Kleptomania, known as the disease of stealing, is also known as stealing worthless items. Its symptoms begin in childhood and continue into adulthood. There are many patients who unconsciously see things such as hairpins from their mother's purse to punish her. While doing this action, he feels pleasure, and after playing it, a depressed mood emerges. While doing this action, he feels pleasure, and after playing it, a depressed mood emerges. Contrary to the belief that kleptomaniacs occur among women, in recent years it has been reported that they are seen in 20 percent of men.
One reason why the rate is so high in favor of women is that when women are caught, they are sent to psychiatric examination and men are sent to prison. If we consider kleptomania as an impulse control disorder, it has also been detected in 6-year-old girls. It is difficult to eliminate kleptomania on its own. A kleptomaniac person is difficult to recognize. Education levels of kleptomaniac people are also high. For a person, only the feeling of stealing that item appeals to him. He does not steal because he needs it.
Some researchers have shown that there are some organic factors in kleptomaniac patients. For example, it has been shown that a 66-year-old patient with kleptomaniac behavior had atrophy in the left frontal and right parietotemporal brain regions. A similar clinical picture was also observed in a person with a space-occupying lesion in the right parietal brain region. It is observed that this person has periods of stealing. Psychological disintegration occurs in approximately one in ten of kleptomaniacs. In this group of patients, kleptomania behavior occurs in an escape-like situation. (Hürriyet, Kelebek Magazine, Stealing Disease)
Treatment:
It is useful to evaluate each individual on his own. We see that traumatic experiences during childhood are decisive in adults. Among the determining factors seen in children and adolescents experiencing this problem, we see that traumatic events experienced before the onset of the problem or traumatic situations such as violence, emotional abuse, and loss experienced within the family are effective. In both children, adolescents and adults, We observe that domestic problems that have been going on for a long time and still exist can lead to stealing behavior. Whether it is the effect of past traumatic issues or current stressors that have been going on for a while, the urge and behavior to steal disappear when worked in psychotherapy.
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