• Welcome to Autism Forums, a friendly forum to discuss Aspergers Syndrome, Autism, High Functioning Autism and related conditions.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Our modern chat room. No add-ons or extensions required, just login and start chatting!
    • Private Member only forums for more serious discussions that you may wish to not have guests or search engines access to.
    • Your very own blog. Write about anything you like on your own individual blog.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon! Please also check us out @ https://www.twitter.com/aspiescentral

what is your stim?

hmmmm... I have been wondering if this is what people would call a "stim" or if it's more like a "ritual."

Ever since I can remember, when using the computer or other mechanical devices, when I am attempting to do something experimental, such as repairs, or running self-written code, I will makes... gestures at the device. I used to think everyone probably did that, but it became very obvious in college that most people did not because they wondered what in the world I was doing when I would click the "compile" button on my compiler and then gesture and then turn my head to peer strangely at the monitor as it ran.

The best way I can describe it is that it looks like something Captain Jack Sparrow would do. I know I have been doing it since I started using Windows 95, roughly 8 years before the Pirates films, but I will say that it got somewhat more dramatically stylized afterward (I have a tendency to mirror traits that are similar to my own, or those which I like, from films and TV series because they amuse me).
 
I only just recognised this as a possible stim, but whenever I have a pen (I usually write with a pen, not a pencil) I will mouth it. By "mouthing," I mean what a baby does, exploring something with its mouth. I will chew it, roll my tongue over it, etc.
This happens even if the pen belongs to somebody else.
 
Lately it has been flexing my sphincter muscles.

Oh yeah. I said it. Enjoy that newfound knowledge.
 
Biting my lip so much that it won't ever heal, ugh. I bounce my leg so much that I annoy anyone who sits near me. I crack my hand and toe knuckles constantly. I wiggle my nose around a lot because I have a deviated septum and it makes a popping/clicking noise and I like hearing and feeling it, don't know why. I also blink and swallow a lot. And lastly, I twist my fingers.
 
Picking my lips, fingernail biting, knuckle cracking, picking at various objects...for today, anyways.
 
Gotta think more about this. I can identify with a lot of people here. I just never thought of it. Used to have a pen in my mouth, would also rock my knees towards each other & other stuff. I'm surprised I've forgotten so much until I read it here.
 
lesse: rocking back and forth. slowly and gently when I'm mostly calm and concentrating on something, quicker when I'm overtired or agitated, humming, swishing saliva around in my mouth nosily (try not to do that one in public cause it annoys people a lot), sometimes when I get very excited by something I read/saw I bounce up and down, flap my hands and make high pitched noises (I cut the noises out in public), when I'm bored or nervous I fiddle with a pen or a scrap of paper (but NTs do that one too right?), pacing in circles, sometimes when I'm intent on something that makes me feel tense I chew/suck on my left index finger (got calluses from doing that too much), and I get obsessed with hangnails and pick at them til my fingers bleed.

I used to stick my fingers in my ears and make weird noises a lot, but I've pretty much stopped doing that one, and I used to suck on all my fingers not just the one. Got no end of flack for having my fingers in my mouth all the time.
 
After reading these posts, I do a lot more than I realize, though I couldn't think of them all right now. I'd have to just pay more attention to what I do with myself while I'm out and about, because I'm not very conscious of it.
I wiggle my toes against the ground while either rocking back and forth, side to side, or in a circle. I chew on the inside of my mouth and my mouth also twitches to the left, mostly when I'm walking. I press my fingernails against the nail bed, usually doing it three times for each finger and then going back to the first to start over again.
I'm not totally sure what else would be considered stims honestly. Is there some kind of a clear definition so I could understand what behaviors would be considered stimming?
 
I have this ratty red bracelet, it's called a Survival Strap and it's pretty awesome. What I do is that I twirl it around two of my fingers and that usually keeps me calm.
 
Sometimes I drum my hands on a desk, or my feet on the floor.

Whether that's a sign that I should try the drum set/drum kit or
not, I leave to the rest of you....
 
Lip chewing, scalp scratching, nose picking and ear scratching - especially when I am in front of the TV too often. Some days I feel like getting rid of the TV - but my parents have it on too much and I often get addicted to it sitting in front of it. After a long day at work, I will get addicted to the TV and my stims take off like a rocket!

By the way, I have expressed frustration and inability to cope with complex busy situations by privately smacking my head into a hard wall. There is probably an extra layer or two of bone in the front of my forehead. I just have to make sure nobody sees me doing this! During a hard week in summertime I could not count the number of times I have done this, and certainly cannot count the number of times I have done this throughout my life.

I am thankful that I have not felt any measurable negative effects from banging my head - but I am still prone to do this kind of behaviour. Now that things are going a bit calmer at work I feel less stressed and my micro-meltdowns seem less likely. That does not mean that I won't ever do it again - this is a promise that I cannot keep!! It hurts after the fact but it
helps me get rid of pent-up emotion. And I cannot count the number of hard knocks that I have had to take because of social and learning disabilities.

Thanks for the subject Rolo - it takes guts to talk about the less desirable side of autism spectrum disorders.;)
 
Last edited:
Until yesterday, it had been 2008 since I played my video games. I remembered last night that I shake my feet when I'm playing Kingdom Hearts, especially during heartless/nobodies battles or boss battles.

I slap my wrists lightly when I have done something bad.

I also pull my hair all day until I get all the loose hairs/tangles that the brush missed out.
 
wyverary said:
Our very own Verum turned me on to this: Fidgetland - Fidgets You Can't Stop Playing With
Click to expand...

Oh wow. I have to buy some of those :P

I do a lot of feeling the texture of the end of my fingernails with my fingertips, or feeling or comparing the distances between the end of my nails and my fingertips (my nails are usually a bit longer than my fingers), or simultaneously counting the fingers on both hands by tapping my thumbs against them. If I get stressed, it gets more frequent and intense. If I get really stressed I shake my head or dig my nails into my palms. Sometimes I yell at myself, but I try not to. I used to scratch myself and bang my head against things, but I've managed to control those.
 
Last edited:
Today it was...well, I cannot even describe or reproduce it...but it involved putting my weight on one leg and rocking my knees back and forth. I hate when I notice I am stimming, because I become all self-conscious and have to stop but then I am thinking about it and HAVE TO KEEP DOING IT...I work in retail, so that can be kind of a conundrum. Oh well.

wyv
 
I put my hands together, flat, like in praying and push my fingertips. My hands usually end up under my chin or on my bottom lip. I usually pace, too, and make a growl in the back of my throat. Anyone have similar stimm? Oh, and I stopped stemming in seventh grade but picked it back up in high school. Is that normal?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

New Threads

Top Bottom