[Ads-l] Relevant to the etymology of...

[Cleve Evans]

I used to show a film on drug abuse and addition in my Abnormal Psychology classes where it was claimed that this withdrawal symptom was indeed the origin of the phrase "kicking the habit."  I don't know what the linguistic evidence for that is, though. 

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Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
Poster:       Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Relevant to the etymology of...
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_kick the habit_?

Or merely old news? Youneverknow.

"_Akathisia_ is a movement disorder characterized by a feeling of inner restlessness and an inability to stay still. Usually, the legs are most prominently affected."
. . .

"Akathisia is frequently associated with the use of dopamine-receptor-antagonist antipsychotic drugs. Understanding is still limited on the pathophysiology of akathisia, but it is seen to be associated with medications which block dopaminergic transmission in the brain.  . . .  Another major cause of the syndrome is the withdrawal[-symptoms] observed in drug-dependent individuals. Since dopamine deficiency (or disruptions in dopamine-signaling) appears to play an important role in the development of [restless-leg syndrome], a form of akathisia focused in the legs, the sudden withdrawal or rapidly-decreased dosage of drugs which increase dopamine-signaling may create similar deficits of the chemical which mimic dopamine-antagonism and thus can precipitate [restless-legs syndrome]. This is why sudden cessation of opioids, cocaine, serotonergics, and other euphoria-inducing substances commonly produces [restless-legs syndrome] as a side-effect."

https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__en.wikipedia.org_wiki_Akathisia&d=DwIBAg&c=c4UyLCOGUQ8vT_DcjcDGb6Xfqpug4lFuPlxKCm5a1LE&r=P25ur9KaxQ7usve3GsouxzPrUmfmay2eFoStrrHeMZU&m=np7Sf5PdB9iAPVX4_YGonaD_fZ_gU36ROexwuom98YE&s=uLrjxdHETLKHENh0s__B9ONxxygDH9T7nmE5Vch2B1o&e= 

"_Restless legs syndrome_ (RLS) is a disorder that causes a strong urge to move one's legs. . . ."
. . .

"Signs and symptoms"
. . .

"Motor restlessness, expressed as activity, which relieves the urge to move."

"Movement usually brings immediate relief, although temporary and partial.
 . . .  Continuous, fast, up-and-down movements of the leg, and/or rapidly moving the legs toward, then away, from each other may keep sensations at bay. . ."

https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__en.wikipedia.org_wiki_Restless-5Flegs-5Fsyndrome&d=DwIBAg&c=c4UyLCOGUQ8vT_DcjcDGb6Xfqpug4lFuPlxKCm5a1LE&r=P25ur9KaxQ7usve3GsouxzPrUmfmay2eFoStrrHeMZU&m=np7Sf5PdB9iAPVX4_YGonaD_fZ_gU36ROexwuom98YE&s=zo64OJHX0YCPVJw-s_zXyzoz_HicH-Y8kJSBedNGqoI&e= 

--
-Wilson
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All say, "How hard it is that we have to die!"---a strange complaint to come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
-Mark Twain

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