"Kleptomania is a recurrent failure to resist the impulse to steal things. Kleptomaniacs steal things they do not need or cannot use. They do it without knowing why, and they do it habitually. Kleptomaniacs experience an increasing sense of tension before stealing things and feel relieved while or after committing the act.
Psychiatrists consider kleptomania a symptom of mental illness, and it may be associated with other psychiatric disorders. Kleptomania may result from a variety of unconscious wishes. Some kleptomaniacs unconsciously wish to be caught and punished.
The word kleptomania comes from two Greek words which mean to steal and madness. It was coined during the 1800's to describe what was then thought to be a form of insanity."
Contributor: • Allen Frances, M.D., Professor of Psychiatry, Duke University Medical School