Ferdinand, who was brought to the club by Moyes' predecessor Alex Ferguson, has featured regularly this season under the new United manager.
However, the centre-back has claimed Moyes' decision to name his team so close to the start of games has been unsettling for him.
"This manager's a bit different (to Ferguson) in that he doesn't name the team beforehand. You don't really get to know the team," Ferdinand told BT Sport.
"The old manager used to give you a little bit of an idea if you'd be playing and stuff.
"When you know you're playing, the intensity goes up a little bit more on match day. That's what you need to try to make sure you're doing, even if you don't know you'll be playing – to try to get to that intensity you'd be at when you know you're playing.
"It's hard to do that mentally because you spend a lot of nervous energy thinking: 'Am I playing' or 'Am I not playing?' and you're just going round in circles in your head and turning into a madman."
Moyes' United have made a mixed start to their Premier League defence, winning six of 14 games to leave them ninth in the table, 12 points behind leaders Arsenal.
