Does anyone have advice on how to control impulses? I have an extremely strong desire to do something that is a really bad idea. Lately I have been jumping from one impulsive idea to another. They have all been terrible choices.

I just need to learn to manage them.

[Purple,Violet,Blue]

Sorry to hear you're having a tough time.

I'm not impulsive myself, particularly. And not bipolar. But everyone understands being tempted by things that aren't good for us.

SadGirl, if this attraction is the Real Thing, it would not be giving you this crazy feeling of wanting to rush into it.

The important things will still be there in a month's time.

I'm not sure if this is a person you're talking about, but I suspect it is. No need to explain!

I'm reminded of the way, when I hear that an acquaintance is going to marry someone they haven't known for very long. I always think, Oh no. It's not going to last!

And they don't.

I'm not psychic, or anything.

The people who get engaged so quickly are demonstrating that they secretly know the relationship isn't right in some way.

They're trying to fight against that knowledge.

In my opinion, anyway.

[ShadowGX]

The only luck I've had are with two things:
- Constantly remind myself of the negative outcome if I give in to the impulse
- Keep myself distracted

They don't always work, but they do sometimes. =\

I held off for a day and then did it anyways. It's like an itch that needs to be scratched. If I hold out it will go away, but it's so much easier to give in and scratch.

One day I will master this. For now I am still learning. I had a 72 hour policy in place previously. Any impulsive idea was shelved for 72 hours. If I still felt like it was a good idea after that, then I could act on it. When I stick to this policy I find I ultimately reject 90% of my impulsive ideas. So now it's just sticking to that policy.

[Fuzzybear]

I guess it completely depends on what the issue is. If I had to decide on just one reply, I’d say something similar to what Purple said.

I’m usually intuitive .. but not psychic

((( hugs )))

[TishaBuv]

The waiting is a great idea. I think about how acting on the impulse is only going to make me feel worse because it no doubt will not give me the outcome I am hoping for anyway.

[Deejay14]

I don't generally have a problem with impulsivity, but I use the three day rule when there is something that I want to buy.

The three day rule is a good idea. I do silly impulsive things at times and wonder why I did. My main impulsivity is blurting out things I wish I hadn’t. There is always a voice telling me not to do it. Always. Maybe try tuning into that intuition more often, as others said. Even when it’s not about impulsivity. Listening and trusting our own good judgment is important and sometimes just really hard to do.