Kleptomania

Last reviewed Saturday, October 24, 2026

Kleptomania is a rare mental health condition in which a person repeatedly fails to resist urges to steal things they don’t need. It isn’t about the money: tension builds before the theft, relief follows, and shame usually comes after. Both main diagnostic manuals class it as an impulse control disorder, and treatment can help.

Also called: pathological stealing, its older name in WHO’s ICD-10. The word comes from the Greek kléptēs, “thief”, and was first recorded in the 1820s.

Signs and symptoms

Urges you can’t resist: strong, repeated urges to take things, often small items of little value that you could pay for or have no use for.
Tension, then relief: rising tension or excitement just before, and relief or a rush of pleasure in the act.
Shame afterwards: guilt, shame and fear of being caught. In one clinic study, about two-thirds of people described intense shame or guilt after stealing.
Not for gain: the item isn’t taken to use, to sell or because you need it.

Estimates suggest that 0.3% to 0.6% of people meet the criteria in the American diagnostic manual, DSM-5. It usually begins in the teenage years and is diagnosed about three times as often in women as in men. It can go on for years, even after arrests: in a US study of 101 adults with kleptomania, about two-thirds had been arrested at some point.

Causes

The cause isn’t known, and research is limited. Kleptomania often comes with other conditions, especially depression, substance use and other impulse problems. It was once thought to be a form of OCD, but researchers now see a lot in common with addiction, including how it runs in families and responds to treatment: close relatives often have drug or alcohol problems. Many can name particular triggers for their urges.

Treatment

No treatment has been proven in large trials, but help exists. Talking therapy, usually CBT, helps you understand your triggers and the build-up of tension, and practise other ways to get through an urge. Some therapists add techniques such as covert sensitisation, where you picture the consequences of stealing as the urge rises, or systematic desensitisation, where you gradually learn to stay calm in places that set off the urge.

Some medicines, prescribed by a doctor, have reduced urges and stealing in small trials, though none is approved for kleptomania in the US. Combining therapy and medicine may work best. Treating depression or substance use alongside it matters too.

In Nigeria

We found no Nigerian research on kleptomania, so little is known about how common it is here. Being called a thief carries deep shame, and people with kleptomania often hide it, which is part of why the condition goes unrecognised. Many also fear that telling a therapist means being reported. In general, Nigerian law doesn’t require a therapist to report a past crime they hear about in therapy, though there are narrow exceptions; our guide to when a therapist can break confidentiality explains them.

A diagnosis doesn’t make taking things lawful, and this entry isn’t legal advice. If you’ve been arrested or charged, speak to a lawyer.

Kleptomania vs stealing for gain

Most stealing isn’t kleptomania. People usually steal because they need or want the item, or to sell it. In kleptomania the item hardly matters; the urge and the relief are the point, and the person often could have paid. Stealing can also be part of other conditions, and a clinician will rule these out: a manic episode in bipolar disorder, some personality disorders, an eating disorder, or conduct problems in young people.

When to get help

Kleptomania can bring intense shame, and research has linked it with a higher risk of suicide attempts. If you’re having thoughts of ending your life, call 112 (or 767 in Lagos), or Safe Place Nigeria on 0800 800 2000. The full list is on our helplines page.

Talk to a therapist if you keep taking things you don’t need and can’t stop, or if the urges, the shame or the fear of being caught are taking over. A therapist’s job is treatment, not judgement. You can book a licensed therapist on Mytherapist.ng who offers CBT and skills-based therapy, by video, voice or chat. A doctor or psychiatrist can advise on medicine.

Kleptomania often starts in the teenage years. If you’re a parent worried about a child who keeps taking things, start with a family doctor or paediatrician, or the school counsellor. If a child is distressed or unsafe, Cece Yara Foundation’s free 24-hour child line is 0800 800 8001. You can also book therapy for yourself as a parent.

Back to the glossary