Kleptomania and possible causes of its occurrence. This article will consider the course of the sounded disease with accompanying recommendations for its elimination. Kleptomania is an irrepressible desire to steal something that has no material value for a thief. However, it is incorrect to believe that this pathology is an analogy to ordinary robbery. Kleptomania is such a rare disease that it cannot be equated with a banal crime due to selfish motives.
Causes of kleptomania
When visiting a specialist, he will try first of all to determine the source of the problem that has arisen. In most cases, the causes of kleptomania are indicated as follows:
- Internal impulse … Psychologists say that those who like to steal some trifle in the market or from friends often do not control their actions. They are driven by the desire to take possession of a certain thing, which they can then return to the owner.
- Discharge (adrenaline addiction) … The craving for the next portion of emotions among kleptomaniacs causes the need to visit a store. The process of theft itself is important for them, and not the trophy earned during it.
- Lack of communication … In this case, we are talking about kleptomania in children, who sometimes in such a strange way try to attract the attention of their parents. In addition, they try to show their peers that sleight of hand sometimes allows them to take possession of someone else's thing without any problems, thereby demonstrating their "coolness".
- Head injury … The orbital and frontal lobes of our brain must communicate seamlessly with each other. With the sounded damage, this connection fails, which sometimes leads to kleptomania.
The voiced disease has no age limits and no social distinctions. With him, the manifestation of asocial behavior in a person is possible for reasons beyond his control.
Manifestations of kleptomania in humans
Individuals who are predisposed to theft not for the sake of profit usually behave as follows:
- Strange behavior in stores and markets … The buyer without the voiced problem will not be interested in where the surveillance cameras are located. The kleptomaniac will first of all study the security system of the institution, where he intends to profit from any goods past the checkout.
- Selectivity in theft … A person with selfish goals will try to take possession of valuable things. The kleptomaniac usually misappropriates small change in the form of office supplies, sweets, cosmetics, or inexpensive clothing. Famous personalities can aim at more expensive things, but usually limit their pernicious passion to trinkets.
- Feeling ashamed after stealing … A professional thief never feels remorse after committing a wrongful act. Kleptomaniacs are very ashamed of their actions, so they often return stolen things to their rightful owner.
The sounded symptoms of kleptomania indicate that it is a rare disease. In most cases, people with a similar problem do not seek help from specialists, because they are afraid of being prosecuted for theft.
The most interesting facts about kleptomania
Among the most well-known information about this disease, the following can be distinguished:
- The size … If we proceed from this criterion for evaluating the most interesting thefts, then it is worth recalling a steamer borrowed for good weighing eleven tons. One entertainer from Canada stole a similar pile of metal in 1966, which made a lot of noise in its time.
- Swing … In this case, one should remember the foreign resorts, on the territory of which hotel owners are afraid of some tourists. It is the Slavs who amaze with their ingenuity, because they manage to accidentally take with them when leaving the soap and towel that are in the room.
- Coloring … When studying the concept of "kleptomania", one should not immediately imagine a person. Tommy the cat is famous for the fact that he never returned home without a profit of rather tangible value. This tailed rascal from England once delighted his owners with a present in the form of a bag of coins. A good match for the cat would be a fox from Japan, which in the most insolent way stole shoes from the local population.
- High cost … Even with a detailed examination, it is impossible to determine kleptomania in a person. However, some people themselves realize that they have a voiced problem and ask specialists for the opportunity to save them from adversity. In Malibu, doctors can offer similar services, but they will cost about $ 20,000.
Famous people-kleptomaniacs
The yellow press does not get tired of exposing the idols of many thousands of people, presenting them with such hot facts:
- Winona Ryder … Johnny Depp's ex-girlfriend flatly refuses the title of kleptomaniac awarded to her. However, at one time she was caught by the hand when she made an unsuccessful attempt to take out the boutique's products for almost six thousand dollars. At the same time, the famous actress put forward two versions of her very strange act at once. At first, she claimed that she was rather absent-minded and often forgets to pay for purchases in the store. Forgetting the first version, Winona began fervently convincing the guards that her more than obvious kleptomania was a way to get into a new role.
- Henry IV … The voiced monarch loved, while visiting, to grab some trinket after the visit as a keepsake. Then he returned it with the words that it was only a joke. However, historians doubt that such an influential person stole solely for her own pleasure. Henry IV clearly had kleptomania, which he was ashamed of due to the possible exposure of a pernicious passion to the public.
- Olga Korbut … A famous gymnast in the past caused a big scandal in the United States. The American police were shocked by a call they received, in which it was reported that Olga was trying to take food out of the market. A well-known person coveted a piece of cheese, soda water, chocolate syrup and a few other little things that did not cost even twenty dollars in total.
Ways to combat kleptomania
When asked how to get rid of an existing problem, experts recommend relying on the age factor. In the younger generation, the treatment for kleptomania will look somewhat different than in an adult.
Getting rid of cravings for theft in children
Sometimes a baby with an angelic appearance is able to put his parents in an uncomfortable position, because he has the disease "kleptomania". In this case, dad and mom should take the following measures in relation to the thief:
- Buying a treasured item … Psychologists insist on the fact that in some families a child can steal exactly the object that is the subject of his dreams. At the same time, one should calmly explain to him that his act is an irrational and even socially dangerous act. In many children, after such a gesture from their parents and a confidential conversation, a conscience wakes up elementary, which further suppresses all urges to kleptomania.
- Elimination of provocative moments … Until the child's psyche is finally formed and he has no control over volitional activity, it is necessary to be extremely careful with the impact on the son or daughter. Therefore, the older generation of the family is advised not to leave money and valuables in a conspicuous place.
- Correctness … It is impossible to get rid of the existing problem by screaming and physical punishment. Kleptomania in adolescents is the most difficult to treat, because at this age the desire to do everything in spite of adults prevails in children. Exceptionally heart-to-heart talk can pierce the armor in the protective shell of a child who has been seen to be prone to kleptomania.
- Art therapy … When visiting a psychologist or just at home, you should invite children to display on paper the object of their most cherished dream. Kleptomania in a child is often based precisely on the inability to get the desired item. By analyzing the picture, psychologists can determine the origins of an existing problem in order to further block it.
- Play therapy … In this case, you can try situational techniques that allow the child to see their problem directly. Virtual trips to the store with provocative behaviors in it will help to correct the behavior of problem children.
- Joint trips to retail outlets … In some cases, it is worth trusting children only when further checking the actions of your child. At a certain age, he sometimes cannot distinguish between concepts such as "want" and "can", which in the future can lead to the development of kleptomania.
- Collective budget planning … A good example of adults very often has a beneficial effect on the behavior of their offspring. If you calculate the nearest expenses with a child, based on the finances available in the family, then you can thus instill in him a sense of responsibility and the conviction that nothing in this life is given an easy way.
- Allocating pocket money … Psychologists insist that children should have at least a small amount to meet their own needs. The same school lunches or the purchase of an interesting book to your taste requires a certain investment. By setting a reasonable cash limit for your child, you can easily avoid developing kleptomania.
- Watching films … In some situations, you can invite your child to get acquainted with interesting examples of the film industry. In especially difficult cases, it is enough to show the child the film "Boys", where all the consequences of the deviant behavior of children are shown in a fairly accessible form.
Note! With the voiced recommendations for getting rid of kleptomania, we are not talking about drug treatment. Psychologists consider this method of therapy ineffective in case of the urge to steal a child's favorite thing.
Treatment of kleptomania in adults
Even people of a rather respectable age are not immune from this pathology. With the problem of how to treat kleptomania in a mature person, you should heed the following expert advice:
- Family therapy sessions … The world practice in the field of healing the human psyche considers this method to be a very promising means for eliminating the voiced problem. During such procedures, the option of having friends around unfortunately is not suitable. The desire to profit from other people's property implies complete isolation from other kleptomaniacs with the same behavior.
- Association method … In this case, sessions with a specialist are carried out according to the scheme of rejection of the symptoms of the disease that has arisen. With this kind of therapy, the specialist acts according to the method of a poem about what is good, which can be very bad.
- Latent sensitization method … During this release from kleptomania, the patient is put into a state of alleged theft. The patient gradually goes through all the stages of a potential crime until its logical end in the form of a very painful exposure.
- Drug treatment … In this case, we will focus on antidepressants, which the doctor will personally select. The most effective drugs are Fluoxetine, Paroxetine and Fluvoxamine. In addition to vocal therapy, seizure medications such as Topamax and some mood stabilizers are usually prescribed.
How to treat kleptomania - watch the video:
Even with a rather rare manifestation of sounded pathology in people, the question of how to get rid of kleptomania is not removed from the agenda. When dealing with this serious mental illness, you should find a competent specialist who, literally in five sessions, is able to relieve internal stress if you want to take possession of someone else's thing.
