I can't stop stimming!

March 5, 2008 8:25 AM

How do I stop or redirect my annoying self-stimulated behaviors?

Ever since I stopped taking my anxiety medication a while ago my annoying habits started popping up again. Twirling my watch, shaking my leg, tapping the desk, biting my fingernails, or even messing with my hair annoys me and I'm sure the people around me. I refuse to go back on my medication as the side effects were not appealing to me, so I'm hoping theres something I can do to limit my 'stimming.'

posted by Schuby to health & fitness (10 comments total)

You need to talk to your doctor. There are lots of drug options, all with differing side effect profiles. Maybe there is one with side effects you can live with. Quitting any medication without input from a physician can be dangerous, especially for drugs that affect your brain chemistry.

Short of that, you're going to have to carefully monitor everything you do and interrupt yourself any time you start to "stim". Eventually you'll break those habits, but in the mean time, making yourself hyper aware of your every movement is going to play hell with your anxiety.
posted by grumpy at 8:42 AM on March 5, 2008

Have you been evaluated for sensory integration disorder? These are classic signs of SID and there are many non-drug therapies to treat SID.
posted by caddis at 8:48 AM on March 5, 2008

FYI the tapering of my Effexor to stop taking it was controlled by my doctor.

Ill look into maybe natural methods, but I refuse to deal with SSRnI's as I just can't deal with them.
posted by Schuby at 8:48 AM on March 5, 2008

I don't know if this says more about me than anything else, but I see all those actions, in some moderation (ie. not every second of every day) as pretty normal. I think it might be your attitude about it (that people are sure to be annoyed with you) that's the problem. And I can assure you that most people are not going to be paying any attention to you most of the time. People just care way too much about themselves to observe other people in any detail.
posted by loiseau at 8:56 AM on March 5, 2008 [2 favorites]

Caddis,

Never heard of it before, I'll look into that, thanks!

Loiseau,

I'm assuming people are annoyed with it because I often shake my leg pretty hard without noticing and have been told to stop from time to time because it makes either too many vibrations or it's just to loud. (Same for 'finger drumming' and twirling my watch).
posted by Schuby at 9:02 AM on March 5, 2008

Check this book out: The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook. It's not written specifically about twitchy habitual behaviors, but has a lot of ideas for ways to control your physical anxiety levels or mental state. In the book, the point of all that is basically to avoid hitting a panicked crescendo, but I think some of the breathing techniques or mental exercises could help you.

Of course, also be sure you are getting regular sleep, good nutrition and adequate exercise. *Wags a finger at you* This is the most important thing. Exercise is the very best anxiety medication I have found, though I was never a fan of daily medication for my anxiety. I find it amusing, however, that if I get one anxious behavior under control, like my trich-ish cuticle picking behaviors, something else pops up to take its place, like dyshidrotic eczema, for the love of Pete.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 9:58 AM on March 5, 2008

Effexor is, among other things, a dopamine reuptake inhibitor, so you are probably suffering a dopamine deficiency as you taper off the drug, and, indeed, what you call 'stimming' seems to me to strongly resemble the behavior of people with another problem which leads to a deficiency of dopamine: Parkinson's disease.

People with Parkinson's rub their thumbs and forefingers together, play with jewelry as you do with your watch, make chewing motions, and other repetitive motions, all arguably to make more dopamine available in their brains. I'd bet this is what you're doing with your stimming, too.

L-dopa is prescribed for Parkinson's because it's a precursor which can be converted into dopamine when it gets into the brain. I don't think it's advisable for you to try that, and I don't think your doctor is likely to be willing to prescribe it for you anyway. But there is at least one nutritional supplement which is also a dopamine precursor (L-dopa is superior because it gets into the brain faster): the amino acid tyrosine.

Tyrosine in pill from is available from almost any store with a selection of vitamins and minerals. It may take a week or more to kick in (if it works at all), and it can have side effects. If you decide to try it, please ask your doctor about it first and be careful.
posted by jamjam at 11:26 AM on March 5, 2008 [1 favorite]

You need to redirect these behaviors into less bothersome/noticeable/loud behaviors. If drumming your fingers is making a sound that annoys people, get a mousepad or something that you can drum your fingers on quietly, or drum your fingers on your leg. Replace shaking your leg with wiggling your toes or tensing your leg muscles without moving your leg around.

Messing with your hair probably isn't bothering others, but if it bothers you try wearing a long necklace you can play with. Do not get one with a nifty chime on it.
posted by yohko at 11:44 AM on March 5, 2008

I am one of those people you annoy. (Well, not you personally, but people like you.) I know you can't help it; my dear fiancé has ADHD. But he can drive me up a wall with this behavior. If you can't stop it, it would be polite if you'd sit in the back at meetings or in class, out of others' peripheral vision, not touching anything that connects to them (for example, I sat next to a guy in theater-style seats and his leg-bouncing vibrated the whole row). If you're with a friend, tell them to tell you to knock it off, and don't take that personally. Most of the people you annoy will never tell you.
posted by desjardins at 1:30 PM on March 5, 2008

Fantastic stuff guys, I really appreciate it.
posted by Schuby at 11:50 PM on March 5, 2008