I was having a lot of trouble when trying to sit still while waiting for and during a movie. The more I moved the more self conscious I felt.
I have the same problem and I don't have anxiety or ADD. It was restless legs. Mirapex took it right away. What a relief!!
it is my torso and head that I can't keep still at times
Then I have no answers. How about squeezing a stress ball or chewing gum to help release the pent up stress??
When at home I do try to squeeze a stress ball sometimes.
Hi tools,
Have you tried paced breathing to relax? it works anywhere, and what you do is practice by being somewhere you can lie down initially. Place your hand or a magazine on your belly so that you can see it rise when you breathe in. When you breathe out, or exhale, your hand, or the magazine, should go down with your belly. It is best to do this exercise with your mouth closed both for inhaling and exhaling, because when we are stressed or panicked, we tend to hyperventilate, and it is difficult to do that with our mouths closed. Also, If you do not see your belly rise when you breathe in, that means you are using your chest muscles to breathe, and that is shallow breathing, which can lead to hyper-ventilation. What we try to accomplish is a ratio where most of the time we are breathing in with pushing our abdomen or belly up or out. This gets more air in, and when we are breathing deeply, we are more physically relaxed, and therefore less likely to have as much torso movement or body movement from stress. It also helps decrease movement and irritability that is caused by meds, as we are focused more on relaxing ourselves than on what others are thinking of us.
I hope this was not too confusing. This exercise is in a book I have for social phobia that helps to overcome physical stress in the body from anxiety through breathing techniques that relax us. I have found it tremendously helpful to focus my mind on something other than what is stressing me, and once I learned how to belly-breathe again - which is how all babies breathe, so we naturally know how to do it - I was able to use imagery to relax anywhere, such as in a lineup at a store where I was stressed and self-conscious, or anywhere at all. The breathing on its own can be done without imagery where focus is needed for safety, such as driving.
God bless you, tools, and all here in SupportGroups.com!
bapearl