Kleptomania: More than Just Shoplifting

Kleptomania news is not common, but you might see an article from time to time about a wealthy celebrity who was arrested for shoplifting. Oddly, people who are caught stealing from a store don't appear reluctant to do it again, nor do they steal because they can't afford to purchase the items they took. An irresistible urge to steal can actually be a case of kleptomania.
 
Kleptomania is an impulse control disorder characterized by the uncontrollable desire to steal things that you don’t want or need, and that usually have little value. It is characterized by great tension before the act, great euphoria during the act and great shame after the act. Many kleptomaniacs live a double life of shame and guilt.
 
A person diagnosed with kleptomania is different from a shoplifter in that the action is usually not planned and there is no financial motivation. A kleptomaniac steals for the thrill, and is unable to resist the impulse to take something without paying for it.

Symptoms for Kleptomania

Most kleptomaniacs develop a preference for a specific type of item: pens, spoons or cosmetics, for example. Over time, they might accumulate a large collection of that item. Some psychiatrists say that kleptomania belongs in the obsessive-compulsive category since it involves no premeditation and is an intrusion into the sufferer's normal thought process.
 
In order to be correctly diagnosed, a patient must fulfill the following criteria:
  • The actions are not better explained by antisocial personality disorder, a conduct disorder or a manic episode.
  • The acts are not the result of any rational or emotional trigger: patients are not stealing because they are angry or want revenge.
  • The person repeatedly steals things for no identifiable reason.
In many occurrences, kleptomaniacs do not realize that they have impulsively stolen a small item, such as a piece of jewelry or a pen, until the theft is discovered.

Causes of Kleptomania

While we don't know the cause of kleptomania, a genetic link is suspected and the condition could very well be associated with obsessive compulsive disorder. Many people with obsessive-compulsive disorder, bulimia and clinical depression are also kleptomaniacs. Other possible causes include abnormalities in the brain chemical serotonin and traumatic or extremely stressful events.
 
Finding a cause or tracing a patient's history can be challenging since few kleptomaniacs seek treatment for the disorder out of shame.

Kleptomania Treatment

Although no complete cure for kleptomania has been found, treatment is highly recommended to help curb the instinct to steal. Treatment usually includes counseling and sometimes drug therapy. Prozac has been found to be useful because it alters levels of serotonin, a brain chemical responsible for mood changes.
 
Therapy for impulse control and relapse prevention can help identify triggers and thought processes involved in compulsive behavior. For example, cognitive behavioral therapy is used to tie the thought process to the behavior. By doing this, a kleptomaniac can become aware of impulses and be able to "think his or her way out of it" by finding ways to resist the impulse.
 
While kleptomania may be easy to see when it is occurring, it is difficult to diagnose. Not only does the disorder often occur as a side effect of another disorder, the person is usually hesitant to admit kleptomaniac behavior to the physician or counselor.
 
Resources
 
Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders. (2007).Kleptomania. Retrieved April 28, 2008, from the Mind Disorders Web site: http://www.minddisorders.com/:au=Nu/Kleptomania.html.
 
Mayo Clinic Staff. (2007).Kleptomania: Overcoming compulsive stealing. Retrieved April 28, 2008, from the Mayo Clinic website: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/kleptomania/DS01034.
 
Psychnet. (n.d.) Disorder information sheet: Kleptomania. Retrieved April 28, 2008, from the Psychnet-uk Web site: http://www.psychnet-uk.com/dsm_iv/kleptomania.htm.