What trauma causes kleptomania?
Asked by: Eliane Kunde | Last update: February 15, 2026Score: 4.8/5 (72 votes)
Psychoanalytic theories link compulsive stealing to childhood trauma and neglectful or abusive parents, and stealing may symbolize repossessing the losses of childhood. Kleptomania has also been linked to psychosexual issues such as sexual repression and suppression.
What is the root cause of kleptomania?
More research is needed to better understand these possible causes, but kleptomania may be linked to: Problems with a naturally occurring brain chemical called serotonin. Serotonin, a neurotransmitter, helps regulate moods and emotions. Low levels of serotonin are common in people prone to impulsive behaviors.
Can you get rid of kleptomania?
Kleptomania is difficult to overcome on your own. Without treatment, kleptomania will likely be an ongoing, long-term condition. Treatment for kleptomania typically involves medicines and psychotherapy, or both, sometimes along with self-help groups.
What is the psychological reason people steal?
Depression or Anxiety
Mental health struggles play a bigger role than people realize. For some, the act of shoplifting gives a short burst of adrenaline that cuts through emotional numbness. For others, it's about control — doing something reckless when everything else feels out of control.
Is stealing a trauma response?
For children and young people who have experienced trauma, stealing can be a learnt survival behaviour. Generally stealing is an attempt by children and young people to connect, feel safe, gain some control over their lives and gain access to the things they believe that they need.
Kleptomania, Causes, Signs and Symptoms, DIagnosis and Treatment.
What is the #1 most diagnosed mental disorder?
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD): One of the most common mental disorders, GAD is characterized by excessive worry about issues and situations that individuals experience every day. Any worrying that is out of proportion to the reality of the situation may fall under this disorder.
Is kleptomania a trauma response?
The pathophysiology of kleptomania is unknown. Psychoanalytic theories link compulsive stealing to childhood trauma and neglectful or abusive parents, and stealing may symbolize repossessing the losses of childhood. Kleptomania has also been linked to psychosexual issues such as sexual repression and suppression.
What is the hardest mental illness to live with?
Here, listed in alphabetical order, are five disorders that can be particularly difficult to live with:
- Anorexia nervosa. ...
- Bipolar disorder. ...
- Borderline personality disorder (BPD) ...
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) ...
- Schizophrenia & schizoaffective disorder.
Do kleptomaniacs know what they're doing?
People with kleptomania know what they are doing is wrong but cannot control the impulse to steal, leading to hasty and poorly thought-out stealing. They experience internal tension before stealing that is then relieved after the theft.
What are the signs of someone struggling with mental health?
Signs that someone may be experiencing poor mental health
- Seeming 'sad'
- Lacking energy.
- Loss of interest in day-to-day life.
- Withdrawn.
- Negative thoughts.
- Anxious.
- Low self-esteem.
Who is most likely to have kleptomania?
Women are three times more likely to have kleptomania than men. It can happen to people of almost all ages, with cases diagnosed as young as age 4 and as old as age 77.
What drug causes kleptomania?
Kleptomania - a side-effect induced by venlafaxine.
What mental illness causes extreme anger?
Intermittent explosive disorder involves repeated, sudden bouts of impulsive, aggressive, violent behavior or angry verbal outbursts. The reactions are too extreme for the situation. Road rage, domestic abuse, throwing or breaking objects, or other temper tantrums may be symptoms of intermittent explosive disorder.
Are kleptomaniacs hoarders?
Limited research also suggests that stealing and/or kleptomania may be another form of acquisition associated with hoarding. Grant and Kim (2002) reported that 12 out of 19 kleptomania cases (63.2%) reported hoarding behavior.
What mental illness causes excessive talking?
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
Excessive talking is a common feature of ADHD, particularly in individuals with the hyperactive-impulsive presentation of the disorder. People with ADHD may find it difficult to control their impulses, leading them to interrupt others or dominate conversations.
What is the most fatal mental illness?
Out of all the mental disorders including depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder, which do you think is the deadliest? A review of nearly fifty years of research confirms that Anorexia Nervosa has the highest mortality rate of all mental illnesses (Arcelus, Mitchel, Wales, & Nelson, 2011).
How to spot a borderline woman?
Symptoms - Borderline personality disorder
- emotional instability – the psychological term for this is "affective dysregulation"
- disturbed patterns of thinking or perception – "cognitive distortions" or "perceptual distortions"
- impulsive behaviour.
- intense but unstable relationships with others.
What is the hardest personality to live with?
Borderline Personality Disorder is frequently cited as one of the hardest mental disorders to live with, not because people with BPD are difficult, but because the disorder itself is emotionally intense and relentless. It affects the way a person sees themselves and others.
Is kleptomania a psychotic disorder?
Psychosis refers to a collection of symptoms that affect the mind, where there has been some loss of contact with reality. During an episode of psychosis, a person's thoughts and perceptions are disrupted and they may have difficulty recognizing what is real and what is not.
Which famous person is a kleptomaniac?
Memories of famous shady shoppers such as former Miss America Bess Myerson (department-store items, 1988) and movie star-polymath Hedy Lamarr (drug-store sundries, 1991) come to mind. And the imagination collapses around one thrilling word — kleptomania.
What age does kleptomania usually start?
Kleptomania often starts during childhood or the early teen years. One study found that 35% of people with kleptomania had symptoms beginning before age 11. This timing supports earlier findings that many mental health concerns, including kleptomania, often begin during the teen years.
What mental disorder takes the most lives?
Eating disorders (e.g., anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa) are associated with high premature mortality and are generally considered to be among the most lethal of all psychiatric disorders (1).
What are the 5 C's of mental health?
The 5 C's of Mental Health: Competence, Confidence, Character, Connection, and Caring. Most people have, at one point or another, struggled with their mental health. It can be challenging and disheartening when it feels like nothing is working – no matter what you do, you are still feeling down, depressed, or anxious.
What is the blood test for mental health?
MindX Blood Tests, which uses gene expression profiling by RNA sequencing of genes collected from whole blood to assess, predict or manage mood disorders, stress disorders, suicidality, longevity/mortality, and pain associated with depression or substance use history: MindX - Longevity.
What personality disorder gets angry easily?
Borderline personality disorder usually begins by early adulthood. The condition is most serious in young adulthood. Mood swings, anger and impulsiveness often get better with age. But the main issues of self-image and fear of being abandoned, as well as relationship issues, go on.