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One in three people could detest fidgets

Fidgeting - Level 4

You could have a mental health condition you don't know about, called misokinesia. This is distress caused by watching people who fidget. People fidget because of nervousness or stress. Misokinesia sufferers can have an "intense hatred" of people who tap their fingers, click a pen, or twiddle their hair. Misokinesia is like a condition called misophonia. This is a great dislike of other people's noises, such as heavy breathing, throat clearing or loud eating.

Researchers in Canada interviewed 21 misokinesia sufferers from a support group. The researchers concluded that the condition can be "life limiting". Sufferers can have extreme feelings of rage and disgust. One sufferer said: "If I see someone tapping their fingers…my immediate thought is to chop their fingers off." A psychologist said, "violent images might pop into the head" of sufferers. She said people can be triggered by tiny things.

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Fidgeting - Level 5

A third of us could have a mental health condition we don't know about. It is called misokinesia – the distress caused by watching people who fidget. Fidgeting is making small movements repetitively, especially with the hands and feet. People fidget because of nervousness or impatience. Misokinesia sufferers can have an "intense hatred" of people tapping their fingers, clicking a pen, or twiddling their hair. Misokinesia is like a condition called misophonia. This is a great dislike of other people's noises, such as heavy breathing, throat clearing or loud eating.

The study is from researchers in Canada. They interviewed 21 people in a misokinesia support group. The researchers concluded that misokinesia can be so distressing as to be "life limiting". Sufferers can have extreme feelings of rage, torture and disgust. One sufferer said: "If I see someone tapping their fingers on a desk, my immediate thought is to chop their fingers off with a knife." A clinical psychologist told the BBC that "violent images might pop into the head" of misokinesia sufferers. She said people can be triggered by the tiniest of things.

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Fidgeting - Level 6

One third of us could have a mental health condition of which we are unaware. It is a phenomenon called misokinesia. This is the distress caused by watching people who fidget. All of us know one or two people who cannot stop fidgeting. Most fidgets are children. Fidgeting involves making small movements repetitively, especially with the hands and feet. Most fidgets fidget because of nervousness or impatience. Misokinesia sufferers can have an "intense hatred" of people tapping their fingers, clicking a pen, twiddling their hair, or jiggling their thighs. Misokinesia is similar to a condition called misophonia. This is a profound dislike of other people's noises, such as heavy breathing, throat clearing or loud eating.

The study is from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. Researchers interviewed 21 people belonging to a misokinesia support group. After talking to the group's members, the researchers concluded that misokinesia can be so distressing as to be "life limiting". Sufferers can experience extreme feelings of rage, torture and disgust. One patient confessed: "If I see someone tapping their fingers on a desk, my immediate thought is to chop their fingers off with a knife." Dr Jane Gregory, a clinical psychologist, told the BBC that "violent images might pop into the head" of misokinesia sufferers. She said people are triggered by the tiniest of things, without knowing why.

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