Kleptomania is an impulse control disorder affecting around six in 1000 people. People with kleptomania experience a recurrent and extreme urge to act on impulses and steal items they don’t actually need.
While kleptomania typically begins during the teenage years, it can develop at any age and is three times more prevalent in women than in men.
Many people with kleptomania avoid therapy due to stigma and worries about legal consequences. However, patient confidentiality laws protect their privacy, preventing therapists from reporting them to law enforcement.
Kleptomania is a mental health condition that causes a strong urge to steal things — even when they aren’t needed or valuable. People with kleptomania often feel tense before stealing and feel relief right after.
They don’t steal because of money or greed. The behavior is compulsive and hard to control. Many people feel guilt or shame afterward but still find it hard to stop. Most instances aren’t planned, and the stolen items are often given away or thrown out.
Because of the secrecy and embarrassment around it, kleptomania is often misunderstood and undiagnosed. The good news is that it can be managed with therapy, healthy coping strategies, and sometimes medication.
Symptoms signaling kleptomania
Symptoms of kleptomania usually follow a cycle:
Feeling a strong urge to steal items that aren’t needed
Building tension or anxiety before stealing
Feeling relief, pleasure, or satisfaction during the theft
Experiencing guilt, shame, or fear afterward
Having the urge return, leading to repeated stealing
Along with this cycle, people with kleptomania may also show signs of depression or mood swings. They may also experience isolation, secrecy, or other addictive behaviors.
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Myths about kleptomania vs. theft
Kleptomania is often misunderstood as simple stealing, but the two are very different.
Here are a few common myths and the facts behind them:
Myth: People with kleptomania steal for money or personal gain.
Fact: People with kleptomania usually steal items that they don’t need and have little value. The act is driven by uncontrollable urges, not profit or greed.
Myth: Kleptomania is planned like shoplifting.
Fact: Theft in kleptomania is impulsive. People usually don’t plan it in advance and often throw away or give away the items they take.
Myth: People with kleptomania don’t feel bad about stealing.
Fact: Most people with kleptomania feel guilt, shame, or fear after stealing but find it hard to stop the behavior.
Myth: Kleptomania is just an excuse for breaking the law.
Fact: Kleptomania is a recognized mental health condition that causes distress and can disrupt someone’s life. It’s a real disorder that can be managed with support.
Getting diagnosed with kleptomania
Kleptomania typically begins in the teen years and is more common in women than men with a 3:1 ratio. Due to feelings of shame and embarrassment, many people with kleptomania never seek help for their condition.
Kleptomania is diagnosed based on criteria from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) and is considered part of the impulse control disorders. This criteria includes:
Recurrent inability to resist the urge to steal objects that aren’t needed for personal use or financial gain
A growing sense of tension before the theft
Feelings of pleasure, gratification, or relief during the act
The theft isn’t driven by anger, revenge, delusions or hallucinations
The behavior isn’t better explained by conduct disorder, a manic episode, or antisocial personality disorder
Common causes of kleptomania
Kleptomania may develop from a mix of biological, emotional, and psychological factors. It’s often linked to other mental health conditions like depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), anxiety disorders, and substance use disorders (SUDs).
Genetics may play a role too — especially if a close family member has kleptomania or an addictive disorder. Stress can make impulse control harder, and low levels of serotonin — a brain chemical that helps regulate mood and behavior — have also been tied to kleptomania.
Effects of kleptomania over time
Typically beginning in the teen years, kleptomania can be a lifelong condition if left untreated. This condition can lead to serious emotional, family, legal, and financial problems.
According to the DSM, kleptomania typically follows one of three patterns:
Brief episodes of stealing, followed by intermittent and long periods of remission
Longer periods of frequent stealing, with brief periods of remission
Chronic and continuous stealing, with only minor fluctuations in frequency
The long-term effects of kleptomania include:
Strained relationships: Many people with kleptomania actively lie about their behavior to spouses and close family members, leading to damaged relationships over time.
Legal troubles: Chronic kleptomania has been shown to result in legal consequences, including arrests and jail time.
Emotional impacts: Many people with kleptomania experience intense shame, guilt, and self-loathing. Some have suicidal thoughts.*
Increased risk: People who have kleptomania tend to steal items of increasing value, suggesting a growing tolerance similar to that seen in substance use disorders.
Co-occurring mental health conditions: Lifetime rates of other mental health conditions in kleptomania are high, including personality disorder, substance misuse, suicidal behavior, anxiety disorders, and ADHD.
*A note on safety: If you or a loved one is in emotional distress or a suicidal crisis, please call or text 988. The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline provides 24/7, confidential support with trained crisis counselors.
Treatment for kleptomania
If you or someone you love is experiencing symptoms of kleptomania, help is available. Kleptomania is typically treated with therapy, medication, or both. It’s important to take a comprehensive approach, addressing the impulse to steal as well as any other co-occurring conditions like depression or OCD.
Types of therapy used to treat kleptomania include:
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT): This type of talk therapy helps people recognize and change negative thought patterns and behaviors. It also teaches coping strategies to manage the urge to steal.
Aversion therapy: This approach reduces the impulse to steal by associating it with discomfort, such as holding your breath until it becomes uncomfortable or imagining something unpleasant when the urge to steal arises.
Support groups: Participation in 12-step programs or peer support groups can provide encouragement, accountability, and coping strategies for people with kleptomania.
Confidentiality is one of the key aspects of professional counseling and will be upheld even when someone has broken a law. This is a common misunderstanding and I encourage anyone staying away from treatment for fear of legal consequences to reach out to a therapist and ask about this.
Elise Miller, MA, LPC
Clinical reviewer
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Many people with kleptomania hesitate to seek therapy due to fears of legal consequences, but therapist-patient confidentiality ensures privacy. A therapist’s goal is to address the underlying cause of kleptomania — not to judge or punish. If you or a loved one has kleptomania, seeking professional help can be an important step toward recovery and well-being.
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Linda Childers
Linda is an award-winning medical writer with experience writing for major media outlets, health companies, hospitals, and both consumer and trade print and digital outlets.
Her articles have appeared in the Washington Post, USA Today, WebMD, AARP, Brain+Life, HealthyWomen.org, The Rheumatologist, California Health Report, Everyday Health, HealthCentral, and many other media outlets.
While juggling the responsibilities of being part of the “sandwich generation” and caring for both her toddler son and terminally ill mother, a nurse friend encouraged her to seek therapy, which helped her to learn coping strategies and manage her depression. Linda hopes her work will help to destigmatize mental health conditions and encourage others to get the help they need.
Elise Miller, MA, LPC
Elise received her Masters in Professional Counseling from Liberty University and went on to become a Licensed Professional Counselor-Supervisor in Texas and Colorado. She has served in many facets of the mental health field including inpatient psychiatric hospitals, intensive outpatient programs, hospice, and mental health tech. She is currently working as an outpatient therapist in private practice.
Elise is also a mom of three little ones and brings this experience into her counseling work with fellow moms. Elise’s work comes from a place of deep compassion and lived experience along with her extensive training and specialization.
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