Do You Rock?

[aka]

I having starting rocking lately when overwhelmed at work. I usually stop once I realize I am doing it. If I am too overwhelmed I do have the option to go to my car and can rock there to calm down if needed. This behavior started when I started taking Abilify and the side effect I have is restlessness. So it may just be a self soothing mechanism to deal with that.

 

[Friday]

It's a sorta guilty pleasure, I'd be mortified if anyone saw me doing it.

My other disorder used to simply be labeled "obnoxious" ;) Truly, though, being physically hyperactive annoys the blazes out of most people. So most of us learn to hide what we need in socially acceptable ways. We usually do this by turning a problem on its ear.

<grin> Meaning if rocking is something you need in your life, there are ways to get it without looking mental.

- Rocking Chairs
- Swings
- Volunteer at the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit), or church nursery, etc. & rock babies.
- Live Aboard (live on a boat)
- Get into sailing
- Get into horseback riding
- Get into trapeze work (circus arts) or parallel bars (gymnastics)
- Hammocks (either or both daytime & sleeping)
- Take the train instead of driving/bussing
- Sit-ups
- Rowing / rowing machines

Are just a handful of ways that meet the rocking urge. Some are totally passive (hammocks, boats, trains), others are directed (sports, sit-ups, etc.), and some are in between that require some movement on your part but not the full motion (rocking chairs you use a foot to propel you instead of abs, for example).