What is Kleptomania? Causes and Treatment

Kleptomania, which is actually the name of the stealing disease, has been heard by many people. Kleptomania, also known as the disease of stealing things or the disease of stealing, belongs to the class of psychological diseases. It is a rare disease occurring in approximately 0.3% to 0.6% of the population. These rates may not fully reflect the truth, as the person may want to hide this disease out of shame and only reveal it when faced with a legal problem.

What is Kleptomania?

The word kleptes, which means thief in Greek, is actually the origin of the name of this disease. To give a short answer to the question of what kleptomania means, this condition can actually be defined as the disease of stealing things. Kleptomania is an impulse control disorder and occurs in seizures. It can also be explained as the individual’s inability to resist the urge to steal, even if he or she does not need it for personal use or material value. In other words, kleptomania is a person’s desire to steal objects that they do not need at all, and their inability to remain indifferent to this desire in a recurring and uncontrollable way. After the act of stealing, the person usually either gives the stolen object to someone else, secretly replaces it, or throws it away. The urge to steal in these people usually occurs suddenly, unplanned, and without any help.

These people, called kleptomaniacs, usually steal in public places such as markets, shopping malls and stores. The person may also steal belongings of family or friends. Studies have shown that the incidence of kleptomania in women is higher than in men. It has been observed that 77% of people diagnosed with kleptomania are women.

This psychological disorder usually begins in adolescence, around the age of 20, and continues into late adulthood. However, in some cases, this disorder can last a lifetime. Studies have shown that 64% to 87% of people with kleptomania have a history of being caught stealing. Another study stated that the average number of seizures in patients’ lives was approximately three per patient. Kleptomania is not a common condition in children.

Some comorbid conditions may also be present in the person along with kleptomania. Examples of these conditions include mood disorders, loss of a loved one, and sudden and/or major declines in quality of life. People with this disorder are often referred to treatment for comorbid conditions. This disease is usually kept secret by the patient and their relatives. The decision to treat kleptomania is made only when the person encounters a legal problem.

When the relationship between kleptomania and other diseases is examined, it can be seen that there is a connection with many different diseases. Examples of these diseases include anxiety disorders, eating disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorders, sexual dysfunctions, substance use and personality disorders.

What are the symptoms of kleptomania?

Since kleptomania is considered a shameful condition, it is generally kept secret and a specialist is not consulted for treatment. However, as in many types of diseases, early diagnosis and treatment are very important in kleptomania. If the person does not receive treatment, he may face legal problems in the future. The symptoms of stealing disease can be listed as follows:

• Having a strong desire to steal an object that is not needed, not materially valuable, or even though one has the means to purchase it, and having difficulty controlling this desire,
• The person feels tension and anxiety when the urge to steal occurs,
• Feelings of tension and anxiety are replaced by calmness, relaxation and satisfaction after the playing process,
• Regular repetition of the desire to steal and the individual’s inability to resist this desire.

What Causes Kleptomania?

Although the causes of kleptomania are not yet fully understood, it is thought that this condition is linked to some physical and / or psychological diseases. Possible causes of kleptomania can be listed as follows:

• Some chemicals called neurotransmitters provide communication between nerve cells in the brain. Some disorders in these chemicals can cause kleptomania.
• Serotonin is also a type of neurotransmitter. It has been observed that serotonin levels are quite low in people diagnosed with kleptomania or people who are prone to impulse control disorder.
• After playing, a chemical called dopamine is secreted, which creates feelings of reward and motivation in the person. Kleptomania patients want to experience this feeling again, and this can cause addiction. It is thought that the basis of this situation is that the person does not receive enough love and attention from his family during childhood.
• It is also possible for a person to experience kleptomania after a brain trauma.
• Some diseases such as forgetfulness and epilepsy may also increase the risk of kleptomania.
• Having a family history of kleptomania, being around a person with obsessive-compulsive disorder, or being close to a person who is addicted to alcohol or a substance may also increase the risk of kleptomania.
• The risk of experiencing kleptomania is higher in people with some psychological disorders than in healthy individuals.

How to Treat Kleptomania?

If left untreated, kleptomania can cause major problems for both the person and those around him/her in both private and business life. Although the feeling of shame and fear of receiving psychological support pushes people to hide the disease, it is extremely important to get help and treatment from a specialist physician. In untreated cases, kleptomania can last a lifetime.

The most important step in treatment is to make the correct diagnosis at an early stage, as in every disease. For early and accurate diagnosis, the person must realize that this is a disease and openly tell the doctor about his/her experiences without shame.

The causes of kleptomania have not yet been fully clarified. For this reason, there is no definitive and standard method for the treatment of steal disease, but studies on this subject are still continuing. There is no single type of medication recommended for the treatment of kleptomania worldwide. For this reason, the methods applied for treatment may differ from person to person. Treatment is basically divided into two: pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy. These two types of treatment can also be applied together. The specialist physician’s decision is important here.

Kleptomania patients often resist treatment. Resistance to treatment is seen more seriously in people who are brought to the hospital by the force of their relatives. This situation negatively affects the treatment process. A person should never be humiliated or humiliated in his/her close circle or social environment. It is recommended that the patient’s relatives suggest to the patient that this is a type of disease and that it can be treated if he wishes. We wish you healthy days.