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Complications
By Mayo Clinic staffLeft untreated, kleptomania can result in severe emotional, legal and financial problems. Because you know stealing is wrong but you feel powerless to resist the impulse, you may be wracked by guilt, shame, self-loathing and humiliation. You may otherwise lead a moral, upstanding life and be confused and upset by your compulsive stealing.
Complications that kleptomania may cause or be associated with include:
- Arrest
- Imprisonment
- Depression
- Alcohol and substance abuse
- Eating disorders
- Anxiety
- Compulsive gambling or shopping
- Suicidal thoughts or behavior
- Social isolation
- 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.
