Educational reference
About this symptom
This covers two opposite-looking changes that share a cause: a visible change in the pace of movement and speech.
Slowing may appear as moving or speaking more slowly than usual, long pauses before answering, reduced facial expression, or a general heaviness in physical activity. Restlessness, sometimes called agitation, may appear as pacing, fidgeting, hand-wringing, or an inability to sit still.
What distinguishes these from ordinary variation is that they are observable to others, represent a change from the person's usual manner, and are not under easy voluntary control.
Both occur in depressive conditions, and agitation also occurs in mania, in anxiety, and in some medication effects, including akathisia, a distinct restlessness caused by certain medicines that is important to identify because it is managed differently.
Because these changes are visible, they are sometimes noticed by family before the person themselves.