Impulsivity

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Impulsivity Impulsivity • Neurodivergence • Executive Function • Wellbeing
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A bad day. A full basket.Becky Bloomwood from Confessions of a Shopaholic is a fun example of something many people reco...
22/10/2026

A bad day. A full basket.

Becky Bloomwood from Confessions of a Shopaholic is a fun example of something many people recognise: buying something to lift a hard day.

The lift is real in the moment. The bills still need paying.

A behavioural lens looks at the sequence: a stressful day (trigger), "I deserve this" (interpretation), a strong pull toward the checkout (urge), and the purchase (response). Seeing the steps gives you more places to pause.

Try this: put non-essential purchases on a wish list and revisit tomorrow, with your budget in view. The item is still there if it still feels worth it.

If spending feels hard to manage, a GP, registered psychologist or financial counsellor can support you.

General education only, using a fictional character as an example.

More at Impulsivity.com.au

One bad Tuesday can stay one bad Tuesday.A short temper in a meeting. A message sent too fast. A choice you would make d...
21/10/2026

One bad Tuesday can stay one bad Tuesday.

A short temper in a meeting. A message sent too fast. A choice you would make differently now.

Owning it matters. So does the size you give it. Responsibility sounds like: what happened, what was the impact, and what would I try next time? Treating one hard day as your whole story makes those questions harder to ask.

Reflection and responsibility work well together:

Look at the sequence. What came before the action?
Acknowledge the impact on yourself and on others.
Choose one small thing to try next time.

A single day is an event. A pattern is something you can understand, one step at a time.

General education only. A GP or registered psychologist can support individual concerns.

Explore more at Impulsivity.com.au

Find a place to practise. Look at the sequence.When a relationship moment goes sideways, the action is the part everyone...
20/10/2026

Find a place to practise. Look at the sequence.

When a relationship moment goes sideways, the action is the part everyone sees. The steps before it are easier to miss.

What happened before the action?

A trigger. An interpretation. A strong urge. Then the response.

And where could you try something different?

Practice can start in lower-stakes moments: a small disagreement, a delayed reply, a tense pause in conversation. Noticing the steps there builds familiarity with them for the moments that matter more.

This is general education from Impulsivity.com.au. A GP or registered psychologist can support individual concerns.

More at Impulsivity.com.au

20/10/2026

You planned one drink. What changed?

Looking at binge drinking through a behavioural lens means asking what happened between the intention and the behaviour. Was there a particular situation? An emotional trigger? Social pressure? A change in expectations? A strong immediate reward?

Understanding the sequence helps us examine the conditions in which the behaviour occurs. It treats harmful behaviour seriously and looks beyond the single explanation of "willpower."

Our Stop Binge Drinking course explores patterns around drinking, urges, triggers, context and decision points as a self-directed educational resource.

It is general education. People experiencing significant problems with alcohol may benefit from individual support from a GP or registered psychologist.

Explore the course at Impulsivity.com.au

"I always ruin everything."In relationships, this thought often shows up in the middle of a difficult exchange: a tense ...
19/10/2026

"I always ruin everything."

In relationships, this thought often shows up in the middle of a difficult exchange: a tense message, a familiar argument, the sense that it's happening again.

A behavioural lens separates the moment into steps:

1. The trigger: the message, the tone, the silence.
2. The interpretation: "always" and "everything" are all-or-nothing appraisals that can shape what happens next.
3. The urge: a strong pull to respond immediately, withdraw or escalate.
4. The response: the behaviour that follows, which becomes part of the next cycle.

Looking at the sequence offers a more useful starting point than a single label, and it leaves room for a pause between the trigger and the response. "Can we talk about this?" can be easier to say from there.

General education only. A GP or registered psychologist can support individual concerns.

More at Impulsivity.com.au

19/10/2026

Relationship repair is more than saying sorry.

An apology can open the door. What follows tends to shape whether trust has room to rebuild.

Apology: acknowledges that something hurt.
Repair: accountability for the impact, plus consistent behaviour over time.

Accountability sounds like naming what happened and its effect on the other person. Consistency looks like following through on what was said, again and again, in ordinary moments.

Trust usually rebuilds in small, repeated actions that match the words.

Our self-directed course explores communication, accountability and the behavioural patterns that shape relationships, as general education.

Individual relationship concerns can be explored with a GP or registered psychologist. If you feel unsafe, call 000.

Explore the course at Impulsivity.com.au

Keywords: relationship repair, rebuilding trust, communication, relationship psychology, accountability in relationships, apology and repair

Explore the course at Impulsivity.com.au

Deal with what needs attention.Address the impact.Is there harm to acknowledge, a boundary to respect, or a practical co...
16/10/2026

Deal with what needs attention.

Address the impact.

Is there harm to acknowledge, a boundary to respect, or a practical consequence to address?

Reflection and responsibility sit together. Reflection makes room to understand what happened. Responsibility turns attention to the impact, and to one clear next step.

Explore educational resources at impulsivity.com.au

General education only. Not individual advice or treatment.

A GP or registered psychologist can support ongoing concerns.

15/10/2026

Why can an immediate reward feel more compelling than a larger reward later?

Delay discounting is one way researchers study this. In simple terms, it describes how the subjective value of an outcome can change as the wait for that outcome increases.

For example: $50 today or $100 in six months?

The delayed reward may feel less valuable in the moment, even when it is objectively larger.

Research has examined delay discounting in relation to impulsive choice and a range of behaviours. It is one piece of a larger picture, and complex behaviour has many contributing factors.

Impulsivity involves several mechanisms, and a decision that prioritises the present can have many reasons behind it.

Understanding the process offers another lens for thinking about self-control and decision-making.

Explore educational resources at impulsivity.com.au

General education only. Not individual advice or treatment.

Keywords: delay discounting, impulsive choice, decision making, self-control, impulsivity

One student is escalating. The rest of the room is watching.What could you reach for in that first minute?Calming the Cl...
14/10/2026

One student is escalating. The rest of the room is watching.

What could you reach for in that first minute?

Calming the Classroom: Co-Regulation, Containment, and De-Escalation Strategies explores those moments, including:

• Recognising the escalation cycle
• How adult tone, language and proximity can shape an interaction
• De-escalation in the moment
• Containment, repair and reconnection

For teachers, school leaders, psychologists, counsellors, learning support staff and others who support students.

Presented by Amy de Wet, Educational Psychologist.

Wednesday 28 October 2026
12:00–1:00 PM AEDT
APS CPD-approved
Recording and presenter slides included for 12 months from confirmed registration.

Register now: impulsivity.com.au/product/webinar-calming-the-classroom-de-escalation-strategies/

The argument started before the argument.Anger often has a sequence.Something happens. We interpret it. Emotional and ph...
13/10/2026

The argument started before the argument.

Anger often has a sequence.

Something happens. We interpret it. Emotional and physiological arousal increases. Attention can narrow. The response escalates.

By the time the confrontation or outburst arrives, several processes may already have been underway.

Triggers, frustration, rumination, perceived threat and patterns of interpretation can all be relevant pieces of that sequence. Looking at the earlier stages can offer a more useful way of understanding anger than focusing only on the final behaviour.

Swipe through to see the four stages.

Our Anger & Rage Management course offers self-directed educational material for people interested in understanding anger, emotional regulation and impulsive responses.

Explore the course at impulsivity.com.au

General education only. Not individual advice or treatment.

If anger is putting you or someone else at risk of harm, call 000. A GP or registered psychologist can support ongoing concerns.

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The Rocks, NSW
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