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Definition
By Mayo Clinic staffKleptomania is the irresistible urge to steal items that you don't really need and that usually have little value. It's a serious mental health disorder that can tear your life apart if not treated.
Kleptomania is a type of impulse control disorder — a disorder in which you can't resist the temptation or drive to perform an act that's harmful to you or someone else.
Many people with kleptomania live lives of secret shame because they're afraid to seek mental health treatment. Although there's no cure for kleptomania, treatment with medication or psychotherapy may be able to help end the cycle of compulsive stealing.
- Kleptomania. In: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders DSM-IV-TR. 4th ed. Arlington, Va.: American Psychiatric Association; 2000. http://www.psychiatryonline.com. Accessed July 31, 2009.
- Hollander E, et al. Impulse-control disorders not elsewhere classified. In: Hales RE, et al., eds. The American Psychiatric Publishing Textbook of Psychiatry. 5th ed. Arlington, Va.: American Psychiatric Association; 2008. http://www.psychiatryonline.com. Accessed July 31, 2009.
- Gendel MH. Impulse-control disorders. In: Jacobsen JL, et al. Psychiatric Secrets. 2nd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Hanley & Belfus; 2001. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/152310510-3/869709846/1167/66.html#4-u1.0-B1-56053-418-4..50033-9--cesec9_630. Accessed July 31, 2009.
- Kleptomania. In: Moore DP, et al. Handbook of Medical Psychiatry. Philadelphia, Pa.: Mosby; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/125211023-6/0/1243/85.html?tocnode=52436571&fromURL=85.html#4-u1.0-B0-323-02911-6..X5001-5--section6_797. Accessed July 31, 2009.
- Aizer A. Kleptomania after head trauma: Two case reports and combination treatment. Clinical Neuropharmacology. 2004;27:211.
- Hall-Flavin DK (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Aug. 10, 2009.
