When ADHD Impulsivity Jeopardizes Your Job and Friendships: 8 Expert Tips
ADHD impulsivity can have a frustrating and even serious impact on adult life. If your impulsiveness is hurting friendships, ruining work prospects, or leading to unnecessary purchases, try implementing the following expert advice.
By Ari Tuckman, Psy.D.
Reduce ADHD Impulsivity
Impulsivity can get you into trouble, especially with other people. People make assumptions about our character based on our actions, so impulsivity can make it easy for others to get the wrong idea about who you are. Impulsivity is one of the core symptoms of ADHD. It’s essentially leaping without looking—acting (or speaking) without pausing to think about what will happen next. It seems like a good idea in the moment, but afterward you realize that you feel differently about it. Sometimes these ill-advised actions are reversible, but sometimes they aren’t.
The problem with impulsivity is that, because it involves acting before pausing to think things through, advice to resist the impulse just isn’t helpful. The deed is done by the time you stop to think about it. The most effective points of intervention involve reducing the intensity of those impulses rather than resisting them. Let’s talk about how to keep them at bay.