Impulse phobia is far from a fleeting thought.
If we all have irrational violent thoughts towards a person, fortunately they have no consequences. In the case of impulse phobia, the fear of acting out is so great that the person experiences a nightmare.
What is an impulse phobia?
About 1 in 500 adults are affected by impulse phobias. They are part of the family of anxiety disorders, in particular Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders (OCDs). Even if there is never any acting out, the phobic is convinced that he is going to hurt someone, sometimes his own children or his spouse.
If impulse phobia can be scary, it is because it gives the impression of losing control of one’s thoughts and behavior. In most cases, the fear concerns driving a car or attacking someone with a tool or not.
What to do to get out of it?
The shame and guilt of having this type of fear often contain the phobic on himself. However, talking about it with your doctor, a psychologist or a psychiatrist is the first step to stepping back and lowering the anxiety burden of this type of thinking.
Certain medications such as antidepressants from the serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) family can be useful to better manage phobic thoughts, but always combined with psychotherapy, preferably of the CBT type (cognitive and behavioral therapy) which restores question beliefs, emotions and thoughts to relieve the phobic.
Find out more: “Tock or no knock?: Recognizing obsessive-compulsive disorder and curing it”, by Franck Lamagnère, Odile Jacob.
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