When the whole world decided to go online for about 2 years, no one would have thought that one thing all of us would have become experts at is fidgeting. Fidgeting is small incessant movements made by individuals which may or may not be on purpose. Fidgeting is commonly associated with one being restless and not paying attention/concentrating. And while fidgeting is completely normal, it may sometimes become more than a harmless habit.
Think you have an issue?
You might've misdiagnosed your fidgeting as something big like anxiety or ADHD. Or ignored it thinking it is common. Here are some of the common habits people have picked up through the lock down in a need to 'do something'.
- Fidgeting with one’s phone.
- Shifting between apps, but not really using them.
- Staying on the phone for long periods of time.
- Walking up the refrigerator and opening it but not really taking any of its contents.
- Shaking your legs.
- Excessively touching your lips/ ears.
- Lip biting.
- Drumming your fingers.
Fidgeting may not have been common in your life before the pandemic. This may very well be because it was not a requirement. The pre-pandemic scene was one where most individuals were at schools/colleges or working. This gave them the required stimulation to pay attention, concentrate and some type of momentum. In schools and colleges, students got to interact with friends and play. During working hours, most individuals were kept focused on the work that they needed to do, and the amount of social activity kept them busy enough to not require fidgeting as often as one may have done during the pandemic. During the pandemic, the social and physical distancing that occurred in the form of less communication with others and mostly working and studying from a desk in front of a screen made it so the mind was easily able to wander and was bored enough to not give the 100% attention that it would have gotten otherwise. The led to people fidgeting in a variety of manners like those mentioned above.
In the present post-pandemic scene, where everyone has had to go back to the offline mode of interaction and working. Most individuals may find it difficult to re-integrate into the normal. While fidgeting became a habit that most of us have cultivated over the past two years, re-entering the offline scene requires us to reduce the amount of time we spend fidgeting and start giving more attention and focus to the tasks at hand.
Most of the time fidgeting is not a cause for concern, many studies show how fidgeting actually may help keep the mind and body busy and reduce anxiety. But when fidgeting has begun to affect your daily living rendering you unable to complete your tasks, you may need to find ways to reduce it. During presentations, exams or meetings, fidgeting may not be ideal and may be counterproductive instead. Here's how you can reduce fidgeting when you need to work/study:
- Breathing: Closing your eyes and breathing to calm yourself will allow you to focus on the task at hand and reduce fidgeting. As long as you are able to calm your mind and body, you can manage the urge to fidget and give more attention to what you need to be doing.
- Fidget Toys: Fidget toys are all the rage today. A good fidget toy would be one that doesn’t distract you from your task but instead allows you to focus on it better. Fidget toys come in a variety of types, from fidget spinners, to the current favourite pop-it.
- Reducing caffeine: If you are someone who is used to drinking a lot of coffee/ tea or eating food high in caffeine, it may be aiding your fidgeting. Reducing one’s caffeine intake will reduce the extra amounts of adrenalin in the body, thus reducing their fidgeting.
- Relaxation techniques: A variety of relaxation techniques can help stop fidgeting when you need to be focused on something else. The easiest being mindfulness meditation or mindful breathing. Muscle relaxation techniques can also help relax you physically and mentally, thereby reducing your fidgeting.
- Physical Activity: Physical activity is the best way to reduce fidgeting. Exercising, Walking, and maintaining some type of movement allows the body to stay busy and lowers the chance of our minds to wander.
Fidgeting is common amongst most people; it is how we distract ourselves from anxious situations or pass the time when we may be bored. Just because an individual seems to fidget doesn’t immediately mean that they may have psychological issues like ADHD or Anxiety. Especially now, after the pandemic, fidgeting has increased among most individuals, but this may or may not be due to underlying psychological factors. If indeed, it feels like an individual is fidgeting too much and this has started affecting their daily functioning, it is best to seek therapy. Therapy will help them find out if there is cause for concern, or if it is something common. Staying both mentally and physically healthy is key to being at calm with oneself, which in turn is the best way to manage one’s fidgeting.
If fidgeting is not disrupting any area of your work/school or life in general, then Fidget Away!