I definitely do this when I'm anxious, and there's a few other things I notice I do too, when I feel anxiety coming o
I pick at my fingernails - not bite them, but just pick at them kind of thing.
I twirl any jewelry I have on (like my wedding ring) or play with necklaces.
I play with my hair.
I wonder if anyone else has any of those traits too...
Yes, I do these things, mostly when I'm NOT in public so as not to appear childish or unprofessional. But still I catch myself picking cuticles/nails (best way to stop is keep manicured!). But as for leg twitching, I am compelled to do it if I am feeling a lack of good exercise. So it is like Nature's way of relieving the stress that jogging or dancing or yoga would give. As for playing with my hair, this is just a really enjoyable stimulus. I will take one piece, smooth it out, wrap around my finger and "pet" it because it is so soft and silky, like petting the cat; it just feels so nice! Sometimes I have to invite a family member to "Just feel that! Isnt it silky?!" And they will feel it and have to agree it feels pleasant to touch! I will do it when talking to someone at home, or when watching a show or thinking about a problem. Another habit I have (all these are since childhood) is clenching one side of my jaw while releasing the other causing a satisfying little click in my temperomandibilar joint. I can't remember not doing this daily. I didn't even know what it was I was doing until I was in dental school. During the time I had braces and a while after, I couldn't do this anymore and I missed it! Later, when my bite settled in I could (and do). I try not to do that and wish I'd never started as clenching results in shortened facial dimension and wide, square jaws. I'm middle aged now. None of these things have ever been a worry for me except the jaw clenching. The leg twitching got me through (even now) lectures and dry presentations. But the movement is so small and rapid I don't think anyone in a lecture notices as they are doing their own things to try to stay focused! (One of my classmates used to stab himself in the leg with his mechanical pencil just enough to be uncomfortable to keep him from drifting off mentally!) I know that all of habits things help me block out things I don't want to think about and give me something to focus on. I only landed on this site because I wondered how common the leg movement is. It is not RLS, because I don't have pain from being still, it is voluntary, I enjoy it, and I would miss it if I didn'tdo it. I just feel restless/anxious/antsy if I don't do it. I don't think of myself as more anxious than other people and I don't think I have anxiety disorder, though I absolutely dread doing everything! Once I force myself to do the dreaded thing and am in the middle of it (party, work, housework, meetings, presentations, paying bills, shopping, socializing, waking up lol) I am fine and often don't want it to end! But there is a lot of dread before almost everything until the point I have no choice but to do it or suffer bad consequences! Does any of this sound familiar?
