Kleptomania
From Drug Rehab Wiki
Kleptomania is a mental disorder characterized by a compulsion to steal items that you don't need and may have little value. Doctors classify kleptomania as an impulse control disorder in the same category as Trichotillomania, Intermittent Explosive Disorder, Pathological Gambling, and Pyromania. Kleptomania is a mental disorder officially recognized in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the reference that physicians use when they diagnose and treat diseases.
It may help to understand kleptomania by thinking of it as a four-part cycle that keeps repeating itself. The cycle begins with a powerful urge to steal something, and the person may not be able to think of anything else but stealing. The second phase is increasing tension until the person finally steals an object. The last two phases are intense pleasure during the act of stealing, and then feeling guilt, shame and remorse afterward.
Kleptomaniacs are not professional thieves who often think of stealing in an impersonal way, for example, as a job they perform for money. Kleptomania is more about soothing the tension that leads up to the theft, a tension that can include intense anxiety and arousal. Professional thieves choose things of value that bring large amounts of money in resale. Kleptomaniacs often steal things of little value from stores, their places of employment, or friends' houses. Instead of using or selling these items, they may stash them away and never use them, frequently out of feelings of shame, or they may donate them to charity. In rare cases, some kleptomaniacs always steal a certain kind of object, for example, jewelry or Hallmark knickknacks.
Some kleptomaniacs say that an emotionally stressful situation, such as an argument with the boss, can trigger a shoplifting incident. However, one of the criteria for diagnosing kleptomania is that theft is not a way to get revenge or express anger, and it is not done while hallucinating or during the manic phase of bipolar disorder.
The disorder most often begins in late adolescence. Excessive childhood trauma, brain injuries, and having blood relatives with kleptomania, mood disorders, addictions or obsessive compulsive disorders are risk factors for kleptomania. Only about 5% of shop lifters have kleptomania, so the disease is rare.
Kleptomaniacs are rightly afraid of consequences of their behavior such as being arrested, losing their jobs, or damaging friendships. Other difficulties are anxiety, suicidal thoughts and behaviors, social isolation, and compulsive shopping.
If you suspect that you or a loved one has kleptomania, professional help is available. Usually when you enter counseling for kleptomania, your therapist will order a complete physical examination and a battery of psychological tests. Treatment will include counseling and medications. Antidepressants, mood stabilizers, benzodiazepines, and addiction medicines such as Naltrexone can sometimes be helpful in alleviating the intense feeling that leads up to stealing. Therapeutic techniques might be picturing yourself getting caught, learning techniques such as progressive relaxation to help you deal with the urge to steal, and cognitive behavioral therapy. Some people benefit from attending 12-step recovery groups and other kinds of self-help support meetings to avoid relapse.
