Pyromania - Causes, Symptoms and Treatment

Causes of Pyromania

Common causes and risk factors of Pyromania

• Antisocial behaviors and attitudes.
• Sensation seeking.
• Attention seeking.
• Lack of social skills.
• Lack of fire-safety skills and ignorance of the dangers associated with firesetting.

Signs and Symptoms of Pyromania

Sign and symptoms of Pyromania

• Deliberate and purposeful fire setting on more than one occasion.
• Tension or affective arousal before the act.
• Fascination with, interest in, curiosity about, or attraction to fire and its situational contexts (e.g., paraphernalia, uses, consequences).
• Pleasure, gratification, or relief when setting fires, or when witnessing or participating in their aftermath.

Treatment of Pyromania

Common Treatment of Pyromania

• Behavior modification is the usual treatment for pyromania.
• Other treatments include seeing the patients actions as an unconscious process and analyzing it to help the patient get rid of the behavior.
• Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are also used to treat this condition. Studies have also shown there are therepuetic benefits associated with playing out the mania in a simulated environment.