Kleptomania - Is it a Habit or an Issue

The individual experiences a rising subjective sense of tension before the theft and feels pleasure, gratification, or relief when committing the theft. The objects are stolen despite the fact that they are typically of little value to the individual, who could have afforded to pay for them this behavior typically defines “Kleptomania”.

Kleptomania involves a failure to resist impulses to steal items that is not intended or sought for personal use or monetary value. Kleptomania behavior should be distinguished from shoplifting, in which the action is usually properly planned and motivated by need or monetary gain. Some clinicians view kleptomania as part of the obsessive compulsive spectrum of disorders, reasoning that many individuals experience the impulse to steal as an alien, unwanted intrusion into their mental state. Other evidence suggests that kleptomania may be related to, or a variant of, mood disorders, such as depression. The main diagnostic features are:

• The person repeatedly yields to the impulse to steal objects that are needed neither for personal use nor for their monetary worth.
• Just before the theft, the patient experiences increasing tension.
• At the time of theft, the patient feels gratification, pleasure or relief.
• These thefts are committed neither out of anger or revenge nor in response to delusions or hallucinations.

Most persons with this disorder seem to be women; their average age is about 35 and the duration of illness is roughly 16 years. Some individuals report the onset of kleptomania as early as age five. While we do not know the causes of kleptomania, there is indirect evidence linking it with abnormalities in the brain chemical serotonin. Stressors such as major losses may also precipitate kleptomaniac behavior.

Many people with kleptomania live lives of secret shame because they are afraid to seek mental health treatment. Although there is no cure for kleptomania, treatment with medication or psychotherapy may be able to help end the cycle of compulsive stealing

Kleptomania is not a habit but a physical condition, which needs to be treated. . Although it may be very difficult to overcome kleptomania on your own, you can take steps to care for yourself with healthy coping skills while getting professional treatment. A variety of things can be used to treat kleptomania.

Cognitive behavior therapy and other therapies are very common, especially since the condition is usually related to other conditions that require treatment. In some cases, pharmaceutical drugs may be used to see if the kleptomania is caused by an imbalance in the patient's brain. Some patients also benefit from group therapy, which reminds them that they are not alone and there is not shame in seeking treatment. Though various medications and treatments have been around nothing have given a hundred percent result. However, some medicines have proved to bring in certain behavioral changes in people with kleptomania. So next time when you come across a person lifting things from shop do not conclude that he or she is a thief but can be affected by kleptomania.