on acting, relief from the urge, and finally guilt, which may or may not arise.