Busy hands

I have ADHD. I'm not exactly sure if this is a common problem for people with ADHD or if it is an anxiety thing or if it's just me.

I have to keep my hands busy. If I'm not doing something with them, I can't focus and I start touching random things, rearranging stuff, or touching my face. I struggle to watch TV or sitting in class without taking notes or doodling because I feel funny not doing anything with my hands.

Does anyone else have this problem? Does anyone have a solution? My T recommended getting a stress ball but I'm worried about getting it and then losing it.

I'm also on 45mg Adderall XR in case that's helpful. I find that it absolutely helps me stay focused and is generally great, but it obviously can't fix everything.

If you lose a stress ball, couldn't you get another? I would think that the busy hands might be related to anxiety--and perhaps the hyperactivity part of your diagnosis.

I totally relate. I have to move in order to think. If I don't move, I don't absorb information and I have trouble thinking straight. And it's not just any movement- it's repetitive mindless movement such as shaking my leg, rolling a pencil on the desk, playing with a strand of my hair, etc.

Have you tried "fidgets"? The above poster mentioned a stress ball. I find those to not be as effective as something that I can just shake or wiggle. A stress ball requires physical effort to continuously squeeze. My therapist has some of these like, twisty plastic loops. You can pull it apart and put it back together and do all sorts of weird things with it and it doesn't make any noise. Also, my school has ball chairs in some of the classrooms (like those big yoga balls). I love to roll around on those and bounce on them during class.

Tangle toys are good for keeping your hands busy (might be what your T has miswimmy?) ... Try googling them to see where you can buy some from. I've tried a bunch of different things like that, even a piece of string tied together for things like making cats craddle keeps them busy if you want a cheaper option

Yes Tigergirl, a tangle toy

In really slow/easy lectures that require attendance for participation points, I'll bring notecards to go through, update my planner, or something of that sort, to do while I'm there. It helps me stay productive and focused on something when the other thing isn't engaging enough to keep me focused the whole time. A lot of these classes just require we answer questions with the i<clicker, every 5-10 minutes, so most people bring something else to do. It's not just an ADHD thing.

In other lectures where there isn't a participation grade or notes to take (like they are already online), but the material requires more effort, I will put the notes on my iPad, bring notecards or the textbook along in case it gets really slow and I feel like I'm not getting anything out of the lecture. Going through the material on your own will help you stay focused on the course content. From my experience, people with ADHD are very good autodidacts.

Wait what's an "iclicker"? You have to answer questions during the class? Just going around the room? I thought normal college had like huge class sizes so wouldn't that take forever? Or is there like a lecture test like filling out a sheet while watching a movie in high school? And every 5-10 minutes??

I'm just interested because I'm in college but we don't do anything like that. My school is ultra small though and I couldn't get away with having an iPad or a phone in class. The professor would tell me to put it away. If I were tuning them out and just doing my own thing in class I'd get called on to answer a question or something. I have one "big" class with almost 20 students in it and I can get away with a little more.

i>Clicker is how some of our instructors measure attendance and participation in larger classes. I>clicker is a remote with buttons A through E. You get like 25 seconds to read and answer the question, and then the points count toward your participation grade.

Our classes can be anywhere from 5 to over 700 people. Most of them are around 100-250 people.

You might also like online classes. Have you tried any?

my high school world history class had an i clicker. that history teacher was extremely dedicated to teaching and did a lot of pushing to get it! she made a point to include different senses for things like bringing in an object related to the days topic and letting us touch it, so she wanted the clickers for another tactile thing and also to cut down on paper for frequent short and ungraded quizzes. she also had us get up and walk around a lot, all sorts of little things that help memorization. we were required to take notes but she didn't mind if you had trouble writing or drew a lot of nonsense on the paper, she uploaded the lecture's powerpoints online so that you could copy anything you missed - i think the main point was to keep your hands busy while listening anyways. looking back, it was basically the perfect class for anyone, ADHD or not. (now, if only every class were like that..)

Along the lines of keeping hands busy & the original topic post, I think that kind of behavior is something that most people do to some extent, and it increases when you want to express or regulate emotions or thoughts. Thats pretty generic sounding, but I mean like, clicking a pen to relieve boredom, biting your nails when youre anxious, basically any repetitive movement. In my experience its more prevalent in neurodevelopmental disorders, like adhd, schizophrenia, autism, and etc. in autism spectrum disorders specifically its a symptom. one theory is that part of this is a way to block or counteract stimuli, so people who are more sensitive to stimuli do it in greater frequency and length, and possibly also more likely to choose certain types of stims (repeating noises and words, hand flapping, rocking).

The difference of when its called stimming and when its called fidgeting is pretty arbitrary, I'm not sure it matters all that much. I dont really understand the classification of stereotypy either. I think its basically decided based on "these particular behaviors are uncommon in neurotypical people and therefore socially unacceptable" which is sad. Then theres tics and movement disorders which are i think more unvoluntary or involuntary?

Anyways, it sounds like your 'problem' is you get bored and your 'solution' is to do something with your hands I think doing this to concentrate is more common in ADHD because having difficulty concentrating is more common in ADHD (naturally!) Similarly it can reduce anxiety so it happens more when people are anxious, and thus more in people with anxiety disorders etc etc

Theres a lot of products made specifically for this besides the tangle toys, I bought a fidget ring thats a nice wide band and the inner band can be spun. you can also look around for just any old object, i love to fiddle with these rubber character straps my friend gave me as a gift so i ended up buying a bunch more. i discovered i actually like playing with car keys more because of the sound, but the sound annoys other people, so ill stick with the quiet straps, haha. To get other ideas you can look up sites about stimming (ideally from people who stim a lot, not the researchy people). I think theres a blog called "f yeah stimming" or something like that which lists a whole ton of them

That's so weird. 100-250 people?? Holy...

We don't have any online classes.

I know the feeling you're describing exactly! I can never seem to keep my hands still. I used to put my palm on my face, but that was giving me acne. Then I switched to playing with my lips, which chapped my lips something fierce. I think my go-to item to keep my hands busy is either my phone or a pen. Anything where I can keep my thoughts organized and written down somewhere. I make to-do lists for every single day, even if I have nothing in particular to do. I find that's a common practice for a lot of people with ADHD. A stress ball might not be a bad idea. Anything that keeps your mind and body busy is a good thing.

I have a busy-hand problem, too. When I was a kid, I'd chew my fingernails constantly. When I talk with people, I gesture with my hands and notice people watching my hands which makes me feel self-conscious and I wonder if I'm "talking" too loudly with my hands. For years have also had a tendency to pick at my fingers, hang-nails, etc. but also just hunting for skin to pick at, which is gross and sometimes results in pain. I'll do it with my hands under the table when eating with others, and while watching tv. If I make myself stop, I'll fall asleep. Drives my hubby crazy and it's embarrassing always having bandaids on my fingers.

Thinking this is my own weird symptom of ADD...

I have had busy hands for as long as I can remember. It has been pointed out numerous times that I can't sit still but it has never really bothered me. I learnt to spin a pen pretty well, which I can't resist doing constantly when I have one in my hand. People notice it and are pretty impressed and on top of that I think it helps me think!

Gee, I wish I was skilled at spinning pens! All I do when I'm holding a pen while talking with people is keep dropping it!