Stimming -- potential brain damage?

[howlingmadpanda]

Recently my anxiety has planted another, horrifying fear in my brain -- that my preferred mode of stimming may have detrimental effects on my brain. I think my mode of stimming is a little unique in that I developed it as a fully intentional means of processing and relaxing when I was about 12. Music often caused me to stim as far as I can recall, however, as I aged it was no longer possible to continue stimming in public. This led me to develop a new "routine", if you will, where I would find somewhere private at night, put on some tunes, and simply stim for 10-20 minutes.

This stimming generally involved some rocking back and forth, maybe flailing my arms and legs, the usual stuff. This form of stimming proved for the last 6 years to be a fantastic escape from reality, a place where I was nearly detached from my physical self and could simply think and process to my heart (or brain's) content! Lately, I began to realize that this mode of stimming simply will not be possible once I start college in August. As such, I've largely begun to wean myself off of this mode of stimming and have turned to more subtle techniques like walking, pacing, and a quiet sort of "hand clapping" in private. My anxiety has, however, gotten the best of me, and I've now become quite fearful that the moderate body rocking that took place in my preferred method of stimming might have jarred my brain a bit too hard.

I cannot help but think what the cumulative effect of body rocking could be on the brain after six years and what likely amounts to hundreds of hours of stimming. My technique certainly helped me to cope and maintain my sanity throughout the years, but at what cost? Does anybody think my fears are founded or have a similar stimming technique? From what I've read, it doesn't seem like many others set aside well defined times to simply stim. Thanks guys!

 

[kay]

How violently do you rock? People run and I think that would do quite a bit of brain jiggling but they seem ok. Unless you are extremely aggressive with the rocking, like that sorta nearly whip lash producing "head banging" that was popular at one time among some heavy metal fans, I think you should be ok. If you are that violent with it there is evidence it could hurt you. I rock and have family that rock but nothing that would possibly hurt us.

Warning, the video below contains some highly annoying "music".

 

[Tom]

How many fingers am I holding up?

I'll accept any answer between 0-40 Million and a 'crapload'. The thing is, if you did any damage, its too late to do anything about it now, except worry, which is useless. So just go with it, forge new brain synapses and connections and undercover stimms, just don't shake the ol noggin so violently in future.

 

[Bolletje]

Rocking back and forth will not give you brain damage.

 

[Kirsty]

@Bolletje is a real medical doctor. Trust her word on this. ^

 

[kay]

I just realized my post might have appeared to be a joke, a pun on rock. It wasn't suppose to be, I meant rock as in back and forth stim type. That's what I do. I referred to the head bagging not as a pun reference to "rock" as in music but as an example of back and forth head movement that would potentially cause brain damage. I doubt by moderate rocking you do anything so extreme, but I don't know. My moderate is not yours. Sorry if it looked like I was posting something humorous.

 

[SusanLR]

Think of shaken baby syndrome.
That's how hard rocking would have to be to damage your brain.
It would have to be to the point the brain is actually shaken loose and banging inside the skull.

 

[Ezra]

You would probably have severely damaged tendons in your neck way before you damaged your brain. If your rocking was that severe you would be in constant pian and require a neck and back brace.

 

[Progster]

Don't worry too much about it. People headbanging and rocking in public, tapping or shaking their head is quite a common sight and I don't think that it will draw much attention as long as you're not doing anything that may hurt you or hurt others. Anyway, you're not doing anyone any harm and it's not any of their business - except, if you have a roommate in college, music plus rocking might irritate them if they are wanting to study or sleep.

 

[Eric B]

Since earliest childhood, my stimming was vigorous movement of the fingers together, and later, just a tapping motion of one hand or the other, but where I worried whether I was doing something to my brain or not, was in the way I "ran" my brain, meaning focused intensely on whatever I was imagining (which was always the purpose of stemming for me. My father had even called it "tripping out", and a religious adult said it was the devil).

 

[Echo]

Babies can get brain damage in this way. Infants. No one old enough to write in complete sentences. You'll be fine... It sounds like your issue is more one of anxiety over having to learn a new way to soothe. Good luck!

 

[Ylva]

I cannot help but think what the cumulative effect of body rocking could be on the brain after six years and what likely amounts to hundreds of hours of stimming

Who hasn't wondered what harm working out in the lightest way possible does.

 

[Fridgemagnetman]

@Bolletje is a real medical doctor. Trust her word on this. ^

That's what her badge in real life says

'Real medical doctor '

 

[1111Alice7447]

Autistic people are super sensitive to taking on too much energy (often negative energy from the world) - here is a way to stim more intentionally, effectively and safety.

Its normal to 'stim' in the world of qigong/tai chi, to destress and clear nervous tension and energy, its just western psychology that has called it stimming

 

[1111Alice7447]

Another one. I see it as a good thing - its self-care. Just make sure you arn't hurting yourself.

Ducks flap their wings after a fight to 'shake it off'. We shake as we laugh, cry, experience shock or trauma. Its a natural process for the body to restore harmony. Theres a process called TRE (trauma realeasing exercises) which induces shaking through the muscles to release deep stress and trauma. Just saying its perfectly normal, we just need it more than neurotypicals.

 

[Dahlia]

Those videos are interesting, thank you for sharing them. I Tried them and liked the way it felt. They reminded me of something my physical therapist told me about shaking. She said that when a wild animal is attacked and survived they go off to the side and shiver and shake for a few minutes. She liked to give light massages like that and was explaining her reasoning. It is surprisingly relaxing and I tried it on my daughter, who has anxiety and hates normal back rubs, and she actually liked it.

If you are worried about looking strange to a roommate, maybe you can make a bedtime routine that looks like yoga or tai chi but works for you.

I also wanted to suggest some sort of bed tent for privacy, just in general, if you have to share a room. I bought one from privacypop for one of my kids and they are pretty cool. It can be hard to share a dorm room.

 

[howlingmadpanda]

I appreciate the responses, it's pretty interesting to hear other's anecdotes as I've not really talked to others on the spectrum all that much! As for college, I will have a single room, so a potential roommate won't be an issue. My uni's accommodations for those with disabilities are quite generous. Part of my desire to put an end to my current method of stimming is that I simply want a more "normal" and subtle way to stim that isn't so blatant and doesn't require setting aside large blocks of time.

I suspected that any injuries sustained from rocking, although moderately violent at times, would have already manifested themselves by now through some symptoms. As my head is moving with my body and there is no impact, I can't see my brain being jarred around enough to make contact with my skull. It probably is harmless, however, thoughts and fears that are the product of anxiety often cannot be rationalized away.

For example, I rock a little harder than the kid in this video I found

Of course, I don't rock into the back of a sofa, but you get the idea. Thanks guys, the responses I've gotten have been a bit reassuring!

 

[Zoie]

Another one. I see it as a good thing - its self-care. Just make sure you arn't hurting yourself.

Ducks flap their wings after a fight to 'shake it off'. We shake as we laugh, cry, experience shock or trauma. Its a natural process for the body to restore harmony. Theres a process called TRE (trauma realeasing exercises) which induces shaking through the muscles to release deep stress and trauma. Just saying its perfectly normal, we just need it more than neurotypicals.

Oh my god. Thank you so much for sharing this video! (Also, I love the fun fact about ducks. It always makes so much more sense to me when someone draws on similarities between accepted, understood animal-behavior, and our own occasionally "inexplicable", mysterious human-behavior. And I also shake and flap and wring my hands/wrists/feet/toes all the time!)
I suffer from severe anxiety and have been stimming to the point of causing chronic pain and postural issues. I just tried this - and boy, I'm glad I live alone now because I know I look like a fool, but I really enjoyed myself!
Sometimes during crisis situations I start to shake and my stomach is wound so tightly in knots that I feel like I'm going into shock. (Probably am, to a mild degree... I go into shock really easily.)
This shaking-like-a-tree exercise is perfect for me. Not only does it activate my core muscles (which is really what I NEED to do more often) but it causes me to engage my leg muscles in a joyful way. As I effortlessly "shook", I could feel the knots in my stomach unravel just as quickly as if I were bursting out laughing.
I also do this often... Now that I think about it, I probably laugh so wholeheartedly all the time because my entire being is just like a coiled spring, ready to explode and release the tension at any moment. o_o

 

[Mary Anne]

.

Warning, the video below contains some highly annoying "music".

Yikes, I see some painful arthritis and degenerative neck/spine disc problems for these kids in the future.