# Stimming?



## Banzai (Jun 4, 2009)

Anyone stim either as a response to/way of dealing with anxiety or just generally?

Stimming definition: "a repetitive body movement that self-stimulates one or more senses in a regulated manner." Examples include finger tapping, rocking, whistling.


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## Kon (Oct 21, 2010)

Yes. I think it works but it's a bad habit to do in public.


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## Banzai (Jun 4, 2009)

Kon said:


> Yes. I think it works but it's a bad habit to do in public.


Tell me about it :um


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## tehuti88 (Jun 19, 2005)

I knead a fuzzy blanket. Something about the tickly feeling of the individual threads of the yarn between my fingers soothes me. It has to have a particular texture, not just any yarn will do. I'll often find myself touching the different yarns in stores to see if any are good.

I don't know if this counts as "stimming," though I can't think of any other term for it, it involves a repetitive motion meant to calm me down. I don't do it all the time or even primarily when anxious, I just like the feeling, and it's calming when I do it. I feel rather juvenile to have a "security blanket" at 35 but it's not technically the blanket, it's the yarn. :blush I've done this as long as I can remember; when I was little I would call such blankets my "sewing blanket" due to the motions of my hands, like pulling a needle and thread. I also sucked my finger (not my thumb) back then, but I've LONG since dropped that habit. :blush Yet the blanket kneading remains.


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## Chrysalii (Jun 24, 2006)

I'm rotating from side to side in my chair as I type this. I would rock back and forth, but the chair is noisy when I do that, and I'm kind of used to sliding now.


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## arnie (Jan 24, 2012)

Is this a constant thing? Whenever I feel a surge of excitement or happiness sometimes I do some weird motions with my hands (always the same ones) I avoid doing this in public, but I don't know if It's just me being childish or aspies. :con


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## anonymid (Oct 16, 2005)

Yeah, all the time--not just when I'm feeling anxious. I'm constantly drumming with my fingers, bending my toes, stuff like that. I've usually thought of it as an ADHD symptom.


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## Andre (Feb 27, 2004)

Just don't do it in public, it freaks people out.


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## odd_one_out (Aug 22, 2006)

I'm replete with them. I do all kinds - using all the senses - well beyond ones normal people do. It's embarrassing to describe in detail.


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## Kon (Oct 21, 2010)

Banzai said:


> Tell me about it :um


I''ll give you a hint. One of my nicknames was "pockets".


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## Charcoal (Apr 15, 2012)

Moving my hands depends really whats going on to what I do with them, wringing, or making and unmaking a fist over and over are two. I use to clench my teeth when under stress but I started breaking my teeth and breaking fillings, so I really had to work on stopping that. Especially now that my teeth are fixed.


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## EMT (Apr 14, 2011)

I rock back and forth or pace or rub my hands together or bounce my legs. I do different stims. I don't only do it for anxiety, I also do it when I an anxious or bored or excited and sometimes I do it for no reason.


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## ourwater (Jun 2, 2012)

Banzai said:


> Anyone stim either as a response to/way of dealing with anxiety or just generally?
> 
> Stimming definition: "a repetitive body movement that self-stimulates one or more senses in a regulated manner." Examples include finger tapping, rocking, whistling.


Placing my heal (heal of my shoe) over my opposite foot, and balancing it against the front area. One foot in front of the other, leaning. I have done this since grade school. It isn't something I could do if somebody was forcing me to drink alcohol, and I might have not always been aware someone was giving me alcohol, or aware that I could defend myself, so it makes me feel safe. I still do it.


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## wrongnumber (May 24, 2009)

Jiggling my leg almost all the time is my main one and I'm always irritating people because I make furniture vibrate. I had more when I was younger like spacing out staring at fans, spinning around, etc.


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## rlyawkward (Dec 16, 2010)

wrongnumber said:


> Jiggling my leg almost all the time is my main one and I'm always irritating people because I make furniture vibrate. I had more when I was younger like spacing out staring at fans, spinning around, etc.


I do the leg shaking thing too. It also irritates people around me. If I'm really excited, anxious or angry I end up with both legs going pretty fast with the tables and or chairs moving around.

I rub my feet together when I'm going to sleep also, my anxiety sometimes plays up before sleep so I guess it's just another "calming" thing I do.


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## tehuti88 (Jun 19, 2005)

rlyawkward said:


> I rub my feet together when I'm going to sleep also, my anxiety sometimes plays up before sleep so I guess it's just another "calming" thing I do.


I sometimes rub my feet together when feeling nauseated or mildly ill, sometimes also when dozing off, occasionally just because; it just seems soothing in a way. Never thought about it before.


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## wrongnumber (May 24, 2009)

^ Yes I do the feet rubbing thing while going to sleep too. I've done it all my life and thought at one point it might even be a form of restless leg syndrome. But it doesn't keep me up, it helps me sleep in fact, so I think it's probably more of a stim than rls.


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## Revenwyn (Apr 11, 2011)

Yes, it's an Aspie trait.


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## Littlestar123 (Jun 28, 2012)

I have many many many self stimulating techniques.... Wish I could get rid of them lol. Tapping, picking, biting nails, nuckle cracking, bouncing, hair pulling.... The list could go on and on!


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## ohm (May 2, 2012)

I have an oral fixation... I am almost always chewing on something, whether is be a pen cap or my tongue... used to always be chewing on my fingernails and hailnails as a kid but I forced myself to not do it unless one of them breaks, in which case I have to bite them all off. I always have a pack of gum with me to chew!

Also, I find myself touching with my hair ALL THE TIME. I mean, it is quite fun, and I notice that a lot of people with longer hair do this so I don't feel so bad.


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## Innamorata (Sep 20, 2011)

I prefer to call it a soothing behaviour.


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## pythonesque (Jun 16, 2012)

I pick at the skin around my fingernails when I'm nervous and/or bored.


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## arnie (Jan 24, 2012)

Revenwyn said:


> Yes, it's an Aspie trait.


I do some weird hand movements when I get excited by something. However, it's totally under control and I only do it when I'm alone. Is this still considered an aspie trait?


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## Noca (Jun 24, 2005)

Yeah I am constantly fidgeting, or rocking my leg, or biting my nails etc. Just part of being an Aspie I guess.


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## Amorphousanomaly (Jun 20, 2012)

This is something that really annoys people that live with me. I'm always leg bouncing and when I'm freaking out I pace frantically. It's pretty comical, all the nervous energy I'm attempting to burn off. That's why I'm in the gym everyday.


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## JustKittenRightMeow (Jul 25, 2011)

I don't necessarily have aspergers or any sort of autism, but I do thigns like this from time to time when I'm really anxious. I'm not sure if pacing counts...But in public (Like waiting in line) I pace side to side and tap my hands on my legs....Half the time I don't even realize i'm doing it. I also like to rip paper...I don't know why. I'll just find myself sitting here ripping a napkin into little balls and tossing them on the floor or desk. My Mom is baffled as to wear all the ripped napkins came from LOL.

Sometimes I flap my hand when I get excited...specifically my left one.

I rip my hair out...(not like trichotillomania or how ever you spell it.) I usually just pull a strand or two out for what ever reason. Usually if I'm bored. 

I never noticed I did all these things. I've looked up things on aspergers and a lot of it sounds like me...But not so much as a kid (except a few things). Mostly now that I'm an Adult, I notice these things that fit with it.


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## NoIce (Sep 10, 2011)

tehuti88 said:


> I knead a fuzzy blanket. Something about the tickly feeling of the individual threads of the yarn between my fingers soothes me. It has to have a particular texture, not just any yarn will do. I'll often find myself touching the different yarns in stores to see if any are good.


Are you a cat?


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## tehuti88 (Jun 19, 2005)

NoIce said:


> Are you a cat?


:lol


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## iNeedtoRelax (Jul 1, 2012)

I bounce my legs.


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## Gordom (Aug 17, 2009)

Yes- I do (and have since i was a young child) the hand flapping/wringing thing when I get a little over stimulated (which can be either positively or negatively). One time at work after a meeting that went really well, I was doing the whole flapping/wringing routine (not realizing anyone was around) and humming to myself and a woman in another department walked in and kind of giggled and said "you must be excited." I told her I was getting out some nervous energy, which was true. She's a sweet person, though, so it didn't really bother me too much even if it was a little embarrassing.:blush

As someone else mentioned, I also habitually chew on pens. If someone finds a pen that's been chewed on and doesn't know who it belongs to, anyone that knows me will figure out that it's mine.

And sometimes I repeat words/phrases over and over, although I tend to do this more when I'm alone.


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