Kleptophobia (fear Of Theft): Symptoms, Causes And Treatment
The idea of being a victim of a robbery or robbery is not pleasant for anyone, and in fact it is among one of the most common fears.
It is an adaptive fear, since at the end of the day it represents a risk to physical integrity and at the very least involves the theft of something that belongs to us. Now, although this is a real risk, most people live their lives without this possible fear limiting their functionality.
However, for some people the idea or fear of being robbed can become a barrier that prevents them from living in peace and even carrying out a normative daily life. This is what happens to those who suffer from kleptophobia something we are going to talk about along these lines.
It is known as kleptophobia. phobia or irrational fear of being robbed, stealing, or being accused of such an action It is a specific situational phobia, which implies that the fact or even the idea of experiencing or being close to the type of stimulus or feared situation (in this case theft) generates an extreme and even irrational level of panic in us. relation to the real risk posed by the stimulus or the probability of it happening.
Symptoms
The idea of exposing yourself to theft generates high levels of anxiety that can trigger physical symptoms such as hyperventilation, tremors, tachycardia, sweating, tingling or even trigger an anxiety crisis. In order not to feel it, the person with a phobia will escape or avoid any situation that puts them at risk of facing the feared situation.
In the case of kleptophobia, the fear in question is how we have seen suffering from the experience of a robbery. However, although the fundamental fear is usually that of acting as a victim (a condition also known as harpaxophobia when it is specifically the fear of being a victim of robbery or of thieves), kleptophobia also includes the fear of taking on the opposite role: stealing/ become a thief. And it even includes the fear of being accused of theft.
Kleptophobia is a condition that can greatly affect the daily lives of people who suffer from it, especially in severe cases.
And someone with this phobia You can avoid actions such as going out at night (whether in a leisure, work or personal context), do not go to places where there is minimal possibility of being a victim of a robbery or robbery (banks or public transport, for example) or you could become a thief.
You may also have difficulty going to stores, as someone might interpret you as trying to steal something.
This phobia too can cause difficulties on a social level to the point that some people may avoid physical contact or stay away from others (especially if there are large groups) in order to avoid possible risks of theft.
It is even possible that this fear affects the home itself, and that the person has difficulty staying home alone, especially at night and sleeping. And kleptophobia has the peculiarity that even if there is no type of stimulus that leads to thinking about stealing or being robbed, can persist and generate great anxiety
Furthermore, at the work level there may also be a need to justify each act that has to do with dealing with money or objects in order to not be accused of wanting to steal.
In short, there are many possible facets that a phobia like kleptophobia can limit.
Possible causes
As with the rest of the phobias The causes of kleptophobia are not completely known , although there are hypotheses about it. It is important to keep in mind that there is no single cause, but rather the origin of this phobia depends on the interaction of multiple factors.
To begin with, we must bear in mind that kleptophobia is based on a fear with a real basis: being robbed is dangerous. A mugging and robbery could end in injuries, rape or even homicide in some cases. And even the idea of stealing or being accused of stealing has its implications: the thief is judged and despised at a social level and even sentenced to prison terms which is not something positive either.
Now, it is not so common to be a victim of a robbery or commit it (much less of a violent one) in addition to the fact that most of those that exist are thefts that sometimes are not even perceived by the victims until much later.
This fear has a certain explanation at an evolutionary level, at a phylogenetic level: for all animals, suffering theft can mean in nature losing resources that we need to survive, such as food. In this way, those people who were afraid of theft They would tend to keep a closer eye on things and could have an easier time surviving This fact could mean that we have inherited the predisposition to fear the loss of our possessions, to end up taking them from others or to be accused of doing so.
But one of the main hypotheses regarding the reason for kleptophobia is based on conditioning, the acquisition of a learned reaction to certain stimuli after associating them with consequences or aversive stimuli.
This learning can be done through culture or through the experience of aversive or traumatic situations that have made fear appear. For example, having experienced a robbery or robbery (or being accused of one), especially if it has had severe consequences or has involved some type of aggression or violence. It is also possible that it did not happen to us but to someone close to us, or that we have conditioned ourselves vicariously from the reactions of others to it.
Likewise, different aspects at the personality level can also mediate. The fear of stealing may also be indicating the existence of a high level of insecurity in oneself, one’s capacity for self-control or one’s moral values.
Furthermore, in the case of the fear of being accused we can see the existence of a sensitivity to punishment and concern about the judgment or consideration that others have for us.
Regarding the fear of being a victim, there may also be a low sense of control over what surrounds us in addition to the aforementioned insecurity.
As a general rule, phobias are some of the disorders whose psychological treatment is most effective and relatively simple to carry out, there are various techniques that allow you to combat them.
One of the most used techniques to treat phobias is exposure therapy, in which the subject must face a hierarchy of feared situations developed together with the therapist in order to reduce the anxiety and fear they generate.
Obviously, the exposure itself will not be to being robbed in real life, but to situations in which a robbery could occur. These could include going to withdraw money from an ATM, getting a car out of a parking lot, going to a concert or going out at night.
Yes indeed, exposure should be gradual and keep in mind that at the end of the day there is a risk of theft occurring. It is also possible to carry out exhibitions in imagination or virtual reality to recreate and work on the fear of certain situations.
One of the fundamental elements to work on is the cognitive aspect, in which aspects such as what the subject’s fear is, what they attribute it to, and what beliefs they have about themselves, others, and the world in which they live must be worked on. we live.
Can be worked for modify existing beliefs in this regard towards more adaptive ones and that allow the person to live normally. If there is a previous traumatic event, it should be worked on and reworked so that it can be processed adaptively.
Given that part of the fear is due to felt insecurity, it may be necessary to work on personal security and the ability to manage stress and uncertainty. In some cases, it could help to carry out activities such as self-defense training, since they would help improve the feeling of competence in the event of a physical confrontation.
