Hi, I am struggling with kleptomania. It does not always happen but I have gotten caught when it does because I tend to look disoriented, anxious and stressed. I do not know how to get help that is free. I only feel the urge when I am extremely stressed like if there is a huge family problem or if I have an extremely difficult interview. I have been lucky so far because they sympathized with me and never pressed charges but I have been banned from large chain stores. It has always been things that are completely useless and of zero value. First time, I took a bag of rice that I couldn't use since my residence did not have any cooking facilities. Second time, it was an avocado. I do not know how to get help. Even when I have gotten caught, I felt much less stress after the ordeal than before.
Let's talk about this. Can you recall the first time you ever did this? If so, was there anything painful or traumatic you were dealing with at the time? My daughter started doing this for awhile when she was a child. It started just after her parents, her father and I, divorced. I do believe this was what caused it for her. Thankfully we dealt with it back then. You say you do this when you are very stressed. I used to do something negative when I was stressed. It wasn't the same. I'd overeat, literally binge eat. You already know your reasons for doing this. In my case, once I figured out what was causing my wanting to do this negative behavior, stress, I realised I had to catch myself just before I was doing it and think about what I was stressed about. Then I had to put a positive behavior in its place. So for me, praying about what I was stressed about helped. It literally got me out of the terrible habit. How I learned this was a psychologist said, "It's not what you're eating, but what's eating you." So in your case, maybe the doc would say, "It's not what your stealing, but what's stealing you." What is stealing your calm, security, and inner strength? Whatever it is that's bothering you at that moment, replace it with a calming replacement. Maybe you could journal, or clean your room, read, listen to music or call a friend. Or maybe when you're tempted you could just come on here and type about it. For me prayer worked. I pray you'll find the solution. Do you go to college? A school or work sometimes have counselors and therapists or chaplains.
Also churches offer free counseling with a pastor and a lot of times the pastor is trained in psychology.