I can't stop moving!

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As I've gotten older, I've found that I cannot stop moving. I keep on touching my face, itching my eyes, stroking my hair, pretending to get look for something in my bag, shuffling my feet, sniffing, clearing my throat, itching my arms, and scoping the room. I just cannot sit still. It doesn't notice in a weird way, because I see other people doing these little things too, but I do it more out of agitation, especially when I'm standing or sitting with strangers. I just feel that they are looking at me, and so I've got to sort of do something, rather than standing there stock still. People say ''keep your arms by your sides'', and I do generally, but I can't help touching my face and hair. I keep getting little itches on my face, and I keep thinking there's a little bug crawling on my face, which is why I touch my face. But the fiddling in my bag thing is stupid and annoying, but it's something I feel I have to do, for some reason. Like, when I walk upto a bus stop, I don't just like to stop dead when I get there. I feel I have to stop, then do something afterwards, like fiddle in my bag or something. Sometimes when I'm just standing there still with my hands beside my sides, I feel there is something wrong, and I feel I'm being stared at, as though people want me to do something. Maybe it's anxiety, I don't know.

But the funny things is, when I was at school, I used to sit really, really still for hours. I used to cross my legs, put my hands on my lap, sit up straight, and I could stay like that for hours without moving. I seemed to be so relaxed when I was at school. Other kids even used to say, ''you're as still as a statue'', and I really was. I did not move a finger even. But I can't do that now. Maybe it's because I got used to working, where I'm up and down all day, whereas at school you're usually sat at a desk all day.

I wouldn't really say this is stimming. Or is it? Because NTs don't stand stock still either, like army cadets. They shuffle their feet, scope the room or around them, itch their nose, et cetera. But I seem to have become so agitated that I can't relax and stand still for more than 2 seconds. Is this a form of agitation? Does anyone else get like this?

It sounds like stimming.

Stimming.

I get the same way. It takes an immense amount of effort and concentration for me to stay still. Most of my energy, in fact.

Make sure you lay off the caffeine.

I'm the same way. I can't sit still and stop fidgeting no matter how hard I try.

I'm the same way. I have to pace around the house several times a day, especially when I have a lot on my mind. However, I found that tapping my right foot helps ease some of these feelings, even though it bothers some of the people around me.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bwjT8wLenE[/youtube]

Same here. Stimming.

I do this also, especially if I am feeling uncomfortable or being looked at, or even just bored.
I find when I get particularly on edge, I shake my hands around.

I get like that that sometimes, usually out of being bored but sometimes not

Ah, stimming. It's contagious in my house.

I can't stop rocking back and forth and side to side and I play with my hands!

I will agree that I have seen NTs do this to some extent too, however I am much the same as you. If you took all my Tourettes away (which is usually what makes me move constantly!) I would still be fiddling, shuffling in my seat or standing up, rocking (that's definitely a stim), playing with my hair and rubbing my eyes/face. I too get that thing where I feel like something is crawling on my face. I think it is maybe one of the little face hairs is rubbing my cheek and it feels like a bug! Are you quite an energetic person? I've almost certainly got ADHD as well but because I am an adult and it is not severely affecting me, no one will diagnose me.

I don't have much caffeine, and anyway I get like this at any time of the day, whether I've eaten or drank or not.

I don't do things like flapping hands, rocking backwards and foewards, intensely fiddling with my fingers, or anything else like that what's common in Autistics. I just feel very agitated all the time, as though I feel like 100 pairs of eyes are all staring at me and wanting me to do something. But I am slightly Agoraphobic, if not, I have some sort of fear of crowds. Maybe this is why.

Stimming can also look like tapping fingers, bouncing your leg, tapping a pencil, pacing, and other things NTs do.

Anxiety can also prompt a lot of fidgeting, which is what it sounds like you're dealing with.