Who likes to stim?!

[King]

Stimming is also known as self-stimulatory behaviours, and many people like to do it!

It's mainly something autistic people like to do to calm down, and it's also done by people who suffer from forms of anxiety and ADHD! Even neurotypicals find stimming a relaxing thing to do!

Things like rhythmic tapping, nail biting, playing with fidget toys are stims! Some find videos like so or like so stimulating

SO - Do you stim? Why? How do you stim? Did you even know you did it?!

Personally, I suffer from depression and I find that stimmy things really help me relax and cheers me up! I am a chewer haha. I find it relaxing to chew on teething toys, anything plastic and my lips, when worst comes to worst. I also watch slime / sand videos because the sounds really relax me - Sometimes my mouth waters because I want to chew it o-o;

(I'm no autism / stim expert, just makin' sure because I could be wrong on things!)​​

 

[Visage]

I've been stimming since always. Even back in elementary school, I had it in my IEP that I was allowed to have at least one fidget toy in my desk at all times. I eventually was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, but that wasn't until I was eighteen. I only own one fidget toy at the moment, which is quite unusual. My worst stimming habit is flipping through books. It ruins them so quick, so I only use old notebooks that no longer serve a purpose or old school workbooks.

 

[Kagayours]

I've recently started to suspect that a lot of the things I used to (and sometimes still do) call "bad habits" are probably just forms of stimming. This used to include playing with my hair a lot (although I don't do that quite as much anymore), and especially peeling at the skin around my nails... And the skin-peeling thing, even if it feels like a "good" thing to do in the moment, is obviously not a good thing in the long run and I really wish I could stop doing it...

Also, you know those eos egg lip balm things? I like to fiddle with those and just keep popping them open and closed. My tendency to do this, along with the skin-peeling thing, is what made me think that all of this is probably related to stimming. It's also a reason why I've recently started to try to think of positive ways to sort of redirect my stimming urges so that I don't need to constantly be in close proximity to bandaids and neosporin... Keeping an eos egg with me helps keep me away from more harmful forms of stimming -- however, it also creates this popping sound that makes it kind of inappropriate to use in certain settings. I've recently considered looking into getting one of those "stim toys" that I keep seeing Tumblr posts about, but I haven't really put much thought into it yet.

 

[LunaValentine]

I've recently started to suspect that a lot of the things I used to (and sometimes still do) call "bad habits" are probably just forms of stimming. This used to include playing with my hair a lot (although I don't do that quite as much anymore), and especially peeling at the skin around my nails... And the skin-peeling thing, even if it feels like a "good" thing to do in the moment, is obviously not a good thing in the long run and I really wish I could stop doing it...

If you like to peel things, I suggest peel off nail polish base coat and/or (if you aren't allergic) a latex peel off thing. Then you can do something creative and something that you can peel without harm to yourself, just be careful that you buy a peel off base coat without formaldehyde (apparently that's a common ingredient).

 

[Kagayours]

If you like to peel things, I suggest peel off nail polish base coat and/or (if you aren't allergic) a latex peel off thing. Then you can do something creative and something that you can peel without harm to yourself, just be careful that you buy a peel off base coat without formaldehyde (apparently that's a common ingredient).

Hmm. Having to always re-apply the stuff seems tedious, though, and I don't know if I'd be willing to consistently do it. I think I'd just get lazy and default to picking at my skin whenever there's no coat of it there, knowing me. @_@ That's why I'm thinking a stim-toy would be better for me -- something I can just keep in my pocket and fiddle with whenever. Like I said, eos eggs tend to occupy my hands fairly well when it's convenient to use one, so it's not like I really need the peeling sensation specifically if there's something else I can go to.

 

[Hatsune Candy]

I tend to fidget a lot, especially when I'm sitting down, it is legitimately impossible for me not to. I've been known to tap my fingers, adjust my hair, and so on; but most notable I find is that I shake my legs almost constantly, hell, I'm doing it right now. I almost positive that it's due to my ADHD, as it helps me concentrate, but I also think a large part of it can be contributed to anxiety since I seem to do it most often when I'm nervous.

 

[Dipper]

I pat my knee, but only my right knee or it's wrong. Nothing too fast, I just do it because it feels good.

When I was a kid, I used to keep a nail file around and stroke the rough side because it had a similar effect, but when my thumbs started to go red, I wasn't allowed to keep it anymore.

I'm not going into detail with my issues, but those are two of the things I do/did.

 

[junebug]

I don't even know if I stim, so I'm guessing I don't, but I'll bring this up just because? I've always been hypersensitive to sound, used to have depression and anxiety, and for a very long time, I lived feeling inferior to other people and that was something that contributed. My anxiety is mild now, which is good. When I was younger, like two or three years, my grandma made me a blanket with little... uh... I'm not sure what to call them- they were like small pieces of yarn that I would take into my fingers and twirl them. I still do that to this very day, granted I don't have that particular blanket anymore (the fishies died out weeps), but I do have a soft blanket that serves the same kind of purpose (i've gotten this blanket "renewed" at Joann's fabrics (yes, it's just a piece of fabric) like two times because after a while, it loses its softness)?). I wish I could bring it to school haha! It's so easy to get lost in that comfort and I literally can't live without it. I love cuddling in it 24/7! c:

 

[Gwazi Magnum]

Minor Stimming? Like picking some scabs or some leg jittering when sitting down? Sure, everyone has some minor habits like that.

Severe Stimming though? Not for a long time. The therapy I got as a kid was pretty on top of that.

Hell, I'll just quote a post I made just the other day.

(Side note: Those severe links aren't even as severe as I'm talking... Though I'm frankly glad I couldn't find worst. Cause it means incidents where parents did find it, they're focus was helping the kid instead of getting the bloody camera).

Sooooo!

You guys know how I have Autism right? And that I went through therapy?
Well, I figure today people should learn something not often talked about with it!

So, a common trait with Autism is imitation, specifically speaking with stuff like stimming.
Now, this was something that was taken care of during therapy... But the 'How' is the interesting bit.

Most people tend to assume that if the therapy works you walk away no longer having the temptation to Stim.

What does happen (at least in my case) is we get better at managing the temptation to do so.
So what does mean/how is it relevant to this thread?

Well, all the habits you guys are mentioning? Those would all count as a type of Stimming...
So now my temptation to immitate (or even revert to my own younger stims) is awfully high at the moment.

Fuuuuuun! <3

And to list some of the past stims I used to have? (And stuff I now have an increased temptation to do atm for reasons detailed in the quote above... Fun! <3).

• Massive/Rapid flicking of fingers in front of ones face
• Constant Blowing on one's own Skin
• Jumping up and down in one place
• Grinding of Teeth
• Picking the inside of my cheeks until the flesh is raw and exposed
• Constant itching, going after imaginary and non-existent sources of itches (or, reverse Placebo in a sense)

Oh, and now that I've actively trying to remember them, the temptation grows even higher!

Fuuuuuuuun! <3

 

[Shiri]

I want the Fidget Cube.

I'm pretty much always doing something whether its shaking my legs, or playing on a handheld, or drawing. It keeps me focused. I used to read books during class to help me focus on lessons. It drove my science teacher nuts that I could juggle my book and my lesson at the same time.

I have hand invigoration gel and two stress balls on my desk at all times for fidgeting. :3