Kleptomania: Symptoms, Causes And Treatment

One of the characteristics of psychological disorders is that their existence does not depend on ethical codes: they exist independently of them.

The case of kleptomania is an example of this: it is a behavioral alteration based on the act of stealing, and which takes place in people who know perfectly well that stealing is not right, but who practically cannot control themselves.

In this article we will see what kleptomania is and what the characteristics of this impulse regulation disorder are, the way it affects people’s lives, its symptoms and possible treatments.

Kleptomania as a disorder

Stealing is a crime that, as a general rule, is carried out voluntarily and fully consciously, and its fundamental objective is to obtain possession of the good or product in order to use it or achieve some type of economic benefit with it.

Now, there are people who do not commit theft for this reason and who may even end up returning what was stolen, given that what leads them to theft is the need to relieve tension and a loss of control over their impulses. Is about people who suffer from kleptomania

Kleptomania is a psychological disorder or psychiatric disorder, which is characterized by the existence of a strong urge to steal objects that the subject is unable to resist Or, rather, it is based on the impulse to take products for sale and take them away without paying, since it is debatable that the attraction of this action is the fact of breaking private property.

These impulses, which the subject cannot control, lead him to commit small thefts on a regular basis, even though the object in question is not valuable to him nor can he derive any benefit from it. The person in question experiences strong tension and anxiety before the criminal act, a feeling that he manages to relieve in a pleasant way after managing to commit the theft.

Symptoms

The robbery in It is not a premeditated or pre-planned act, but rather it arises as a reaction to tension or as an emotional discharge through which to calm your impulses. It is an almost automatic and partially involuntary act that arises from necessity, in the here and now.

The motive for the robbery is therefore not economic, nor is it carried out with the aim of revenge or expressing anger. It is also not a way to rebel against society and norms, as someone with antisocial disorder might do, nor a response to a delusion or hallucination. Likewise, it is not the product of an alteration of consciousness such as that caused by drug use or the presence of a manic episode.

And kleptomania It is one of the so-called impulse control disorders (now destructive disorders of impulse control and behavior), a group to which both this disorder and pyromania or intermittent explosive disorder belong, among others, and which are characterized by difficulty controlling impulses, emotions and desires that appear suddenly. suddenly and irresistible, without any other cognitive or psychiatric alteration.

Theft becomes a compulsive act, acquiring addictive characteristics and in turn resembling obsessive disorders in its functioning.

Course and epidemiology

Kleptomania is a rare disorder and accounts for less than 5% of thefts carried out. This condition can appear at very different ages, including childhood or adolescence and in few cases in adulthood. It is more common in young women. In some cases it resolves on its own, although sometimes it reappears in response to stressful situations or remains for years (although with treatment the prognosis is very favorable).

Some diagnostic classifications such as the ICD indicate that at least two or three episodes must have occurred to be diagnosed.

It is relevant to mention that although the theft cannot be explained by other disorders, It is common for there to be comorbidity with other disorders (kleptomania and another disorder occur together). Among the most frequent are alcoholism, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, major depression or eating disorders.

Impact on daily life

The kleptomaniac may feel guilty about his act, and is usually aware that he is committing theft, but is unable to resist taking the property in question. In fact, It is not uncommon for the object in question to be returned once stolen to the establishment or owner (usually discreetly, sometimes with notes of apology), or they are hidden or given away. It is not uncommon for symptoms such as shame and remorse to appear, which can alter the subject’s daily life.

In addition to that It can be common for them to be caught in the act and have problems with the law, in such a way that they can be sentenced to prison. Likewise, this can lead to problems at a social level, to the point of having interpersonal conflicts and even being rejected by their environment, or having difficulties at the work level.

Lack of control over impulses can lead to the subject feeling a low sense of self-efficacy, which in turn can lead to a feeling of little control over their life and ultimately the emergence of mood problems. They can also generate behaviors of hoarding stolen objects.

Possible causes of its appearance

The exact causes of the appearance of kleptomania are not known, although There are different hypotheses that seek to offer an explanation possible to the reason for said pathology (most of it coming from the psychodynamic current).

Within the psychodynamic orientation, kleptomaniac theft has been interpreted as a symptom of an intrapsychic conflict, in which the subject can use the act of stealing as a way of obtaining pleasure through the performance of a prohibited act, as a defense of the ego against anxiety or as an act in which one unconsciously reacts to the lack of deprivation of affection in childhood.

Have been observed as possible risk factors the presence of craniocerebral trauma (which may have damaged the frontal and behavioral inhibition capacity), alterations at the dopaminergic, serotonergic level or at the level of neurotransmission of endogenous opioids. In addition, it is possible that there is some type of biological or learned predisposition from parental models, given that it has been observed that people with kleptomania tend to have a statistically greater probability of having a family history of obsessive disorders.

In addition, it has also been observed that personality structures close to paranoid, schizoid and borderline personality disorders also imply a greater risk of appearance.

The most relevant personality characteristic of this picture is found in the presence of a high impulsiveness They tend to be people with great intensity in their fantasies and desires, in some cases with less tolerance for delayed gratification and high sensitivity to reward and anxiety. There is also usually a link with mood disorders.

Furthermore, it could be proposed that in this disorder a system similar to that which occurs in addictions appears, and a possible involvement of the nucleus accumbens and the brain reward system has been suggested, influencing impulses and motivation. T

It has also been linked to OCD, in which the anxiety felt is temporarily relieved by carrying out the criminal act but in turn is negatively reinforced by it in the long run. In fact, it has been suggested that it could be an impulsive variant that could be classified within obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders

Treatment

Kleptomania is a condition that requires treatment. In this sense There are multiple types of existing therapy and intervention, both psychologically and pharmacologically (although usually a combination of both is used).

Among the different therapies at a psychological level we can find, first of all, systematic desensitization, in which the subject is exposed to anxiety-inducing situations in order for them to face them by carrying out behaviors incompatible with anxiety, or by carrying out alternative behaviors to theft. Another alternative is exposure with response prevention.

Psychoeducation is also useful for both the subject and his or her environment, given the little social understanding of this disorder. Procedures such as acceptance and commitment therapy have also been seen as effective.

At a pharmacological level they have been seen as effective antidepressant drugs such as SSRIs (which in turn are used in both depression and OCD), especially some such as fluoxetine or fluvoxamine. Although these are drugs of choice, mood stabilizers, anticonvulsants or even drugs effective in alcoholism such as naltrexone have also been used to treat kleptomania and have shown some success.