Kleptomania is a complex brain disorder where the people with this disorder have an overwhelming urge to steal and get a thrill from doing so.
A person with this disorder feels guilty after stealing. Detection of kleptomania is quite difficult. This disease is common at the teenagers between 13-16 years.
These patients usually rob things which we use in our day to day life like key chains, bags, pens etc.
People are affected with this disorder about 0.6 % of general population especially females.
Causes
The cause of kleptomania is unknown. But there seems to be a strong inclination for kleptomania to coexist with obsessive- coercive disorder, bulimia nervosa, and clinical depression.
Symptoms
- Repeated theft of objects which are even not useful for them.
- Pleasure or relief on committing the robbery.
- Hypertension before the theft.
Treatment
Psychotherapy treatments such as cognitive-behavioral therapy and rational emotive therapy are been used to treat this disorder. Recent studies have indicated that fluoxetine (Prozac) and naltrexone (Revia) may also be helpful.
Prevention
A healthy upbringing, positive intimate relationships, and management of acutely stressful situations may lower the incidence of kleptomania and coexisting disorders.