RLS is a very weird syndrome...to say the least. It's extremely hard to describe, and many of us are thought to be crazy for even talking about it. After years of trying to explain it, we tend to resort to trying to ignore it, and hope it will go away.
We ignore it so much, that we tend to even look the other way, or want to escape it, when it begins to attack. This just adds to the confusion, because we feel totally victimized and fearful.
To reduce the "beast of RLS", we must learn to face it, analyze it, recognize it, and predict it.
I highly recommend you fill your "Reduce Chaos" folder
with observations you make about your own experiences with RLS attacks.
In my own case, for instance, I noticed I actually experienced four different types of RLS. There's a type that is just the squirmy feeling in my legs. A second type involves my arms. A third type starts with the squirmy feeling but then it actually knots up the muscles in my legs. And a fourth type is a complete body panic, that comes on like a speeding train, and makes me want to just ESCAPE!
I'm beginning to think some of my early childhood "nervous quirks" were also RLS. I still have some of these quirks, where I have to move my eyes around in a rather ugly way, or move my lips into weird contortions. It's pretty embarrassing when you're talking with someone. I've had to leave the room, or distract myself, just to not freak out the person with whom I'm speaking. This too, might be a part of RLS. It certainly has many of the characteristics.
Another observation I made, recently, is that I tend to have two really bad RLS nights, each month. They come almost exactly on the 10th day, after the start of my menstrual cycle. Knowing this, I no longer panic when they occur. I just use those nights to pay bills, clean house, or I use my very best plans of attacks and bags of tricks. On the third night, I can usually get back into a good sleep routine.
Learning to recognize and predict your RLS, will help you apply appropriate responses. It will also help reduce its "beastial" status because you will begin to understand it, and not fear it.
