Is kleptomania a OCD?

            Humans are able to be the most social creature and to make the world a better place, thanks to the power of the mind. The human’s mind is capable of doing many things and the complexity of the brain structures makes us humans a more intellectual being to exist on earth. However, in the world of medicine, some people may have trouble with their mind and it may contribute to a human not being productive and dysfunctional. Mental health is indeed a topic that can describe if a mind is troubled or not. The question of “Is kleptomania and OCD?” will be answered below.

            To understand better if there is correlation between kleptomania and OCD, it is best to talk about this topic individually first. We will start with OCD. Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is defined as a mental health condition in which a person has obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviours. Obsessive thoughts are unwanted, intrusive thoughts, images or urges that trigger distressing feelings intensely. Compulsions are repetitive behaviours as an attempt to get rid of the obsession, neutralising and/or minimise the obsession. For example, people with OCD may have obsessive thoughts of fear of contamination and the compulsive behaviour will be the excessive cleaning and/or handwashing.

            OCD often begins in childhood or early adulthood. It is often women who are more inclined to have OCD compared to men. Some individuals with OCD also have tic disorder. Tics disorder are sudden, brief, repetitive movements that are uncontrolled such as eye blinking and facial grimacing. Symptoms of OCD may come and go, or get better or worse. Although most people with OCD realised that what they have been doing is illogical, some may not realise their behaviour is abnormal.

            Kleptomania on the other hand is categorised as an impulse control disorder. It is a condition where a person experiences a consistent impulse to steal items they do not need. Kleptomania makes a person feel an urge to steal, a feeling of tension before stealing and a feeling of relief during or immediately after stealing. The things that people with kleptomania steal usually have little value and are often disposed of or given away after it is stolen.

            Kleptomania often begins in adolescence but may occur in children and adults. It is more common among females than males. Symptoms of kleptomania include persistent and recurrent impulse to steal items that is not needed for personal use nor bring financial gain, increased tension before a theft, relief at the moment of theft and guilt or shame after thefts, individuals are not committed to do the stealing action by delusion, mania or hallucination, theft are not motivated by revenge or anger and last but not least, a person’s theft cannot be better explained by other mental health issues such as Antisocial Personality Disorder, Conduct Disorder and manic episode.

            Now that you have understood a bit more about the two topics, it can be concluded that kleptomania is certainly not OCD. It can be understandable why some people might be saying it seems similar due to the pattern of impulsiveness but it is not entirely true. In kleptomania, there is a sense of hedonic quality such as gratitude or feeling content when stealing whereas in OCD, patients do not feel any joy when doing it and they are doing the compulsive behaviour only to lower or eliminate the distress feeling. The possibility of a female to have kleptomania is triple that of men whereas the possibility of female to have OCD is only slightly greater than male. Another difference between kleptomania and OCD is that kleptomania often result in crime involvement issues whereas OCD typically does not.

            In essence, kleptomania is not part of OCD. Kleptomania itself is part of impulse control disorder whereas OCD is a type of anxiety disorder. The main differences between the two can be seen when kleptomania is only involved with stealing action while OCD can range in certain ways with the common ways such as contaminating/washing, doubt/checking, ordering/arranging and unacceptable/taboo thought.

            One thing for certain, no matter what mental health issues a person is having, he or she should seek treatment. Treatment can help patients understand what is wrong with their ways of thinking and to get support. Mental health is certainly a big issue and there is no reason to be ashamed of asking for help. Getting the right diagnosis and treatment can help a person to have a happier and fulfilling life. Common treatment includes psychotherapy, medications and even both in combination. It is worth noting that certain mental health issues can be a lifelong condition which makes it difficult for both patients and caregiver or family to cope. In such cases, both sides need to get support from a psychiatrist, psychologist or therapist. This will ensure patients get the maximal care needed and the caregiver or family can always be their strongest support system.

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