In the last post, we saw how:
Welcome to Medic Vibes, where we discuss mental health disorders and make sense of them. Dr Ebingo Kigigha is a medical doctor (aspiring psychiatrist) and creative person (illustration and music). This has been our routine for four consecutive months. This month will be dedicated to Conduct disorder. In the first month, we discussed Depression, and in the subsequent month, anxiety. We just finished with Eating disorders.
In this post, we are looking at Tik Tok. To learn more just keep scrolling down. You can also skip to the key point of the post if you which or go to the conclusion to get the summary.
Kleptomania is an issue of concern to those who suffer from the condition and those close to the patient. The problem with kleptomania is that the person suffers from an uncontrollable impulse that makes them want to steal things that are usually not needed. The condition is not very common but it is a problem as the patient has frequent interactions with law enforcement and it causes emotional distress to the person affected and their loved ones.
This disorder is classified as an impulse disorder, these disorders are characterized by difficulty in having self-control. In this disorder, the patient complains of an inability to fight these tempting impulses.
Those who have this disorder do not let anyone in on the secret life they live because they fear judgement and this oftentimes comes in the way of the person's treatment.
Nobody knows exactly how to treat this condition but there are several helpful therapy methods that have been successful in a few cases. Managing these temptations and pushing back on the impulse helps deal with kleptomania.
The patients who suffer from this condition deal with strong temptations to steal and these are usually things that they do not need. The feeling is not “stationary” but increases and they feel anxious as the impulse increases and this leads to them stealing. When this happens they feel intense pleasure and emotionally gratified when they have stolen the object.
They feel very terrible afterwards as their minds become more fixated on the consequences of the act. After the feelings of regrete, they gradually fall back to the impulse that leads to the theft.
In the other disorders, we have discussed like conduct disorder, antisocial personality disorder and the like, they usually steal for their personal interest but this is not the case for kleptomania. They do not do it with any malicious intent. They have episodes of this impulsive desire and they are only trying to stop the impulse.
Unlike in other disorders where the patient thinks of the act before committing it, in kleptomania, the patient has no premeditation to the act.
It is more common for those who have this condition to steal from stores and supermarkets than to steal from close friends and family but they may do so in a public setting such as a party.
The stolen item may be kept in a collection or they may later be given out to charity or they may secretly go back to return the stolen item.
Image by storyset on Freepik
Tim Avants who is a College Instructor who studies quantum physics answered this as someone dealing with conduct disorder and explained that those who have this disorder have a bigger striatum (which plays a role in cognition and understanding) and because of this they usually need more stimulation.
He explained that he does not like to lie he feels truth is boring and he feels the need to make the information more interesting or as he called it…” spice it up”.
It helps with an otherwise boring life and he thinks normal people like to be lied to. Throughout his answer, he referred to other people as neurotypical, which is peculiar.
Trying to examine these findings we came across a study titled,
An Experimental Investigation of Antisocial Lie-Telling Among Children With Disruptive Behavior Disorders and Typically Developing Children
In this study, they pointed out that this area of lying in children with behavioural disorders is not well studied. In their study, they used some parameters to examine antisocial traits such as telling lies cross-culturally in children between 5 and 10 years who were diagnosed with disruptive behavioural disorder in a sample of 71 children and 50 children who did not have any of these disorders.
The children played games that were designed to point out behaviours like lying and the technique through which they used to lie also.
The reasons they studied for lying were categorized into lies for their interest and those to cover up their wrongs.
Typical children did lie as much for their gains when compared to those who had oppositional defiant behavioural disorder.
As children get older they also noted that they were more likely to lie to cover up their wrongs and they would lie less for their interests.
Childmind.org explains that in this mental health disorder seen in children, the affected children will derive pleasure in seeing others hurt and have a similar feeling in seeing animals hurt. These children will be unnecessarily wicked to others, will be violently aggressive and they have difficulty empathising with others.
They do not exhibit mild forms of bullying quite often they are very violent.
Childmind.org explained how these children chose to lie for no reason but from the study we reviewed, they explained that they do so for their interest.
In adolescents, it is also common to see attributes such as vandalism and fire setting. It is very important to separate the features seen in conduct disorders and those in normal children as children can lie when placed in some conditions. The key to the difference is the intensity and the frequency.
If you find yourself with the impulse to steal objects you do not need then it is possible that you may need to see a doctor with that complaint. Those who suffer from this condition often do so in silence and they fear that there will be dire consequences from reporting to a healthcare professional but this is not the case.
It is also possible that you have noticed these patterns in a loved one. They may be scared to come clean about their problems because of the legal implications of having the disorder. The best way to handle this is to find a non-judgemental way of getting them to therapy.
