Akathisia Support
What Akathisia Is
Akathisia can look different from person to person, but commonly involves an intense physical restlessness — pacing, rocking, an inability to sit still — alongside a deep inner agitation that can feel disproportionate to anything happening around you. Many people describe an overwhelming sense of dread or terror, a feeling of wanting to "jump out of their skin," racing thoughts, and a sense of disconnection from their own body. It can also bring intrusive thoughts of self-harm, even in people with no prior history of this.
These symptoms can fluctuate — sometimes more visible, sometimes harder to detect — and can intensify under stress. Because of this, akathisia is sometimes misread as anxiety or agitation rather than recognised for what it is: a distinct neurological response, most often linked to psychiatric medication or withdrawal.
If this sounds familiar, please know this is a recognised condition, and you're not imagining it. It is also often a profoundly lonely experience, as akathisia remains poorly understood — sometimes even within the medical field itself — which can leave people feeling dismissed or unseen at a time when they most need to be believed.
What I Can Support With
Above all, I offer a space where you can sit with someone who understands this condition, will validate what you're experiencing, and can help you make sense of it — rather than feeling dismissed or having to explain and justify your distress.
From there, my focus is on helping your body find its way back to calm. Rather than asking you to sit still or push through the restlessness, we work together using grounding and somatic techniques that meet your body where it is — slow, gentle movement, breath-based regulation, and practices that help discharge some of that overwhelming energy in a safer way. Over time, this can help create small windows of relief and a steadier sense of safety within your body, even while the akathisia itself is being managed medically.
Akathisia is a neurological response, not something therapy alone can resolve, so this work happens alongside your prescribing doctor or psychiatrist, not in place of them. My role is to support your nervous system and help you move through this experience with more steadiness and feeling less alone.