Let's Talk about Stimming

[Highway Cowboy]

Hello guys, for those of you who don't know I'm a 46 year old Aspies HGV Driver. Only recently diagnosed..
For years I've done this thing where when driving on the motorway I have to bang my teeth together when passing a lamp post, road signs or between marker posts. I try and do it when half way between lamp posts.
I also do it when in an unfamiliar situation, I'll start to bang my teeth /jaw together. Many people look at me like I'm a weirdo and some ask me to stop because it annoys them.

I used to do it when I was at school but seemed to stop for a while but started doing it again a few years ago.

Another thing I can't live without and have done since being a toddler is twiddling with and stroking and pulling at the corner of my pillow case. I've literally gone through dozens of pillow cases as I've worn holes in them. If I'm sat on the sofa watching TV I have to have my pillow with me so I can stroke the soft corners of my pillow case. This does drive my family mad and visitors look at me very oddly.

What about you guys, does this sound familiar to anyone?
People thought I was weird and so did I until hearing about lots of other people with Aspies who do similar things and now I feel like I belong.

 

[Progster]

I don't have any strange or unusual stims, I twirl or feel my hair a lot, I scratch at scabs on my face and pick the skin on my lips (desperate to stop this one), I pace, rub my hands together, sometime flap (accidently did this in public yesterday), make animal noises, run around because I have excess energy.

 

[Full Steam]

I get a single eye brow hair and rub it between my finger tips.

Strand of wood is also ok.

Eating crunchy food, and pacing.

Bounce my legs, and sometimes other bouncy type deals, but that's usually more deliberate to relax.

 

[Fridgemagnetman]

Head scratching

 

[Mary Anne]

I like to squeeze soft things like play doh clay, or some squishy hand exerciser that I keep in my pocket. I bite my nails too, which is bad. I need to touch things....I love textures in nature, inflatables, leather, and fur. I also like to etc hard crunchy things when nervous but usually do not carry those around.

I always shake or bounce my leg too, and remember my entire life being told to stop that. It annoys people, and they think I am nervous. I think it’s just ME!

 

[Catalyst]

I shake/bounce my leg all the time. Since my husband did it too and is NT, I didn't think of it as a stim. I also have a tendency to rock side to side, every so often back and forth. I also run my hands through my hair a particular way. It's like I'm trying to trace my fingertips between hairs along my scalp.

 

[Ezra]

Lots of rocking back and forth, hand movements and making certain noises.

 

[SplendidSnail]

I seem to quite frequently discover stims that I didn't know I do. When I first got my diagnosis, I thought I only did 2-3, but now I'm going to give a long list and I think it's still less than half of what I actually do.

-pull my face
-pull out my eyebrows
-clench my teeth
-bite my arm (not hard enough to hurt)
-bite the hair off my arm
-blow air into my arm (especially through the fabric of a shirt)
-bite my nails
-pace
-flap my fingers (but generally not my arms)
-sigh a lot
-touch objects to my lips
-shake and bounce my legs
-generally fiddle with whatever objects might be around me.

That's all I can think of right now off the top of my head.

 

[SplendidSnail]

Just noticed as I was reading my post that I was pinching my toes as I read it. Maybe that's another stim.

 

[clg114]

I keep my hands going all of the time, usually fiddling with things in my pockets. In addition to the things most men have in their pockets, I usually have small nuts, bolts, washers and parts in my pockets. Just to fiddle with, I guess.

 

[SplendidSnail]

Lots of rocking back and forth, hand movements and making certain noises.

I've noticed, recently, that I'm starting to make noises. I'm thinking that this is related to the fact the life has been quite stressful lately.

I only do it in private when there's not other people around, and it's fine under these circumstances, but I am a bit worried that I might start to do it in public and not notice (but everyone around me will).

 

[xudo]

I bounce my leg, sort of chew the inside of my cheeks, rub my fingers slot or rub my lips on the inside of my clothes if I'm wearing something very soft.

 

[Mary Terry]

Leg bouncing is something NTs do, too, but I can see how it could also be a stim for ASD.

I once had co-counsel in cases I was handling while I practiced law who constantly bounced his leg. During depositions and court appearances, he could get the whole table bouncing up and down and not realize what he was doing. I used to tell him to please stop, sometimes I just put my hand on his knee to remind him, but he would soon start doing it again. He is one of my best friends in the whole world, we've known each other for about 30 years, and he is now a federal judge. I bet he is bouncing the judge's bench under his judicial robe to this day. It is how he releases energy or stress. He is NT, so I kind of think NTs have their forms of stimming, too. Chewing gum, smoking cigarettes, cracking knuckles, leg jiggling, constantly touching one's face, humming under one's breath, twirling one's hair, etc. are reflective of NT stimming behaviors IMHO.

 

[Juliettaa]

I pick the skin around my nails, often to the point of drawing blood.

Rub my face

Rub and scratch my scalp

Gentle rocking from side to side when standing, back to front when sitting

Hum

Low groaning from back of throat

Talk out loud to myself - I have been pulled up about the volume

Pace

At home when I can really let loose, I wave my arms around, flap my hands and sing loudly

 

[onlything]

Humming most of the time.

Picking on the skin of my face.

Rocking from side to side or front to back while highly distressed(the latter probably more of a ptsd symptom than a stim in itself).

Growling-like or purring-like sounds from the back of my throat.

Putting leg on leg and gently rocking/bouncing sideways.

Dancing or singing while excited and/or alone.

Showing teeth while angry and not seen.

At home also spinning with arms spread to the sides.

When highly distressed I tend to turn towards more negative stims like biting my hands, especially fingers and wrists, vigorously shaking myself or hitting my head. It's uncounscious and I stop as soon as I realise it is happening but it still can cause some bruising, although not as much as it used to.

I know also of a stim when a person 'plays' an instrument while thinking that was a favourite of my musician acquaintance.

 

[Gritches]

Picking at and chewing my bottom lip is the biggest thing.

 

[Nervous Rex]

Counting things
Doing math in my head (like factoring whatever I've cointed up to)
Touching my thumbnail to the underside of each knuckle
Finding anagrams for words, trying to picture them in my head as fast as they are spoken, or spelling them backwards.
Touching the metal joints of the cubicle walls as I walk around at work (I like the cool feeling of the metal)
[Edit] Oh, and the most obvious one: fiddling with anything in my hands: coins, paper, pens, and especially straws.

 

[Aelita]

I wave my hands, shake things that are in my hands, rock back and forth, usually when I'm either anxious or really into the music I'm listening to. My fiance loves the rocking. She thinks it's adorable. I also have vocal stims, such as making sound effects or saying unusual phrases.

 

[SimplyWandering]

whenever I am sitting on a couch i have to have a pillow by...it is essential. Something soft to hold. I also vibrate my knees which annoys anyone else on the couch. When i am in a venue/crowds/meetings I find the nearest corner.

 

[SusanLR]

I used to have a soft pillow to hug while watching TV, but now just having one beside be to touch or put my hand on works. Rocking chairs, chewing at my lower lip is the worst when nervous. Long sighs, skin picking around nails, and fiddling with anything around I can hold easily in my hands, pens, small objects, twirling my ring.