Sunita V Chelam examines the hows and whys of kleptomania

Millie, a 30-year-old homemaker, has everything she needs to be materially satisfied — a beautiful home and a rich husband. However, while shopping at a local supermarket, she is apprehended for shoplifting. When confronted by security personnel, she refuses to reveal the contents of her bag.

With impressive sang froid , she opens her purse, shows them wads of money, and says that she has money to pay for her purchases, so why would she need to steal? Bemused, the store manager apologises and lets her leave. But he continues to have the feeling that the camera did show her surreptitiously lifting a packet of cheese, and furtively dropping it into her bag.

Millie gets away, but she may or may not recognise that she suffers from kleptomania — a debilitating disorder that causes her to steal repeatedly. And she needs help to overcome this arrhythmic obsession before things take a turn for the worse.

The Basics
Kleptomania is a rare disorder that occurs most commonly in women. Studies indicate that it may be a variant of mood disorders such as depression or anxiety. There’s also indirect evidence that it is caused due to abnormalities in serotonin, the brain chemical.

Mumbai-based psychologist Ramesh Dang, however, has a different viewpoint. “Kleptomania is a psychological disorder as the conditioning is deep-rooted in the sub-conscious, and has nothing to do with our biological or chemical composition. Humans are governed by the existential law of evolution.

‘’Our biological and mental, system is structured to live in the present. When there is a breakdown in this system, we develop psychosomatic disorders. Kleptomaniacs are seized by a sudden impulse to steal. They act in the present, for a thrill at that moment.”

There’s another dimension that some psychologists consider as the cause of kleptomania: It is part of the obsessive-compulsive range of disorders. Many people experience the impulse to steal as an unfamiliar incursion that affects the normal state of mind.

Psychiatrist Sandeep Kalelkar explains, “Kleptomania is an impulse-control disorder, and causes a recurrent failure to resist the impulse to steal. Kleptomaniacs may steal anywhere and are aware that they can be caught. However, when the urge to steal overcomes them, they do not consider the chances of being apprehended. The act of stealing is not the goal, it is the gratification. The stolen object is of no significance to the kleptomaniac.”

Instant Facts
Kleptomania is a consequence of psychodynamic factors. It usually surfaces most when the person is under a lot of stress — losses, breaking up of or to hide feelings of hurt. It also occurs most frequently in people who have had traumatic or disturbed childhoods. Dr Kalelkar says, “There are people who are anti-social or aggressive, and often these people steal to get back at someone or cause trouble. These people are not kleptomaniacs as they have a definite, predetermined purpose, which kleptomaniacs do not.

Also, many cases of shoplifting are reportedly done by adolescents, but it’s very difficult to diagnose them as kleptomaniacs at their age. On the flip side, many shoplifters have escaped the law by posing as kleptomaniacs. Kleptomania occurs mostly in places where the ‘supermarket culture’ exists, as the shopping malls and supermarkets spur the stimulus to steal.”

Treating Kleptomania
Kleptomania is rather easy to treat. At the basic level, the patient needs to find another occupation to replace the stealing activity. It is also very important to make the patient realise that other people are harmed when he/she steals.

Dr Dang says, “Counselling, hypnosis and meditation help permeate the subconscious and can help eradicate kleptomania. However, the prerequisite is that the person should acknowledge the problem and be willing to get help to cure it.”

Alternately, treatment could involve behaviour modification, to resist the urge to steal. Other treatment approaches involve analysing the theft as an unconscious process to get an insight into the cause, so that it can eventually be eliminated.

In some cases, Prozac, an antidepressant that boosts levels of serotonin, has helped treat kleptomania.

And finally, the most important healing touch — moral support. The patient’s family and friends also need to be sensitive and amenable for treatment to be effective.

Kleptomania Factfile:
* Two out of three kleptomaniacs are women.
* Five per cent of shoplifters are kleptomaniacs.
* In 50 per cent of cases, kleptomaniacs are over the age of 20.
* Most kleptomaniacs can afford what they steal.
* Kleptomania is different from shoplifting in the sense that shoplifters usually plan to steal an object, and they usually steal because they cannot afford the object.
* Kleptomaniacs are driven by the thrill of the act of stealing, rather than for personal use.
* After they steal an object, kleptomaniacs will consider it worthless — they may hide the stolen object or even return it.
* Eating disorders and substance abuse disorders are common in kleptomaniacs.
* Some psychologists believe that kleptomania is a form of sexual excitement, or a substitute for a sexual act.
* Awareness that the thefts are not being committed as a result of delusions or hallucinations, or as acts of revenge or anger.

Telltale signs of kleptomania
* Sneaking objects on impulse, without prior planning.
* Increased tension immediately before committing the theft.
* Heightened pleasure or relief during the theft.
* Frequently stealing unimportant objects that are rarely ever used.