Odd question - does everyone do this?

[Girraffeopottamus]

I have always had moments where I feel the need to be completely still and not move a muscle. Sometimes in my whole body, sometimes just my hands or feet. I dont want to turn my head. I dont want to wriggle my fingers. I dont want to speak, I dont want anything to touch me or move against me, not even the breeze (especially not the breeze). My body just needs to be still - I think because when it is still I can't feel anything, my clothes dont brush against me etc. It's peaceful. Usually only lasts a few minutes, doesn't happen every day, has never really been noticed by other people and isn't something I have given much thought to before.

The reason I ask is that 8yo DD has started saying the same thing. If she is stitting still and I ask her to do something that requires moving, she will say 'in a few minutes, my hand isn't ready to move yet'. She just wants to hold her hand in a completely frozen position, sometimes a fist, sometimes flat with fingers out. Sometimes it's her whole body.
It's not the same as wanting to sit and watch telly for a bit longer or have a rest, it's a specific feeling of total stillness. She isn't doing it to avoid doing what she is asked as she will get on with it after a few moments.
It's just made me wonder is this something everyone does but generally doesn't speak about (I can't think of a reason why anyone would need to mention it, dont think I ever have until now)
Or is it just us?

I've never experienced this - interested in other responses though!

Not a thing with me, and haven’t ever had it mentioned to me by anyone else in the family.

Sounds like sensory differences. Are either of you neurodivergent at all?

I'm not quite like this but I absolutely adore sitting very still and quiet.

I'm very fidgety, I could never do this!

i haven't but wonder has your daughter picked something up from you if it's something you've said out loud?

Yep! plus the opposite - when i NEED to bounce my leg/wiggle my foot/twirl my hair in my fingers.

I have autism and adhd, it comes with the territory 😁

I’m not sure if it’s the same but sometimes I feel almost comatose and don’t move for what seems like ages.

I think I know what you mean but it's only ever been my hands and they get very comfortable and I just can't bring myself to move them. It's not just ',comfortable' byt a very particular comfortable. I also get what I know know is called Alice in Wonderland syndrome, where your body feels overly large or small and that is my hands, don't know if the sensations are related.

It's not something I have ever mentioned out loud, and no one else has ever noticed me do this so I don't think she has picked it up from me but could be a possibility.

I sometimes get this when I’m in bed. Or sometimes just with my hands if they are just really rested - they feel sort of not there they are so still. I’ve never articulated it before though.

Yes your first description is exactly what it feels like.
I've never heard of Alice in Wonderland syndrome before and don't experience that myself - it sounds fascinating! Is it a scary sensation feeling like your hands are the wrong size?

No, I don't get this and have never heard of it!
Are you neurodivergent or have other sensory issues? I wonder if its a form of absent seizure, but you are aware of it?
If you try to move or get brushed when you are in this 'static/frozen mode,' what happens? Is if painful, uncomfortable or you physically can't move?

I did wonder about this. It's almost like the opposite of stimming - sensory deprivation? Neither of us are confirmed neurodivergent but we do stim / fidget a lot. I wouldn't be surprised if one or both of us is autistic but as yet we have not been assessed.

I get this. It feels like I’m in a trance when it happens, really calm. It only lasts for a minute or two.

I've never heard of it before but my internal voice never shuts up so I think moving my body helps distract me 😂

My DD has that Alice Syndrome and said it's very frightening as a child.

I have times where I completely phaze out - Im still with it, but my eyes unfocus and I decide to not refocus them because it's like a brain break! Not quite the same but a similar sort of thing.
Id just make sure to tell dd that she should keep it to when she's at home

Never, nope.

I have never had this but did used to get Alice in Wonderland syndrome as a child. I strongly suspect I’ve got adhd and only recently found out the two can be connected.

It's uncomfortable and irritating if someone talks to me or brushes up against me while in this state, but I am fully aware and physically able to move, and will move if needed, so I don't think it's a seizure. It doesn't last long at all and I can control it. It just feels really nice and necessary sometimes!

I do get times when I feel a need to be quiet and still, but not in the way that you described.
Since you are in control of it, I’d guess that it isn’t anything to worry about, unlike catatonia which is more extreme, disruptive and not under the control of the sufferer.

This explains it really well. https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20230313-the-mystery-of-alice-in-wonderland-syndrome. I get it nowhere near as intense as some of the people in the article! My earliest memory of it is playing with some blocks on the carpet in Reception, I can't remember if it was my hands or the blocks which were too big but I remember that what I was seeing and knew did not match up with what I was feeling with my hands. It's not at all unpleasant and I wish it happened more often! And reading the article, of course its something that's connected to migraines!

A PP has said about a trance feeling and I think that is accurate. My hands go into a trance!

Do you ever get where everything looks super far away? Your body seems huge and the whole room looks tiny? I get this every once in a blue moon when I'm absolutely knackered and I hate it! Even my hands look weirdly small and detailed. 🤣

I have very bad eyesight though so I often wonder if it's to do with that.

Microsleep?

Yeah I was wondering the same thing, a kind of sensory deprivation. Do you think it might be helpful in other areas of life to do a screening/ diagnosis for autism? I bet they'd say it's linked.

No, not a thing I have experienced. Sometimes sound changes, like I hear a tone in my ears for a short while until it stops. Brains are fascinating how they process this.