Kleptomania: when compulsive stealing takes over your life

All In The Mind

ABC listen

Life Sciences, Health & Fitness, Science

4.4 • 785 Ratings

🗓️ 12 July 2025

⏱️ 27 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

What drives some people to steal compulsively?

This week, as part of our special four-part series Criminal Psychology, we're talking about kleptomania and the impact it can have on a person's life.

We speak to someone who’s been diagnosed with kleptomania about their experiences; from their urges to steal, to the guilt and shame they feel.

We also chat to a psychiatrist about what treatment looks like for people with kleptomania.

Guests:

Lynn

Dr Sam ChamberlainProfessor of Psychiatry, University of Southampton

Credits:

Presenter/producer: Sana Qadar
Reporter/senior producer: James Bullen
Producer: Rose Kerr
Sound engineer: Emrys Cronin

More information:

Symptom Severity and Its Clinical Correlates in Kleptomania

A Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study of the Opiate Antagonist, Naltrexone, in the Treatment of Kleptomania

Why do young children sometimes steal? And what should parents do about it?

Kleptomania — Mayo Clinic

Kleptomania and Potential Exacerbating Factors

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is an ABC podcast.
0:05.0	Hi, it's Norman Swan.
0:06.2	And Tegan Taylor with a podcast recommendation for you, selfishly, our podcast.
0:11.4	What's that rash? Where we answer the health questions everyone's asking.
0:14.3	Do you really have to have a shower every day?
0:16.2	Can dairy give you acne?
0:17.7	Do you need to worry about microplastics?
0:20.0	We do the hard work for you,
0:21.3	so you don't have to waste time and money
0:22.6	figuring out the latest wellness trend
0:24.6	is a scam.
0:25.7	They usually are.
0:26.5	But we won't be leaving you hanging.
0:27.7	We'll also tell you what really works.
0:29.7	Listen on Radio National
0:30.7	or on the ABC Listen app.
0:37.3	What comes to mind when you hear the term kleptomania?
0:41.9	Maybe it's celebrities like Winona Ryder, Farah Fawcett and Lindsay Lohen.
0:46.5	A jury at the trial of actress Winona Ryder has heard she was preparing for an acting role
0:51.6	when she was first detained last December on suspicion of
0:55.0	shoplifting at a store in Hollywood.
0:57.3	Or depictions in popular culture, like Breaking Bad.
	...

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