Pacing

[David Burkett]

I pace alot with MD. Especially to music and movies. Sometimes I excuse myself to the other room from where people and start pacing. I pace the moment I am alone in an elevator or alone in a single person restoom. How common is this with MD? I feel like these feelings that i pace to are good energy and full of creativity. I've done this my whole life. Is this a habit that needs to stop completely or should I set aside time to pace?

[Kaitlyn Quach]

I let myself pace because it doesn't physically harm me, although my family gets extremely bothered for some reason when I accidentally do it around them. For me, pacing releases the excited energy I get when I have a particularly brilliant new story idea, and I only restrain myself when I'm in public or around my family. 

[Wendy]

hmm good question. I certainly use it to express my anger, because I'm not good at doing that with real people. But I've never really thought about self expression,could be...you gave me something to think about :)  

[David Burkett]

Do you guys feel like this is a way of replacing energy self expression and joy that most people express through human interaction?

[Hannah]

I pace all the time! A typical scenario for me is listening to music through my headphones and walking, or sometimes even jogging, around my room to the beat while I daydream. In fact, music is probably the biggest trigger of my MD. I don't think it's a bad thing, though I do worry that someone will catch me doing it and question it. As for setting time aside, I like to integrate pacing into my schedule. For example, when I walk home from my bus stop, I play some music and daydream so that I can get it out of my system while doing something necessary and productive. Hope this helps!

[David Burkett]

It seems to be spontaneous. Not so much to where I want to cancel plans to pace instead. It's usually the split second I step away from the crowd and i am alone. I do it alot in the mornings before work. Do you think we are replacing feelings and body movements that people usually express with each other in the real world?

[Wendy]

Hi David! I've been a "pacer" since I was eleven and I've read it's a common part of MD. Personally I find it to be very much a problem in my every day life, because once I start it's difficult to stop.  I may alienate myself from social events or cancel plans  just to daydream. Also the "high" it gives me is usually followed by profound sadness,  so I've been trying to stop pacing completely . It's been very hard though, and personally I would advise you to start by decreasing the time you  spend pacing. Try to set aside some time when you have nothing else to do, so it doesn't interfere with "real life", and possibly be sure you have some kind of event right after so you don't end up daydreaming hours on end.

For example: If I knew my friend was coming to visit at 5, I'd start pacing at 4.30, so I'd be sure I'd have to stop by 5.

 This is just my personal experience though, I think the most important thing is that you feel in control and serene. So if you get that feeling without stopping all together, I think that's fine.

Hope I was useful!