Kleptomania
What do you know?
What is Kleptomania?
Recurrent failure to resist impulses to steal objects that are not needed for personal use or for their monetary value.
How common is Kleptomania?
“The prevalence of kleptomania in the U.S. general population is unknown but has been estimated at 6 per 1000 people, which translates into about 1.2 million of the 200 million American adults.”(Prim Care Companion J Clin Psychiatry. 2004).
What causes Kleptomania?
Now kleptomania does not have a single defined cause, kleptomania has been linked to low levels of serotonin, addictive disorders leading to the release of dopamine, and it has even been linked to hereditary disorders.
How do you know if you have Kleptomania?
The main symptoms are the inability to resist the urge to steal,anxiety or arousal leading up to theft, feeling pleasure or arousal while stealing, After a person with kleptomania steals, they dont just keep on stealing things. They actually feel an enormous amount of guilt and fear because they know what they are doing is wrong but, they just c
Is it treatable?
Like most mental disorders there is no real cure but treatments consist of some medications such as antidepressants and serotonin uptake inhibitors. Then, there is therapies like covert sensitization: picturing yourself facing negative consequences, Aversion therapy: practicing mildly painful techniques such as holding your breath to help resist urges, and systematic desensitization which is just practicing relaxation techniques to help calm your urges.
What else is there to know?
Kleptomania often occur with other mental illnesses and can persist threw out a person entire life normally starting in adolescence. For example a case study was written about a 54 year old Caucasian woman who was diagnosed with kleptomania after a motor vehicle accident. She lost both her husband and her son in the car accident, so the doctor thought that her kleptomania was occurred with post-traumatic stress from the accident. Later in her sessions he told the doctor that in her teens she was severely depressed and that s when she started stealing. Threw out her life she hid this from her family, and it took until she was arrested at 54 years old to come out with the truth and seek help.