An impulse control disorder is a term that describes a person’s inability to avoid or stop doing things that might be harmful to themselves or to other people. It’s not uncommon for people who live with this type of disorder to feel anxiety or building tension before committing the action or finding relief in the behavior – like mounting pressure, or an itch that needs to be scratched. Despite knowing how dangerous the action or behavior is, and sometimes even in spite of negative consequences, once the person has acted upon the behavior, he or she feels relieved, perhaps even happy. Read more

Pyromania is an impulse control disorder, a mental illness characterized by a person’s need to set fire. It is not an intention to hurt or destroy – it is just to satisfy an inner obsession to set fire. Read more