Episode 15 - Why you can't stop fidgeting, and why that's perfectly normal
When you can’t stop doodling during meetings, keep fidgeting with you pen or a piece of jewellery when someone is talking, or scratch at that same scab on your skin whenever you have a lot going on, you may find yourself wondering why you can’t bloody well just stop doing that.
Many people feel ashamed of their fidgeting habit. Not because chewing on a pencil or a strand of your hair is particularly obscene, but because it’s almost impossible to control that urge. You don’t even notice you’re at it again until you find yourself holding a few loose hairs. Again…
You may blame yourself for your lack of self-control. You try to force yourself to quit like it’s a smoking habit. But every time you do, you find it never lasts for long.
That is because the fidgeting serves an important purpose to how your brains function. Trying to quit is like forcefully starving yourself: it is harmful to you, and ultimately your body and brain won’t comply.
So what purpose does fidgeting serve?
Why is it actually healthy for you?
And what can you do if your habit is truly getting in the way?
All that and more in this week’s PsychoTrivia!
Video is subtitled in English & Dutch
