Can't stop moving

I've definitely encountered this. For me, it was a symptom of anxiety which was the result of years of untreated depression. The stress I was enduring over feeling like death every day came to peak and I began to experience extreme anxiety. The foot tapping, head jerking, facial twitching kind where one perspires and cannot think. I thought I was going insane.

After I took a valium lent from a generous friend, the sensation completely disappeared which lead me to conclude the cause was anxiety. Following some shallow research on the internet, I found all the symptoms I had been experiencing listed under the term 'chronic anxiety'.

In August 2008 I began taking Cymbalta - before which I'd ran into many a dead end with various anti-depressants - but this time it worked. It took about two months to work and I haven't looked back since. I'm still getting used to feeling normal though...to be able to experience a vast spectrum of emotions as opposed to feeling trapped underwater in a miserable mess of unending misery and barely being able to string a sentence of sense together is like being reborn into the world, and it feels quite alien at first.

My advice to you is to go back to your GP and get a referral to a psychiatrist. I think thats about all I can say or else I'll be 'warned' by a moderator but if you want to talk in private feel free to send me a private message (you'll need to be registered) and I can link you to a site where I took an almost daily journal of the road to recovery.

I wish you the best.

The first thing I'll say is that you are a perfectly normal person, and you are not alone in the condition you suffer.

"They're not involuntary movements but it's like my brain will not relax until I've done it".

That is an absolutely perfect description of a compulsion, which is a ritual act that stops a series of distressing or obsessive thoughts, a little race car in your brain that will not stop. It could be any simple act like knee-tapping or counting actions. Anything. You may have distressing thoughts that you are not divulging here that are repetitive and painful as well, although the balance between obsessions (distressing thoughts) and compulsions (physical ritual acts) always differs widely between sufferers.

Counseling can have a positive effect, working like counseling a diabetic or cholesterol sufferer to eat differently which alleviates symptoms to a point, but as a diabetic still needs help with insulin and cholesterol sufferer a medication, a person with this condition will still need a serotonin reuptake inhibitor to be prescribed. It will be up to your doctor to determine the correct brand, compound and strength for your specific symptoms.

The first thing you need to do is stop hating yourself for having the condition, and see your doctor. It is as illogical as being upset over any other physical issue that you can't control; you need to acknowledge it and seek proper medical treatment.

The condition is caused simply by the brain's inability to let a relaxing and regulating neurotransmitter called serotonin, stay in your neurons for long enough. The brain will hyperactively suck up and recycle serotonin faster than your body can make it, which leaves your neural pathways painfully raw and unable to suppress survival, grooming, cleaning, and other ritual behaviors that are part of human survival and self-regulating instinct. This often includes the inability to stop replaying worst-case scenarios in one's head to the point where it can cause emotional distress, because serotonin also controls and suppresses fear. The physical rituals are created to stop the distress and to comfort the sufferer, and your added distress is the fact that you are self-conscious of this behavior. This condition totally interferes with the ability to relax and feel comfortable anywhere.

The fact that it frustrates you and makes you upset is perfectly normal. It would frustrate and upset anyone who wants to be normal, and wanting to be normal means that you don't have any problems with reality, so you aren't actually insane at all. I'd say the depression is a symptom and not the cause.

_But_ until you find a doctor, you will still have this issue.

Listen to meditation CD's, do mindfulness exercises or go to yoga or tai chi classes.

Unregistered wrote: »

Hi Loxocceles, you seem to know a lot about this issue, do you know if it is something that can go away or will it follow me for all my life? its quite distressing, i'm only 20 and it stops me from socializing, which inevitably makes me feel worse.

"It is as illogical as being upset over any other physical issue that you can't control; you need to acknowledge it and seek proper medical treatment." is medical treatment completely necessary? I'm trying to beat the depression with regular exercise and good foods so do you think this with time the movements could stop, without medication? I just have a bad feelings about taking medication for mental health, I don't know why, but my gut feeling says no, although it is an avenue I would be willing to take as a last resort as I cant live like this.

I seriously suspect that the depression is only caused by the intrusive and miserable nature of this condition. Take away those symptoms, and the depression will be gone, and you'll feel fine right away.

The fact is, in the same way that biological schizophrenia can't be cured with crystals and herbs (lucky enough that's not the condition you have), OCD is a serotonin reuptake issue that cannot be helped without an SSRI, no matter how much you meditate. There are just some conditions which cross over the line of prevention into a need for Western medicine in all its mechanistic glory, because your condition is caused by a specific neural mechanism that needs to be fixed.

OCD is something which causes great internal distress, and the only thing between anyone with OCD and going to a dr to get a correct SSRI, is _PRIDE_. For someone with OCD, the relinquishing of control is a serious blow to your pride. Even though meditation, relaxation, exercise and good habits will alleviate some of the symptoms, the fact is that you will still have the painful symptoms and chances are that as you grow older they will get worse. Or else you will create a personal regime of coping with them that cannot allow you to become intimate with other people, which will be even more painful. If you want a social life, go to a doctor.

Let me reiterate that you are 100% normal. But you absolutely have to set aside your pride if you want to feel better and have a happy social life. The only result in not doing it will be continued pain and suffering due to your symptoms.

The only thing is, if you go on an SSRI, you will not be able to consume alcohol. The relief felt after a couple of weeks, however, will make this a worthwhile pursuit. I'm serious, you will feel __SO__ much better.

I'm sorry that it's hard for you to acknowledge that you would need medication for this, but the 'bad feelings' about taking medication are all based on ego, not on common sense. You can't feelt he medication, it's not a knockout drug. Not at all! You just take it, and after a couple of weeks as your brain's serotonin builds back up to -normal- levels, you will feel like a normal person- except that you will have to stay on medication to alleviate the symptoms for a prescribed amount of time. It's hard to acknowledge, but this condition strikes when people are young.

Yes, the condition will be with you all your life, but the way to stop it now in its tracks from getting worse and snowballing, is to go on a regimen of medicine. As your brain gets used to its new state, you might just be off it in a couple of years as your neural pathways will be reset and your brain will be used to a different state of mind, helping it stay in shape. Combined with _that_ and the healthy habits which other people suggest, you may not have to go on medication again. But the condition is such that you will need it for a while starting immediately, and you can wean off under medical supervision within a few years.

I know how you feel. This condition causes life to come to a standstill. Don't be afraid to break out of it.

lox.

Unregistered wrote: »

That is debatable. Are you sure the OP has OCD?
Also there is a possibility of an ssri causing such restlessness. It is called akathisia. OP get proper medical advice

I described other symptoms in my original response regarding repetitive distressing thoughts and scenarios, and the OP acknowledged those symptoms by saying I knew about the condition. I have it, I know what they're going through, I said see a doctor, and I will reiterate it here for both the OP and the person telling me off.

The possibility of those side effects are small, the SSRI worked fine for me. OP needs to see a doctor. Case closed.