Can’t stand to see others fidget? You could be suffering from this condition

New study says people who are irritated from the fidgeting of others could be suffering from Misokinesia. (Courtesy: Shutterstock)

Those who are driven up the wall by the sight of people shaking their legs, twirling their hair or biting their nails could be suffering from a little-known psychological condition, according to a new study from the University of British Columbia.

Misokinesia, sometimes described as the ‘hatred of movements,’ is a condition that can cause people to experience overwhelming distress when they see others fidget. Surprisingly common, researchers have determined around one in three people experience it on some level.

Lead author Sumeet Jaswal, a researcher with the Department of Psychology at UBC, said she hopes the study raises awareness for how distressing life can be for extreme sufferers.

“For some people it really is on the severe side,” said Jaswal, who conducted the research alongside supervisor and psychology professor, Dr. Todd Handy.

“In terms of their emotional responses, there were people that talked about the anxiety that they felt when they saw somebody else fidget. Other people talked about how they felt disgusted when they saw somebody fidget, and then for some other people it was more extreme,” she says.

Some participants described feeling as though they were being tortured, while others said they were rarely angered but experienced “very violent thoughts and fantasies” when seeing others twitch, she said. One person noted that they often imagined chopping fidgeting fingers off with a knife.

For some, witnessing fidgeting brought on a visceral response. Of the participants studied, one explained how their body would become hot and they would experience an elevated heart rate when seeing the restless movements of others, while others mentioned shortness of breath and difficulty breathing.

The study, published Dec. 4 in the online journal PLOS One, took place in 2020 and involved in-depth interviews with 21 participants sourced from a Facebook support group.

It found that those who suffered from the condition often experienced difficulties establishing and maintaining long-term relationships, including those with family members.

While misokinesia is linked to the visual condition misophonia, where people are irritated or enraged by sounds of people chewing, pens clicking or knuckles cracking, the two do not always necessarily co-exist, says Jaswal.

“There are people who have both, where they don't like the chewing noises and the fidgeting, but there are also people who have one without the other,” she said.

“There certainly seems to be an overlap, but it’s important to recognize they are each their own, standalone phenomenon.”