Impulsive behavior is the tendency to act without thinking.  This type of behavior is usually unplanned and spontaneous. It is a behavior that starts in the brain. It is thought to be connected to the prefrontal cortex, which isn’t fully developed until the age of 25.  Impulsive decision-making is often led by emotion as opposed to logic, and can even go against your own desires or plans. It is human nature to sometimes act in ways we wish we hadn’t, or fail to consider all negative consequences of our actions, but a regular pattern of impulsive reactions could be the sign of impulsivity issues. Acting impulsively is often linked to mental health and is even a symptom of some mental disorders.

Some examples of impulsive behaviors are:

• Abruptly changing or cancelling plans
• Binge eating or drinking
• Butting into conversations and talking over people
• Clearing out belongings to start anew
• Grabbing things from people
• Constantly turning over a new leaf
• Destroying property
• Escalating confrontations
• Regular risk-taking
• Aggressive behaviour
• Joining and quitting a lot of groups
• Meaningless or risky sex
• Over-apologising
• Oversharing of emotions
• Overspending
• Physical violence
• Quitting a job suddenly
• Self-harm or self-mutilation
• Threatening to harm one’s self or others

Resource: The Wave Clinic