With kleptomania we define the uncontrollable urge to steal. It is a disorder that can be included in the obsessive-compulsive spectrum , as it presupposes a dys-control of impulses. For the subject, it is a matter of not having control of his own behavior, “he is stronger than me” these subjects report.
The term kleptomania, of Greek derivation, indicates the tendency of some subjects to stealthily take possession
of objects, often of little value or relevance. It is not the object itself that has the greatest importance in the action but rather what the object represents for the subject , the context in which the theft takes place and the sensations that this act produces in those who perform it.
What are the main symptoms?
The main symptom of kleptomania is the ungovernable urge to resist taking possession of objects , even of little value. Often the object is always the same and is stolen to be part of a collection or in any case to be kept together with others of the same species.
This is already an important difference with those who instead steal, only to be able to feel the adrenaline rush associated
with the thrill of defying the law. Sometimes the two modes are both present always or only for a period. The disorder itself can have acute phases and phases of remission.
What can be the causes?
Once again, it is clear that when it comes to the human being, it is not possible to find a
single cause that justifies a pathological behavior. However, we can distinguish types of subjects affected by this pathology: the subjects who, at the sight of a specific object, are unable not to take possession of it and instead those subjects who instead enjoy the thrill felt for having committed the theft. For the former, then, the trigger will be the image or idea of that particular object, for the latter, it will not be so much the object that is significant, but rather the sensation that could be sought to discharge unbearable frustration or on the contrary, being able to feel something in a moment of anhedonia. Going back to the why of the gesture is necessary to set the correct strategy to help those who suffer from it to get rid of this modality.
What are the solutions?
As with many other disorders, even in the case of kleptomania, those who suffer from
it will hardly experience it as a disorder and in these cases the prognosis is increasingly negative. It is more likely that the kleptomaniac begins to take care of himself because he is obliged by his loved ones or, rather, by the police because he has been caught in fragrant. As in any psychological treatment or therapy, the decision to cure oneself is decisive, an “obligatory” treatment has more risks of being fruitless because the therapeutic alliance may never develop . However, this is only a risk and, in some situations, one must still take a risk. Without a little forcing for some people, however bad a situation may be, it still represents a known balance, unlike the unknown that change brings.
