I stopped rocking, but created new problems from this.

Post Reply New Topic

I had been rocking back and forth on my bed since I was 3. I'm 29 now. I stopped the rocking 1.5 months ago and although that was much needed due to mental and physical problems it was creating, I found that I moved from rocking to walking. This month's walking grew exponentially while listening to my music which I'm starting to believe is the main problem. But even without music I find this constant urge to keep moving...pacing, rocking on rocking chair, walking, writhing around. Discussion with my psychiatrist indicates that this is something called akathisia. But when I take an anti-anxiety medication called Lorazepam (Ativan), the issue almost goes away.

What is a more realistic approach to this situation? I want to stop feeling the urge to move all the time and feel relaxed and easy with myself.

your rocking and walking are both occur when you become stimulated.

The lorazepam is a benzodiazepine, which is an excellent but addictive type of med which will reduce your anxiety and slow your mind down.

Other meds such as Tricyclic antidepressants can also be of some benefit in this area,
as they tend to focus optimising serotonin, regulate norepinephrine (noradrenaline), and slightly sedate you (like the lorazepam but less addictive).

Tricyclics can also be used at the same time as the Lorazepam.

Hard to know what to suggest. Perhaps consider getting some prayer beads, which you can use to stim with too.
Bit like those fiddle things.

I didn't recognize the word Akathisia so I looked it up.

Akathisia is a movement disorder characterized by a subjective feeling of inner restlessness accompanied by mental distress and an inability to sit still. Usually, the legs are most prominently affected. Those affected may fidget, rock back and forth, or pace, while some may just have an uneasy feeling in their body.

Two thoughts crossed my mind.

First, when I was young, I would stim. But when stimming became socially unacceptable, I would transition to a less obvious stim. After transferring from one stim to another to another, eventually my stimming disappeared forever.

Second, some dyslexics stim. What was observed is that when they stim, they are sending signals to the brain TO WAKE UP. So they are the most receptive when they are stimming. Stimming was tied to comprehension.

I second this. I have some worry beads and those things are great.

I'm a 'mover' type of person myself. If I'm sitting still, I'm not still. I can isolate my calf muscles, so I 'bounce' them a lot, or I rock while sitting, move my hands, something. I pace like a madman, bounce on an exercise ball, whatever. I don't much fight it unless I have to be in public because I don't want to bother people around me. The worry beads help me with that stuff. I can stick them in a pocket and get my fidget on without being disruptive.

Sometimes a shift can be made from large scale physical stiming to smaller scale. For example, one might be able to substitute finger rubbing for hand flapping. If sitting one might be able to make "toe fists" without drawing undue attention.