Why Do People Rock Back And Forth

Repeatedly rocking back and forth can be a sign that a person is in distress. But since there is such a wide range of reasons why someone may exhibit this behavior, there are many possible answers to the question of why do people rock back and forth.

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Why Do People Rock Back and Forth?

Why do people rock back and forth? For some, it can be a conscious or unconscious way of calming themselves, while for others it may be a response to overstimulation. In other cases, the behavior may be associated with a medical or mental health condition.

Self-Soothing

As described by the Cleveland Clinic, rocking back and forth is an innate form of self-soothing that is common among infants and young children. But the psychological benefit of this type of movement doesn’t end with the arrival of adolescence.

Examples for adults include:

• Spending a serene evening on a front-porch swing.
• Slowly swaying in a hammock on a relaxing summer afternoon. 
• Being lulled to sleep by the rhythmic motion of a train.

Whether a person does so intentionally or not, there’s something about gently rocking back and forth that can elicit a sense of serenity. 

Sensory Overload

For some people, rocking back and forth is a form of “stimming.” This term, which is short for “self-stimulation,” encompasses a range of repetitive motions or vocalizations that are triggered by sensory overload or other overwhelming experiences.

Other examples of stimming include:

• Flapping hands
• Grinding teeth or biting fingers
• Pacing back and forth
• Bouncing or swaying
• Repeating certain words, phrases, or sounds

According to a February 2019 article in the journal Autism, one theory about why people stim is that these behaviors “may provide familiar and reliable self-generated feedback in response to difficulties with unpredictable, overwhelming and novel circumstances.”

Stimming is often associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), but virtually everyone has engaged in this behavior. If you’ve ever found yourself clicking a pen, twirling your hair, tapping your fingers, or bouncing your leg while bored or stressed, you’ve performed a type of stimming. 

Medical Conditions

Sometimes, involuntary rocking is a symptom of a neurological disorder or other physical health concern.

Medical conditions that can cause rocking back and forth include:

• Parkinson’s disease
• Tourette’s syndrome
• Huntington’s disease
• Tardive dyskinesia
• Chronic pain
• Lesions in the frontal lobe of the brain
• Viral encephalitis

Also, the Mayo Clinic has noted rocking back and forth and other movement disorders may be due to side effects of certain prescription medications.

Mental Health Disorders Linked With Rocking Back and Forth

Rocking back and forth is often identified as evidence of autism spectrum disorder or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, but the behavior can also be a sign of several other mental health conditions.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

Rocking back and forth and other types of stimming are quite common among people who have autism spectrum disorder. 

According to the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), symptoms of ASD can include:

• Impaired ability to initiate or respond to social interactions
• Deficits in nonverbal communication
• Difficulty developing, maintaining, and understanding relationships
• Stereotyped or repetitive movements or speech patterns
• Insistence on sameness
• Highly restricted and fixated interests
• Hyper- or hyposensitivity to sensory input

Rocking back and forth is an example of the stereotyped or repetitive movements symptom in the list above. It is also related to the hypersensitivity to sensory input symptom, as many people with ASD who exhibit this behavior do so as a form of stimming in response to sensory overload.

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

Other than autism spectrum disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the mental health condition that is perhaps most closely linked with stimming. 

Like autism spectrum disorder, ADHD is also categorized as a neurodevelopmental disorder in the DSM-5. This means that symptoms of both disorders typically begin to appear early in a child’s development, often before they reach school age. 

ADHD can cause two types of symptoms:

• Inattentiveness: This symptom category includes failing to complete work or school assignments, making careless mistakes, appearing not to listen when spoken to, and having difficulty staying organized. 
• Hyperactivity: Examples of symptoms from this category include talking excessively, interrupting others, fidgeting, and seeming to always be “on the go” and unable to remain in one place for long.

In an article in the February 2016 edition of Attention magazine, researchers with the UC Davis MIND Institute theorized that people with ADHD use repetitive physical movements as “a way to increase dopamine and/or noradrenergic activity in the brain,” with elevated levels of these neurotransmitters leading to improved alertness and focus.

Schizophrenia 

Schizophrenia is a complex mental health condition that is characterized by impairments in a person’s ability to accurately perceive their environment and interact with other people.

 The mental disorder can cause five types of symptoms:

• Hallucinations
• Delusions
• Disorganized thoughts
• Grossly disorganized or catatonic behavior
• Negative symptoms

According to the American Psychiatric Association (APA) disorganized behavior due to schizophrenia can include “repeated movements without purpose.” But schizophrenia isn’t the only psychotic condition that can cause this symptom.

Other psychotic disorders that have been associated with rocking back and forth:

• Schizoaffective disorder
• Schizophreniform disorder
• Brief psychotic disorder

Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorder is characterized by dramatic shifts in mood, attitude, energy, and confidence. 

Though it is commonly thought of as a single condition, there are actually three types of bipolar disorder: 

• Bipolar I disorder
• Bipolar II disorder
• Cyclothymic disorder

Depending on which type of bipolar disorder a person has, they may have periods of mania, hypomania, and/or depression:

• Manic and hypomanic periods involve symptoms such as increased energy, elevated mood, grandiosity, and impulsivity. 
• Depressive periods typically include pervasive sadness, diminished self-esteem, low motivation, and persistent fatigue.

For individuals with bipolar disorder, rocking back and forth may occur during particularly intense manic or major depressive episodes as a means of either releasing excess energy or self-soothing.

Anxiety

Anxiety is another mental health term that is often thought of as a single condition, but actually encompasses several distinct disorders.

Types of anxiety disorders in the DSM-5:

• Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)
• Social anxiety disorder (social phobia)
• Separation anxiety disorder
• Agoraphobia
• Panic disorder
• Specific phobia
• Selective mutism

Though anxiety is commonly understood to cause emotional discomfort, the conditions listed above can also cause physical symptoms that may include rocking back and forth. This behavior is most likely to occur when a person is experiencing immense distress, such as during a panic attack or when exposed to circumstances related to a phobia.

Learn More About Mental Health Treatment in Tennessee

Time Wellness Tennessee offers a full continuum of customized treatment for adults whose lives have been disrupted by anxiety, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and other mental health conditions. We also care for clients who have co-occurring addictions to alcohol and other drugs.

Treatment options at our centers in Taft and Chattanooga, TN, include residential care, partial hospitalization program (PHP), intensive outpatient program (IOP), outpatient program (OP), and virtual (online) rehab. 

Call 423-413-6195 today to learn more or verify your insurance now.