Body rocking

[Pauledh]

Hi,

I wonder if anyone could help me figure out something... Up until about 4 years ago I would body-rock. Im now 34, from the age of I realy dont know when... since my memory started at the age of say 2 i would body rock. I'd lie on the floor and rock for between a few minutes up to 6 hours or more. I'd rock on the floor and day dream and it seems that the rocking motion would help me day dream and I'd end up in almost in a trance. It completly messed up my education... instead of studying I'd body rock and dream whenever possible.... I mean I was totaly addicted to it, it may seam strange but it got worse from childhood. Im my teens and twenties i spent most of my spare time doing this, once I got to the age to start listening to music I'd body rock with music playing, with the different type of music depending one what i wanded to dream about or vice versa. It could be for the whole weekend and I've lost so much my life doing this.... You would'nt believe. I don't believe I'm autistic... i dont seem to show any other signs... I have a good career now and live a happy life but I'd like to understand what happened to me for all those years.

I'm not entirely sure this is the right forum, maybe it should be mental health but if anyone could help me understand I would much appreciatre your thoughts! If not i will try the other forums. Thanks for your time

[RWH]

I'm 59 and I body rock. My father explained to me that when I was somewhere between the age of 9 months to 1 1/2 I would get on all fours in my tiny crib and rock back and forth. He said because the crib was fragile and I seem determined to do this he demanded I stop. Obviously non-movement was not an option for me so I started rocking my body, always on my right side; the whole procedure working with 45 degrees of movement. My father felt this was acceptable so it was permitted. From the beginning to the age of 20 or so this is how I went to sleep. But it has never stopped. If I can't sleep or I wake up and have trouble falling back to sleep I body rock.  I HAVE HEARD THEIR IS AN EXPLANATION.  I am the youngest child. My sister was born 13 months before me.  There was a documentary during the Soviet era about orphans. Many of them rocked. It was concluded that these children were not nurtured and/or rocked properly by their mother's or that they had been rocked by their parents at one time and then it ceased.  The assumption was that children need and like to be rocked. But if the rocking is interrupted for whatever reason, the effect is a termination of the rocking desire before fruition. Not being an orphan, but being born so soon after my sister, my parent-rocking time was cut short because my mother had to juggle between the two of us. Maybe my sister was the squeaky wheel.  Rob

[BFAZ1]

Iv rocked ever since I could remember. I will be 38 in 2 weeks. I have a good career, family ( 2 kids) and 2 dogs. I rock everyday I get home from work because it helps me organize by importance and solve the many daily problems that drive from a family, career ect…. I feel like it could be a problem but I have enough of a handle on it so it’s not. Without it I’d probably be a drug attict or worse. So ROCK ON  I say!!!

[Asteele1988]

I noticed that this is an old thread and I don’t know if people are even still commenting on it, But I have done this my whole life and I don’t know what it is or why I do it but it’s really weird because for my family this is genetic. Passed down now through four living generations. Not everybody in my family, but my mom‘s mom does weird repetitive things with her body throughout her life like headbanged and kicked her legs at night before bed.
And her daughter, my aunt also head banged on her pillow repetitively at night and my mom kicks her legs at night and shakes them though out the day, well for some reason my brother and I both rock back-and-forth. Exactly like everybody is describing. To music. Sometimes without music without even realizing it.We have since we were old enough to move and rock. What’s even weirder is there is four of us kids to the same to parents and only two of the four of us rock. I never found this weird until I had my second kid. Right at about six months, he rocks. And at first I kind of thought it was cute but then I really thought about it and realized how much of an issue this has been in my life. It has literally taken over my life. I look at it like an obsession or an addiction. It consumes my day. I feel guilty because I should be doing things with my kids but I would prefer to rock. And it’s even crazier that there’s a group of people out here that have the same issue. It’s weird because I know it’s weird but I’ve also never realized it was weird. Like I’ll sit here and wonder what kind of damage I’m doing to my joints by rocking back-and-forth and wonder what the doctors would say about that.. what kind of long term damage from non stop rocking
But then I realize the doctors probably have never done any kind of study on this because this is so weird.

[Simply_Made]

I am in my 60's and have been a rocker all my life.  My two sibling sisters were rockers also. When we'd ride in a car we would all be rocking back & forth and the minute another car passed we'd stop instantly. We had no clue that the cars behind us could still see our strange activity. A relative following us mentioned that it looked as if we all three were jumping up and down from behind. My sister and I also hit our heads on a pillow until we fell asleep at times during our younger years. I asked a  phycologist-friend once if it was normal and she said I should be thankful we had a soothing method in dealing with stress. I often wonder if it started because our mother was an alcoholic. She lacked giving us the needed stimulation. I recall many times being left in a crib long after nap time was over as a toddler. Sadly I rocked way too many hours during my school days preventing me from excelling to my full potential, not to mention causing lack of sleep.  I believe I graduated from high school with about a 7th grade reading level. I could rock for hours at a time.  One can not read or study effectively while rocking, listening to music, & daydreaming. While raising my children I limited rocking to nighttime hours. It increased when my children went off to college until my husband got me a  Chihuahua puppy 13 yrs ago. He is such a lap dog and only allows me to rock while watching tv on the couch :) Years ago  I tried looking up to see if there was a private facebook group for those that rocked but couldn't find any. So nice to know that there are other rockers out there. Makes me feel more normal. ;)

[Mama_12345]

I found myself body rocking but only because I've had three kids b2b for the last six years and breastfed them all till 2yo. I find myself body rocking all the time and then I finally realize I dont even have them in my lap.. LOL..

[Rettia01]

Hi im 21 year old female and i still do it i got diagnose with panic disorder last year and i take citalopram 20 mg for that but i still do i had ct scan and brain scans and it came out healthy i try my best to stop sometimes