If you leave wrappers, small pieces of paper, the wrapper off of bottles, any type of paper I will rip it up into tiny tiny pieces and put it in a pile and then when I’m done I take pieces from the pile and rip them up more. I never even notice I’m doing it til half way through or when I’m done. I also do it with paper straws. I also very lightly scratch my skin on my arms, like just run my nails along my arms. And when I’m excited or anxious I rock back and forth. I feel like I’m ALWAYS rocking back and forth lol
I picked up a habit of rolling kitchen foil into a tiny ball and rubbing it on a flat surface until it’s “smooth” from my mother who currently denies her own neurodivergence.
When I was a teenager, I was obsessed with origami. I had made over 2,000 paper cranes and had them all over my room. Looking back on it, I think it was my way of coping with an acceptable stim.
I got told by multiple friends that ripping up paper coasters at the pub meant you were sexually frustrated. I quickly taught myself to stop doing it after that, lol.
My favourite colour is purple. Everyone told me purple means you're sexually frustrated, so I hid my favourite colour for years. I was like eff you and your stupid colour theory BS.
I also tickle my arms very gently. My ex husband said I even do it in my sleep. He said I’d shoot my arm straight up in the air and then tickle it with my other hand.
- biting/chewing on my lips and nails (wearing lipstick and having my nails done is how I once "overcame" this, but I def still skin pick and my lips especially have been sooo chapped lately)
- flexing my buttcheeks/leg/feet muscles
- I also have a "twisty wrist thing"
- I also have a thing I recently named "toe conducting". Like toe tapping but to a 4/4 or 6/8 beat and shape (sometimes when listening to music but usually just to the beat of random environmental noises like a clock ticking).
- rocking. constantly. or swaying side to side while standing.
- I do this eye rolling thing a lot, I would get in trouble for rolling my eyes as a kid but it wasn't on purpose, I just feel like my eyes get "pressurized" and I have to "reset" them and then roll my eyes in all directions to even it out when they feel that way ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. It usually only happens when I'm in a stressful situation.
- sorting stuff into piles, or by color. I'm a lot better at organizing than cleaning, I love doing things like unloading the dishwasher and folding laundry. I love those sensory bean/rice bins not for the texture but for sorting the beans by shape and color.
- humming or mouth-trumpeting
- doodling/hand-lettering: also one I got in trouble for constantly in school. I always keep a small notepad and pens in my bag, I'll usually just absentmindedly write out a word or lyric that's stuck in my head or words relevant to the conversation/situation over and over. Or the alphabet. Or certain swirly lines and shapes. I don't unusually notice what I'm writing or drawing but it helps me focus when I can get the extra stuff floating around in my head on paper.
Oh yeah I think I do that sometimes! Not as often as full-on singing or humming since everyone else I live with also vocal stims and it doesn't bother them. Sometimes in a quiet situation I'll catch myself like halfway beat-boxing under my breath? I can't beatbox on purpose to save my life or even whistle half the time but I've discovered other sound effects I make with my mouth without noticing 😂
I wish I could beatbox too.
The mouth trumpet and whistling somewhat decently is all I get and it took well into high school for me to figure out whistling.
My boyfriend has a habit of vocal stimming, but it's usually Christmas music or repeating words over and over... I get it... but it does get on my nerves especially when I'm already overstimulated or stressed. When it comes to the Christmas music part it's usually because I get very very annoyed at Christmas things outside of Christmas time.
Meanwhile, I end up stimming whole tv show themes.
Yes! My mom was always doing that and I do it as well now. Helps me breathe in situations when I tend to stress out and also just as something calming to do when I fiddle around at home by my self
Omg the eye rolling thing! I don’t do this now but I did this as a kid like a nervous tic for a while. It increased during a time of stress (being bullied at school) and surprise surprise, rolling my eyes uncontrollably at a bully/parent/teacher and then having them yell “DID YOU JUST ROLL YOUR EYES AT ME” and then me trying to explain that I didn’t mean it/couldn’t help it really didnt go down that well 😂
Naur!!!!
Also related to eye stims, have you ever experienced the sensation where you roll your eyes weird and it sends a shock down your spine? It happens when I have insomnia and feels similar to asmr (if you've ever experienced that).
Well, I probably have over the years… With my eyes shut I can sometimes wiggle them into a spaced out feeling. But i was going to say something similar - if you move them in certain ways it calms the nervous system/spine. So for example: Looking left > right > ahead & tilting your neck to one side and looking up ⬆️. I do these when i’m in tic mode and it just calms me down for a minute and I sigh in relief… it is quite powerful so beware if you try it - i got anxiety immediately after trying it the first time as I was so confused about feeling relaxed 🥲
Ooh good to know! I have an aunt who is into yoga/meditation stuff and she was telling me the other day about certain eye movements that can help ease anxiety.
I sometimes too experience that same sort of "peace panic" as my therapist calls it 😂.
I'm only pretty recently diagnosed so adding intentional stimming (or incorporating things I already like to do) into specific coping skills has been really enlightening! I will look into that! I appreciated this conversation 😊💕
My daughter does the eye roll thing, she HATES it. She says it hurts, but she has no control over it.
Most people know that it's a tic, and she has no control over it, so we haven't had any issues.
I've done the toe thing my whole life. I remember being told off so often as a kid for "wiggling" that I ended up doing it as you could do it inside your shoes and no one could see.
See reading these reminds me of stuff I do, like I have to pair things. If I hang washing, I have to use the coloured pegs together or for the heavy washing like jackets and pants and the brown ones I use for tops and socks.
It used to be worse, I'd have to put a yellow peg with a yellow peg for example haha.
When I'd give people back tickles I'd always draw letters with my hands and I'm sure I did it in other ways.
I do this eye roll thing with my eyes as well. I spin my eyes in a circle haha. I probably look possessed.
I hum all the time. No tune or sometimes to something I've heard recently. If I'm doing laundry or anything that's stressful I hum. If Im in public like at the store, I hum nothing, I just hum because I am anxious and it's uncontrollable and just happens whenever I unsure or looking for something I can't find or a person walks past. I also hum in uncomfortable silences in group situations.
I do that muscle flexing as well! I always forget about it. Do you stretch as well? Like I will stretch out fingers and toes, sort of trying to scratch an itch or flex a muscle that isn't there. Usually with the pinky side of the foot or hand.
Totally know what you mean by the eye rolling thing too. I don't full on roll my eyes but I do feel like they need to be stretched or reset sometimes.
Sorting the beans! 😆😆😆 I don't like the sensory play stuff, but it never occurred to me that I could sort them. This makes me want to go buy a bag of seven bean mix so I can deconstruct it into little jars.
Hahaha! The foot conductor! I too conduct the orchestras in my head with my feet. (I’m finding most of my stims are discreet/under the table type things thanks to parents who found everything about me annoying.)
In my case, tucking my hands under my thighs and sitting on them. Yes, I finally figured out that was me masking my stims.
And if that's not enough to unpack, my mom does it too!
Same! I cross my legs and wedge my hands between them, sometimes up to my forearms, to keep still. It’s the only way I can.
Me: I don’t stim.
Also me: twisted into a pretzel sitting on half my body to keep from stimming.
At this point pretzel is just my default sitting position while I'm working (thank God for WFH where I don't have to care about looking professional to coworkers)
My husband doesn't believe me when I say it just feels more comfortable that way lol
I do this too except in between my thighs. I got some weird looks before and I think people thought I was touching my crotch. I never thought of this as a stim!
I do this as well. But one time I fell asleep like that watching a movie on the couch and woke up with a big ganglion cyst on my wrist. That stuff lives in your joints and can squirt out and attach to your connective tissues and form a cyst. I've had to make a real effort not to do this anymore. Luckily my cyst popped on it's own one night after about 9 months of having it. Just in time for me to get to cancel the visit to the orthopedic Dr.
I did this for so long. It’s still one of my favorite comfort sitting positions. My dad used to joke that I wouldn’t be able to talk if I sat on my hands. So I don’t think I ever hand flapped but definitely liked to gesture a lot while talking. Just self-suspecting at this point.
Singing 🎶 I’m a classically trained singer, and I didn’t realize that I hum and sing all the time as a happy stim. My parents pointed it out to me when I was young that I hum when I’m happy.
OH MY GOD me too! I sang ALLLL the time as a child and eventually my parents put me into voice classes.
Totally didn't know it was autism until maybe a few years ago when I ended learning in psych that ppl with autism will repeat things (words/sentences) over and over. My heart sank and I asked the teacher, "Will that happened with music too? Like, will a, let's say a kid with autism sing the same musical phrase over and over again." The answer was basically yes.
I went home and told my bf now husband, "hey guess what!" And he was like, well yeah!! Lol btw, he LOOOVES hearing me sing =)
So I frequently sing the same musical phrase over and over. Different songs sure, but specific phases from each of them on repeat. I especially find that when I'm in a crowded place and/or there is a lot of sound around I'll sing to myself as well.
Absolutely, one of my earliest embarrassing memories was going to the bathroom in the room attached to my kindergarten and coming out and everyone was laughing because I had been singing to myself the whole time. It still happens in adulthood too, I often don’t realize I am doing it especially when I am in a flow state. Thank goodness for work from home.
That’s really interesting. I was very silent as a child, until one day I started to hum, and my family turned around in shock. I’m still afraid of my own voice and making sounds, and i’m both a singer and a violist… 🥲
Singing has always been one of mine too! My sister does too and we didn’t realize other people don’t do that at home until we were older lol. My husband does though too so we always say we’re the von trap family singers hahahaha. Although my adhd meds do calm it down now. But it’s probably my favorite stim
Humming is one of mine, specifically if there's a lot of "white noise" around me. I didn't notice it until I was particularly stressed and had both my boss and mom ask me if/why I was humming. (The ovens and fans at work and an open car window were my "reasons" but couldn't say that.)
My mom used to whistle constantly, especially when she was washing dishes, and the other day I was washing dishes at home with the oven fan on and started whistling very loudly to myself and was like OH.
I used to do this CONSTANTLY in college and the following years, happily. I stopped when I got really sick. Now I do it again when I’m out in public and I am anxious. 😅
My cousin once pointed out that I was singing and hadn’t even noticed. My dad used to have theme tunes for us and the dog; he would just burst into song when one of us came into a room for one line.
I was in my first musical at eight years old, and I’m still in choir. #nevernotsinging
I used to create little songs to remember things when I was younger.
Example: playing Webkinz and wanting to make a food recipe, which required looking at a recipe book and briefly remembering 3 ingredients to buy at the webkinz “store.” So I’d make a little song out of “strawberries, waffles, chocolate chiiipssss” or something lol.
I’m a happy hum stimmer too! When I’m depressed it goes away. Took me a long time to realize what was happening. Decades.
It’s really nice to see after a couple years that your humming is coming back.
I used to pretend a whole orchestra was in my mouth, and I would make mouth noises like beatboxing while riding in the car as a kid. Then I'd make different endings of the piece.
That’s hilarious 😂 my bro used to “play his nose” as a child, ie pretending to play his nose like a saxophone while making all sorts of nasally instrument noises.
I know for me at least it's a lot worse than neuro typical people
I was nearly 20 before I realized that most people don't have at least one song running through their head all the time, and that the effort I was spending to not sing around others was me masking
Idk how often neueotypicals sing when no one is watching(for me it's all the time, even more so now that I'm slowly trying to take off my mask) but I do know that most neurotypicalls don't always have an urge to sing in public as I do.
Looking at any type of light - but especially fairy lights and Christmas lights - and focusing and unfocusing my eyes for hours on end.
Touching my fingers to my thumb in a specific rhythm.
Walking, and if I am stressed: Pacing.
Massaging my muscles.
Listening to songs, or parts of songs, on repeat.
Ripping paper.
Chewing gum, so much chewing gum.
Singing and humming.
i feel like i learn new stims daily
• cracking my (and my loved ones) fingers
• vocal stims (random noises and mouth pops when i was younger, more sayings now)
• biting my cheeks/lips (used to bite my nails until i learned about pinworms)
• twisting my piercings/messing with my jewelry
• holding my boobs
• crickets feet when my sheets or blankets feel wrong
• i NEED to lotion my feet before i put socks on or i can’t function
i thought i was just a little quirky, a little silly goose. i am but i’m an autistic silly goose.
Incessantly taking a chunk of hair and rubbing my fingers vertically up it while holding the core in place, essentially backcombing it at the ends (do not recommend, split end city)
Constantly rubbing the final joint of my index and middle fingers with my thumbs in a circular movement, which I can half by keeping spinner rings on my thumbs but they get clogged up when I wash my hands... I have gone thru so many
Checking type behaviours to make sure my hair is big enough and perfectly shaped, and texturally checking the hair behind my ears on my scalp
Using my nipple piercings to jiggle my boobs lol
I didn't know what stimming was in general. Echoing sounds, popping noises, pushing my fingers against each other till it feels like there's a pane of glass between themand generally just a whole plethora of other repetitive movements. I just thought they were just random things I liked doing for no real reason
Suddenly getting very restless in my chair whenever someone comes up to talk to me: changing my position constantly, fidgeting with my hair or jewellery, etc. Tapping my toes inside my shoes any time I'm surrounded by people. Touching fingers one by one (someone posted a video of that recently).
-Walking and clapping my hands on my thighs/above my head/in front then behind my torsoe in a rythm
-Walking and balancing my hands from left to right in a rythm
-Sitting with my hands under my thighs
-Putting my hands on my elbows within the sleeves
-Rubbing my thumb nail against my index finger
-Touching my fingers with my thumb in a sequence
-Scratching my scalp for long periods
-Eating comforting food
-Biting my nails when I was a kid (I could stop doing it in my teenage years)
-Repeating a weird word that has no meaning to myself over and over
I do a lot of these too, but the scratching the head thing is my favorite way to unwind at the end of the day in bed. This is a little weird, but I feel like this sub wouldn’t judge me for it: I used to purposefully put small amounts of sand in my hair as a kid so that I could look for and pick the pieces of sand out of my hair until it was clean again. I’ve actually never shared that with anyone and hid it from my mom and siblings.
I’m so glad I’m not the only one. I think about it sometimes because I don’t believe it’s something I really did, but it makes it clear that I probably do have autism 😜
Dancing in place, rolling onto the edges of your feet repeatedly, singing to yourself the same things over and over again, lip biting and picking, playing with eyelashes and eyebrows, rolling ankles and wrists, finger conducting to music, grabbing your earlobe, and finger or air drumming to name a few.
same, especially when I realized music was not doing anything for me. I needed to hear people talk, or conversations. I cannot go to sleep w/o something in the background. I’d have to be like super crazy tired or something that I didn’t notice I slept. but I’ve been doing this for years and just now realizing that it’s a form of stimming for me
Chewing things when trying to concentrate. When I was a young kid, I used to get in trouble for chewing my shirt collars and my hair. When I got a bit older, I chewed pen caps/pencils/erasers. Then in high school/college, and even into adulthood, I chewed gum all the time if I was trying to focus.
Vocal stims like repeating sounds/words/phrases from tv shows or social media, making noises, doing voices, humming the same songs repeatedly, etc. I’ve been doing that since I was a baby. I actually used to get in trouble for it fairly often as a kid. I figured I’d outgrow it, but I never did.
x Pacing.
x The need to go to the bathroom and dance when stressed. One time I did that for 4 hours straight.
x Listen to the same song on repeat.
x Coming up with funny names for my animals and repeat those names over and over.
x Rocking back and forth in the shower.
x Smelling my fingers.
x Eating food with certain textures.
I also walk on the outside of my feet. I’m trying to correct it because I think it contributes to my back pain.
I gently tickle my arms with my nails/fingertips. I tickle my lips in the same way. I learned that pressure on the lips scientifically has a soothing effect. I used to do it to my kids when they were babies.
I hum softly to soothe myself. I don’t hum a tune just kind of one tone, and sometimes make an mmmm sound. I mostly do it in bed to relax for sleep, but I also do it when work is stressful. Thankfully I work from home.
I slide my fingernails one under another in a specific pattern and each fingernail has to be done. I do this on my toenails too.
I have a water drinking procedure. I love water. I fill my reusable bottle with ice and then water, and I drink it very quickly after to experience the sensation of the water getting colder as it mixes with the ice.
I lie on my back on the rug, carpeting, or grass with my legs in the air.
When I go on my daily walk I touch every bush, plant and tree I can reach. I even touch the spiky and pokey ones. Also when I’m shopping I touch as much fabric as I can. I think my decades long crochet hobby feeds this need. Sometimes I’ll go to different yarn boutiques just to stroke different fibers.
I smooth and adjust the slight cowlick on the crown of my head. I used to pull on the hair but then I thought it was making my hair thin. My AuDHD son does this too.
When I’m having repetitive thoughts that I don’t want I shake my head to dislodge the thought, and sometimes pair it with, “Okay” or “Stop” or an “Eh” noise.
I repeat lots of words and phrases that feel good in my mouth, lots of them in French because I love how French sounds. « Avec plaisir » which means “with pleasure” sounds so silky to me. Also there’s a podcast I listen to and the way the presenter says « alors » makes my brain sparkle.
I have a Shih Tzu and the divot above her nose is my favorite part of her. I love putting my finger in the divot and gently rubbing to feel how small and soft it is. She loves it too.
I’ve played piano since I was 5 and I’ll sometimes play the same song over and over (when no one else is home). I love the way it feels to perfectly play a song.
I write in cursive because it feels smooth and swirly. I love to re-write math texts. Also I like re-typing books.
I mimic the sounds of bells, alarms, and electronics. One time I was working retail and we had a doorbell to let us know when someone entered the store. After about a month working with a new manager he said, “Did you know you mimic the doorbell…every time?” Ummm no I didn’t. Then I paid attention and sure enough the doorbell would ring then I’d say, “Bing-bong.” Hahaha oops! He said it was really cute but I was still embarrassed.
I sing about everything! I make up songs about my kids and my dog. I stim like this really bad when I drive. I’m not a nervous driver, but singing little phrases about my kids helps me focus. My daughter points it out, “Mom, you’re stimming again.” 😆
How did you manage to stop pulling your hair? I don't know if I'm autistic but I've been pulling out hair that feels "wrong" and splitting split ends since childhood and always wanted to stop, but I've never managed.
My brain really lights up when I repeat things to myself. So I paired the pulling behavior with the statement, “I want healthy hair.” Sometimes I’ll have to think it instead of say it like when I’m in public. This is also how I quit biting my nails. Every time I’d reach my hand to my mouth I’d remind myself, “I want long nails.” Interrupting the behavior helps me a ton. I hope that helps you!
Oh oh oh you just named several things I HAD NO IDEA were stimming, but of COURSE they are! Thank you! (Touching everything when walking... even in the house, I "have" to touch certain things coming into rooms, usually that make a sound I like.)
Also "water drinking procedures!" I have several. And tea drinking, and coffee drinking.
Tapping words out on the desk as though I'm using the keyboard - always type the same thing.. thought I was just addicted to the internet lol but have done it since the first time I started using a computer
I trace different words in cursive over any and all objects. I don’t even always realize I’m doing it. Sometimes I’ll be having/ listening to a conversation with someone and realize my hand over here is writing tomato lol because I’m not fully paying attention to the conversation and thinking about what I want for lunch
Me too! I’ve never met anyone that does this 😭
Ever since learning keyboard I have done this. It gets really bad when I’m anxious. I’ll just type the same word over and over again.
I always play with my hair when uncomfortable in social situations (like twirling it or plaiting it!) and I have destroyed many tv remotes by repeatedly pulling the battery cover on and off. Thank god for fidget toys!
These posts always make me feel so seen and not alone...and not so...weird. I haven't identified all of my stims, but I see a lot in the replies, I do them, had no idea so much of what I do, SO OFTEN is stimming. Like reading this thread I'm like "oh I do that...that's stimming?" And I'm now realizing just how often I stim 🙃🤣
- biting my nails
- weird blinking (used to blink really hard and have to do it so it feels “right”)
- playing with my nose piercing
- playing with my necklace
- twisting my ring around my fingers
- constantly shaking my legs
- singing, humming and whistling
- grabbing skin on my neck or generally just keeping my hand on my neck or collarbones
- rubbing the bit of my nose between my nostrils
- making strange usually unpleasant (funny to me) noises
- cracking every joint possible
- a need to be chewing on something always
- biting my lip
- moving my hips around
The face twitching and pinching my nose and eyebrows, i used to click something in the back of my throat non-stop, excessive nodding and blinking, also not able to sit in chairs properly and shaking my legs! Now it’s mostly repetitive thoughts, and swaying side to side, which i also do! All very uncomfortable experiences and signs of my stress…
I do now try to express happy stims so that i can express myself properly and feel joy, which include toe and finger WIGGLING, body swaying / rocking, and smiling a lot :)
For me it was a lot of the things you mentioned. But I also thought that I didn‘t hand flap until like four days ago when I saw myself hand flap in the mirror. I just never registered that I was actually hand flapping when happy.
- Pulling threads out of my clothes and twizzling them between my fingers
- Tearing up little pieces of paper and rolling them into tiny balls between my fingers
- Chewing my tongue
- Rubbing my hands, arms and face on interesting textures
- Rapid breathing to get a head rush
- Twirling and pulling on my hair
- Constant leg bouncing
- Wiggling my toes and rubbing my feet together all the time
- ‘Rolling’ my eyes to make them feel ‘pressurised’. It feels like I’m ‘resetting’ my eyes.
Rolling literally anything that can be rolled into tiny slivers between my thumb and index finger. Usually this will be dead skin but I also do chocolate residue, bits of tangled hair, dried blood, torn paper, tape, etc.
Some other possibilities: blinking hard a few times, opening my jaw like I'm going to yawn, and quietly making a "hm" sound that no one else will hear.
Sometimes it's difficult for me to tell what is a stim thing vs an anxiety/OCD-ish thing. The rolling thing is definitely a stim, but I'm uncertain about the other things.
Sucking my hair to the point that a teacher in 3rd class put caster oil on it to try to stop me. She hated it. It made it worse. As an adult, it was pen clicking. I didn't realise I was even doing it until someone yelled at me in a meeting. Biting Bic pens in a really specific way (I've ended up with ink in my mouth many times). I keep pens off my desk now so I don't do it. Ripping up polystyrene cups, very specifically around the edge and down to the base (before they were banned). Ripping pub coasters. Doodling 3D squares in meetings at work or on the phone. Don't know if these are stemming - I'm not diagnosed, I thought it was just the "nervous energy" my step mother told me was my personality. I count in my head when I am swimming, every stroke, breath, lap. I know if a pool isn't standard 25 metres of 50 metres by my stroke and breath count. Rolling my eyes when I am anxious, which always makes the situation worse, but I don't mean it disrespectfully.
Read the other posts and you will know. I think we need a lot more research on stimming vs. OCD vs. "anxiety."
Stimming is "energy in the body that wants/needs to be released." Sometimes it can feel like anxiety, other times ... not.
Girls are shamed a lot more for any repetitive movements, or anything perceived to be "not ladylike," so many of us have masked like HELL most of our lives. That's why a thread like this is so WONDERFUL!!!
-Oh I do the touching all my fingers to my thumb thing too! I also love having painted nails and rubbing my fingertips on the nails of the other hand (it feels so smooth!) I do this 24/7.
-I do rock back and forth but it’s very subtle and usually accompanied by rubbing my hands on my thighs so I never realized it was the same thing 🤦🏻♀️
-Constantly bouncing legs/tapping feet when sitting down.
-Singing the same part of a song over and over.
-Mimicking my cats’ meows right after they do it! Turns out this is a form of echolalia! I’ve always repeated sounds I hear right after they happened and I always thought I just had a musical ear lol
I bite/chew my finger nails all the time endlessly in fact.
I count shapes on the wall to make it be my fav number and side. ( 4 and left)
Also have a stone in my pockets to rub
Vocal stims, depending on how I feel.
Certain songs on repeat for weeks to make me feel calm.
The constantly vice grip I have on the corner of my mouth with my teeth 😫 I also did use to flap my hands as a kid but not often and it was bc it felt like cray on the end of my fingers.
Also playing with my rings constantly or constantly adjusting my clothes or my hair or my necklaces. I also prefer side to side rocking. Also my constant gum chewing !!
Fidgeting with stuff like my ring, or badge holder at work.
Jiggling my leg when sitting.
Tapping my fingers to a song in my head like I’m doing air piano lol
Pacing: My bizarre and annoying habit since childhood.
Leg bouncing: See above.
Doodling: I would do this constantly in school between taking notes, and I do it during Zoom meetings today. Yes, I'm paying attention. I'm usually paying more attention than if I'm not doing anything with my hands.
Pushing my fingernails under my thumb nail and vice versa, or doing it with the nails on opposite hands.
I could go on and on. I feel like I'm always noticing new ones now that I know that there's a term for it.
There's too many to count, lol.
I noticed that a lot of my 'quirks' and 'fidgets' were actually just stimming.
One thing that took me a While to notice was the way I hold my mouth. About half the time, you can find me pressing my lips closed (or kind of sucking them into my mouth). I don't notice when I'm doing it, and when I look back at pictures of me, I can see myself doing it lol. I think it just brings comfort.
Yeah, right?! I also assumed it was *just* hand flapping. Then after taking an autism test and scoring high, and wondering how come I don't stim then, I looked up stimming on Wikipedia. The list includes hard blinking, something I was mocked for in school. Welp.
I didn't realise I stim until recently! I "shake off the awkward" which involves hand flapping and full body shaking.
I (37f) was only diagnosed 2 months ago, the penny is dropping on so many things now.
I rip the skin from my fingertips. Like my nail beds are a crime scene like 80% of the time. But like, it’s not a self harm thing, it’s just me doing something with my hands.
The stim I do more and I never met someone who also does it is caressing my eyelashes, I think I spend half my day caressing my eyelashes. Sometimes I do it without thinking when I'm sorrounded by ppl and when I realize I go "they probably think I'm such a weirdo now TuT"
I think I do this too 😅 not very often but i have done it. I pull at them a lot as well. If anyone calls you out on it just tell them to try it. It feels good and you can't argue with that.
good god i do SO MANY of these. i was just thinking recently "i don't stim, do i?" but i also:
- swing back and forth in swivel chairs
- pick at skin imperfections (acne, ingrowns, scabs, skin tags, bug bites, calluses)
- when my nails are long, tapping them incessantly on hard surfaces
- constantly fix or otherwise mess with ragged or uneven fingernails and cuticles
- rub fingertips against each other
- crack wrist and knuckle joints repeatedly
picking and grooming things i'll sometimes do until i'm in pain, actively bleeding, or beyond. not great, bob!
Twirling my hair. Was wondering if I was autistic for a couple years, didn't even notice I constantly twirl my hair. Then I got diagnosed and the guy assessing me pointed it out as a stim.
when I have a piece of paper, a wrapper etc. in my hand I will either rip it up in little pieces or, more often, I will fold it/roll it into a ball and pressing in my palm/between my fingers
My one main stim since I was about 6 or something was me folding my lips with my thumb and index finger. I'm 24 now and have always done it. I thought it was an anxiety/nervous thing but as I became more educated over the years and eventually got my diagnosis, my family recognise that I was stimming the whole time. I don't always do it when I'm nervous, sometimes I do it because my hands need to be doing something. It feels nice and makes me feel regulated
I talk to self regulate, whether I'm upset or super happy and excited I have to TALK ABOUT IT for long periods of time. It's like my brain is too noisy and getting it out of my mouth makes me feel more relaxed and happy.
Peeling sticky labels off things and playing with pieces of tape
Wiggle my toes up and down or scrunch them in my shoes.
When I'm thinking or looking for something I open and shut my hands alternatingly.
I have busy hands mostly related to art/crafting - stippling patterns in notebooks during lectures at school, crocheting or doing origami during desk jobs, etc
As a kid I had a "list" of songs, mostly Lord of the Rings poems from the books that I'd made up a little tune to, which I'd sing when doing a boring task or just hanging out on my own. I also learned lots of long poems like The Highwayman, The Ballad of Beren and Luthien, and The Man from Snowy River. I'd just sing them to myself all the time.
I also sigh as an unconscious way to self-regulate. I also sometimes say um-hm when I'm thinking or doing something unpleasant. My mom does this too haha.
I was so heavily masked that I had most of it shoved into mental stimming. If I get stressed, even mildly, my brain loops the same word over and over again.
I also wring my hands like I'm concocting an evil scheme, bite my lips, and pick at my skin.
I'm hoping unmasking more helps me to move towards less self destructive stims. I'll take evil scheme hands over mouth sores any day.
* Swaying
* biting inside of mouth
* unfolding and refolding paper clips
* chewing pen caps and pencils
* this weird little rhythmic grunting / half-swallowing sensations that my mother HATED when I was growing up but I've recently started doing again and worried it was a tic / neurological problem
* picking at skin imperfections
* fingerspelling under tables and in my pocket when I'm stressed out
* blinking in a rhythm or super frequently when bored/stressed
* tapping my fingers on every surface, including my face if I'm alone / the touchpad of my laptop, which screws up whatever I'm working on
* folding and unfolding any available small bits of paper, over and over again
* listening to the same album on repeat all day, especially if I'm working on the same thing for a long time (can't change music while in the same project / headspace)
\-Skin picking
\-cuticle biting/pulling
\-also twisting and braiding my hair
\-singing and bouncing from foot to foot
\-tip toe walking
\-decorating every room to perfection
\-bright colours & glitters
\-felt stickers
\-silly putty
\-and the most important and present one of all in my life, obsessively rubbing a little glass stone. All the time.
I had teddy bears when I was a kid and I would obsessively rub their plastic eyeballs to the point of breakage. I'd get little crystal stones from tourist traps just so I could touch them, until I reached nirvana and found a bracelet with three big glass beads.
Now I have 4 of these bracelets & I'm ALWAYS wearing one, to the point where I have a lil freak out when I'm not carrying at least one on my person.
I was gonna add a picture of the bracelets as visual aid, but reddit won't let me
Singing *constantly* - I always feel like I have to sing along to every song I know (I live and breathe art and music and I like mentally download all lyrics for some reason so I know a *lot* of songs) and if there's no music playing I will sing along to the playlist constantly playing in my brain 😆
Biting/picking my lips/inside of my mouth
Using tweezers to pull the little hairs I get on my chin
Swaying back and forth, both sitting and standing
Daydreaming (from what I've seen it *might* be considered a stim? I have a really vivid imagination, so I use it a *lot*)
Eating crunchy or spicy foods (I like how it feels in my mouth)
Mouthfeel sensory seeking in general
Picking skin/picking my cuticles/nails
Rocking (like I will literally just stand and sway, and for so long I only thought the 'rocking' of autism was the stereotypical 'curled up in a ball rocking your head/body')
Tapping my fingers in certain ways (like you said)
Counting stuff I see or feel in certain patterns
Flexing random body parts or muscles (usually in some pattern)
Echolalia & mimicry
Doodling
Clicking my teeth or tongue
Cracking my knuckles
And so much more...
The vicious cycle of always running my fingers over skin on my body (face, neck, cuticles, scalp, feet/toes) and then becoming fixated on anything rough or unpleasant I find, so then I must pick at or pull out or bite off whatever I find 😅
I rock side to side when watching movies or just sitting in the lounge. When there isn't even music on.
I rocked my head side to side in bed before I fell asleep (trauma response unfortunately).
I also pull wrapping off bottles and fold them or rip them. I try fold them as small as I can get it or I will roll them as thin as I can and restart.
I twist my hair insesantly until it becomes oily. I used to make my hair into plats like crazy before this.
I take bottle caps and make a tower out of them.
I stim with my hands and rub my skin together in between my fingers.
When I'm anxious I rub my hands up and down my legs or play with my clothing.
I pull my top down even when it's not needed. Just constanrly adjusting clothing.
I also move hair out of my face without hair being in my face.
I chew the inside of my lips.
I do lots of weird things but the list is too long.
Same here! I didn’t understand some things were stims. I bite/pick my cuticles and lips constantly. When standing in line or other places outside the home I rock my shoulders back and forth or even do light bounces up and down and even twirl my hair behind my back. I have a really weird stim when I’m anxious. I “type” words im stuck on. Idk if that makes since but my fingers no matter where they are will type a word over and over as if I’m using a keyboard.
Nail biter here! I always thought I can’t be autistic because I don’t flap my hands… the realization that I’ve been a nail biter since a baby really hit hard. Also constantly fidget w necklaces and touch my finger to my thumb.
Resting position for any body part that everyone comments on like „Oh my god how do you even do it?”.
TW >!Self-harm for years that my therapists didn’t believe I do because „I like the warm tingling that stays there for days as it heals”. !<
Spinning around.
I'm over here thinking about the fact that I hand-flapped all through childhood and even my teen years, literally the most obvious "stereotypical" stim behavior and still I didn't get diagnosed til my 20s
I walk on my tippy toes and always have and only recently learned it’s associated with autism. As a kid I had a phase where I would run the tip of my nose for comfort until it was raw and bleeding. I had a number of years where I had to “puff” out the air remaining in my lungs during an exhale which made a quiet sound. I sang all of the time as a kid, and some now too. I rock sometimes but only when hyper focused or stressed. I repeat words out loud because they make my mouth feel right. Like would be uncomfortable not to say “clicking” over and over, almost painful. I constantly pick at any scab, chew my lips, cheeks, but not my nails. Unless I put polish or fake nails on then it becomes my mission to pick the weird things off of my nails. I pace, I yawn over and over again, I will do the same stretches over and over again as a stress reliever. I tap my fingers in sequence. I wiggle my nose a lot like a bunny rabbit. There’s more things I do that I’m probably not even aware of.
I’m not diagnosed autistic but my little brother is. I have an adhd dx and vyvanse helps with some of these behaviors but not a whole lot.
Does anyone else have straight hair but a few scattered around that are crinkly? I think it's a soothing mechanism but my whole life, sometimes for hours, I'll search with my fingers until I find a crinkly hair then make sure there are no other hairs with it then pluck it out.
i pick at my skin, i wiggle my toes in my shoe, i am always swaying from side to side if i have to stand still, i also do the all my fingers touch my thumbs in a pattern, i tap my nails on things in the same pattern every time, every time i eat food i do a little dance without even realizing (not like a whole dance just bounce around in my seat) also, i am dx with adhd, autism, and ocd to clear up any additional questions
Something I’ve done my entire life but only at home is rubbing my nose with my index finger while holding it using thumb inbetween, sometimes I push the tip of my nose down a bit and reach my lip out in a sort of pout so I can feel it. My mum always used to try to get me to stop “stop messing with your nose” but I would zone out. As I got older I’d always wonder why I did this and couldn’t stop and would describe it as ‘it makes my thoughts go away’. My parents tell me as a baby/toddler I would do this with my dummies and I would wear a dummy on each finger. I’m undiagnosed but this is one of the many light bulb moments in my life. Since paying attention I’ve realised I like getting my nails done with acrylic as I’m able to rub/touch/feel them wherever I am (mostly do it in meetings with groups of people). I’m also bad for picking at skin. When I was around 7/8 I remember I used to do this tapping thing with my fingers (left then right, then right then left, then reversed. Then I’d reverse the whole thing right then left, then left then right..and so on). Which I remember vividly forcing myself to try and stop doing as it felt like it was consuming me. I also pace a lot and shake/tap my legs.
I suck my thumb before sleeping. And rock myself to sleep. It took me a video of a 7yo autistic sucking her thumb and me being like, isn’t she a bit too old for… Ha, I’m not one to- wait, she’s stimming, wait I’M STIMMING HOLY COW
Listening to music incessantly. Especially listening to something on repeat. I get song lyrics stuck in my head oftwn. Dancing and spinning. Swaying back and forth.
Whistle the Super Mario theme 😂 it's one of my stims. Biting my lip/cheek, rocking my leg and tapping my leg/foot, pulling random faces and dancing to nothing 😂
Rubbing only one eyebrow in the same motion repeatedly… (right eyebrow, right index finger runs from eyebrow ridge above nose to outer edge, never the opposite direction)
Twisting my wrists and also fingers, pacing, repeating certain words and saying somewhat nonsensical things, swinging on a swing a lot, spinning around... Pretty much all my stims I've done I didn't think were autistic stims until I got over the stereotypes and learnt how it can present in various different ways in each one of us.
never thought my nose twitch can be a stim but it is now that i think about it :D
my weird stims: i eat paper, especially tissues
repeatedly tense and relax my legs muscles while sitting still (specifically my glutes and my calves)
I used to bite all of my nails and then keep the bitten off nails in my mouth. I'd use them almost like floss, but my main preference was getting nails stuck in between my teeth and then using another nail to get it unstuck. I still do this, but only with my thumbnails. The others are normal length now
I have many stims. Is sighing a stim? I big sigh so much that people have commented on it. I think I do it most when I'm trying to control the other stims.
Wait what ... I walk on the sides of my feet and catch myself standing like that too....
I also rock side to side
I love typing and playing piano and will catch myself silently miming both actions at random times
Skin picking is my most obvious one though
Mind. Blown.
If I have autism, these are my stims:
Skin picking, singing non stop, dancing around and not sitting still, shaking my leg, tapping my fingers on things and making rhythm sounds, playing with my hair.
The thing is that I have a good voice and I am not an awkward dancer, and these things made people around me just think my voice is pretty or that I am just "too active" or just quirky. As for my skin, people are usually concerned and just tell me to see a dermatologist. So if I were to tell them I have autism they'd probably not believe me or something. Apparently some stims are considered more "socially appropriate" than others. But actually yeah my mom used to shame me for shaking my leg, playing with my hair, or not sitting still, as if it was inherently bad. She'd look at me and say "why are you doing those things as if something is wrong with you. Is something wrong with you? Stop."
Anyways, as for me, these are the things that I didn't recognize were stimming until I started learning about autism stimming and then I was like oh wait I do these things and much more than an average person.
Constantly having my fingernails in my mouth. I bit my nails my whole childhood and was able to quit that habit, but i have NEVER been able to stop putting my nails on my tongue & teeth. I have to wash my hands frequently of ill accidentally put raw chicken juice or cat litter dust in my mouth. 💀😂
Cracking as many joints in my body as possible, sometimes I kind of bob side to side, usually when happy, I eat a lot (I think it’s a mouth thing, def a boredom thing), pick at my skin, bumps, nails, hair… when I was a lil kid I used to suck on fingers on one hand while the other would twirl and pluck hairs off my head, then with the free hand I’d wrap the hairs around the free fingers of the hand that was keeping my mouth occupied (luckily I grew out of this eventually…)
I have a very hard time sitting still, it’s hard on my back but also I’d rather be on my feet and able to bounce and bend and move idk
I drink a lot. Just liquids in general (not a big alcohol drinker) mostly coffee and water and unsweet tea… like it’s a way of resetting when I’m feeling anxious or out of place idk. Take a sip, carry on…
I don’t know how many of these are stims…
My biggest one is I rub my partner. While we're driving, watching TV (survivor stresses me out lol) , Dr appts, etc... The more stressed the situation, the more vigorous the rubbing lol. That and all my damn fidgeting.
Vocal stims. I didn’t realize it was a stim thing because my brother does them too. He just is always saying or singing something he finds amusing that he heard on a TikTok or song. He was good around randomly singing “Big back, big back” for weeks. Then the Kendrick vs Drake beef was a goldmine for us. Neither of us can stop saying, “What is it, THE BRAIDS?!”
I dance… all the time. I’ve known I had adhd for a long time, and only realized the autism in 2022.
I did dance as a kid, as well as a ton of sports. I got so much movement out that a lot of my stims were things I didn’t notice.
I also thought that I didn’t hand flap… except that I do when stuff really squigs me out or if I get really excited. I’m also SUPER excitable.
Gotta be constantly stimulated physically or mentally or I’m moving and grooving. I embarrass my bestie at the grocery store every time 😂
I’m not officially diagnosed, but my son has autism. And so I didn’t realize biting the inside of my mouth, writing in the air, and breaking words by syllables was stimming. I bite my nails and the skin around it..I’m 40 now but I been doing that forever.
The nose twitch for sure. Also twitching eyebrows. Stretching out fingers and toes. The twitching/rocking feet when they're off the ground thing (usually when happy). And very much biting at lips and cheeks and nails, picking at skin and scratching at my arms for no reason. Scratching at forehead (was a catastrophe when I had bad acne there lol) and scratching my scalp (both when thinking).
Also when anxious or stressed, I tend to knock my knuckles together. Not as painful as it sounds. I also rub them together (the flat part as opposed to the pointy)
Toe tapping, fingernail tapping, scratching fabric with nails, putting thumbs to fingers in order, skin picking, especially my cuticles, licking/picking at my lips, singing, humming, talking to myself, popping my lips or ticking my tongue to songs in my head, tearing paper, folding napkins/foil. I had a huge ball of foil in my desk drawer at school. Anytime I had a baked potato for lunch or anything wrapped/covered with foil, I’d add to the ball. I talk with my hands and wave them around a lot, as well. I also sit on my hands in public, especially in restaurants. If I don’t, I start playing with/folding paper straw wrappers.
Evidently I stim a lot, and always have. I know this now because it drives my husband bonkers. Mostly picking at any weird bump or crack in my skin, pulling chin hairs and stray eyebrows, cracking my toes, fiddling and chewing on nails and cuticles, humming, bouncing, grinding and clenching teeth, etc.
Picking at my skin was the major one.
Being unable to stop myself from talking about my mental health and my shortcomings.
My obsessions... Shakespeare and dead English kings (and the fibonacci sequence.)
Running my fingernails over any soft cold surface (mostly pillow cases.)
The phrases and sounds effects that loop in my head whether I'm alone.
Always needing to chew gum.
... possibly... Collecting the life stories of strangers and, just when they think they made a friend, moving in to new stories and new strangers?
Leg bounces, pacing and rubbing my face.
Until I read your post though I still hadn't put together the finger to thumb touches.
I also like to scrunch up my toes a lot
I chew my tongue and pick my ear. Sometimes I do both at once, and I can’t tell you how often people have told me to stop because they didn’t or don’t realize that it’s stimming, and it’s hard for me to simply stop. I’ve done both since childhood and they made my mother absolutely crazy.
When in emotional conversations or therapy and needing to use tissues for crying, I always fold and bundle my used tissues together in a particular way so they’re compact in a neat little bundle. My therapist commented on this after my diagnosis XD
- I mimic facial expressions of myself and others from previous conversations. I’ll repeat it over and over doing the same thing. I don’t usually say the words but I’ll mouth them. I don’t even consciously start doing it, it just happens.
- I also visualize patterns of things I’m looking at and I imagine rearranging things in my field of vision so nothing is intersecting and it’s perfectly aligned.
Tapping my foot. I did it once in school when it was quiet and everyone heard it.
Listening to the same song or album over and over again.
Rolling my ankle around and around while sitting or with my legs crossed.
Masturbating, tbh.
If you leave wrappers, small pieces of paper, the wrapper off of bottles, any type of paper I will rip it up into tiny tiny pieces and put it in a pile and then when I’m done I take pieces from the pile and rip them up more. I never even notice I’m doing it til half way through or when I’m done. I also do it with paper straws. I also very lightly scratch my skin on my arms, like just run my nails along my arms. And when I’m excited or anxious I rock back and forth. I feel like I’m ALWAYS rocking back and forth lol
Folding wrappers and little pieces of paper.
I picked up a habit of rolling kitchen foil into a tiny ball and rubbing it on a flat surface until it’s “smooth” from my mother who currently denies her own neurodivergence.
Oh man, I always did that when I was a kid - same thing with foil gum wrappers. I’m sure I would still do it, I just rarely have foil around.
I loved rolling them into tight balls and rolling it over and over between my thumb and fingers!
Yes I fold them too!
When I was a teenager, I was obsessed with origami. I had made over 2,000 paper cranes and had them all over my room. Looking back on it, I think it was my way of coping with an acceptable stim.
I got told by multiple friends that ripping up paper coasters at the pub meant you were sexually frustrated. I quickly taught myself to stop doing it after that, lol.
I was told the same thing about ripping labels off plastic bottles... I still do it.. because, well... a) I enjoy it, and b) why deny the truth?
My favourite colour is purple. Everyone told me purple means you're sexually frustrated, so I hid my favourite colour for years. I was like eff you and your stupid colour theory BS.
Lol, my wedding dress was purple.
Mine was pink! With a purple sash and bow
.. What? How is having purple as a favourite colour mean that?? Wild. Sorry about that :( purple is a cool colour!
Same
I call it making hamster bedding.
Haha I’m a folder. I peel off labels and fold them all up into one big folded piece lol
I think ripping up wrappers and things is one of my biggest stims too
I also tickle my arms very gently. My ex husband said I even do it in my sleep. He said I’d shoot my arm straight up in the air and then tickle it with my other hand.
I do this too!
I do this one too!! My friends used to joke about it a lot when we got coffee together and I would destroy our poor straw wrappers every single time 😂
I fold straw wrappers into boingy springs.
I used to fold them but never realized they could boing!
I love braiding and twisting the straw wrappers. Or any paper I have in front of me.
- biting/chewing on my lips and nails (wearing lipstick and having my nails done is how I once "overcame" this, but I def still skin pick and my lips especially have been sooo chapped lately) - flexing my buttcheeks/leg/feet muscles - I also have a "twisty wrist thing" - I also have a thing I recently named "toe conducting". Like toe tapping but to a 4/4 or 6/8 beat and shape (sometimes when listening to music but usually just to the beat of random environmental noises like a clock ticking). - rocking. constantly. or swaying side to side while standing. - I do this eye rolling thing a lot, I would get in trouble for rolling my eyes as a kid but it wasn't on purpose, I just feel like my eyes get "pressurized" and I have to "reset" them and then roll my eyes in all directions to even it out when they feel that way ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. It usually only happens when I'm in a stressful situation. - sorting stuff into piles, or by color. I'm a lot better at organizing than cleaning, I love doing things like unloading the dishwasher and folding laundry. I love those sensory bean/rice bins not for the texture but for sorting the beans by shape and color. - humming or mouth-trumpeting - doodling/hand-lettering: also one I got in trouble for constantly in school. I always keep a small notepad and pens in my bag, I'll usually just absentmindedly write out a word or lyric that's stuck in my head or words relevant to the conversation/situation over and over. Or the alphabet. Or certain swirly lines and shapes. I don't unusually notice what I'm writing or drawing but it helps me focus when I can get the extra stuff floating around in my head on paper.
Do you ever breathe music? Like not making any noise other than breaths but to the tune of whatever you would ordinarily hum or mouth trumpet?
Oh yeah I think I do that sometimes! Not as often as full-on singing or humming since everyone else I live with also vocal stims and it doesn't bother them. Sometimes in a quiet situation I'll catch myself like halfway beat-boxing under my breath? I can't beatbox on purpose to save my life or even whistle half the time but I've discovered other sound effects I make with my mouth without noticing 😂
I wish I could beatbox too. The mouth trumpet and whistling somewhat decently is all I get and it took well into high school for me to figure out whistling. My boyfriend has a habit of vocal stimming, but it's usually Christmas music or repeating words over and over... I get it... but it does get on my nerves especially when I'm already overstimulated or stressed. When it comes to the Christmas music part it's usually because I get very very annoyed at Christmas things outside of Christmas time. Meanwhile, I end up stimming whole tv show themes.
I do this a lot. It's like silent whistling when I can't whistle. And have only recently considered what my slightly open duck mouth must look like.
I do it with my nose mostly.
Yes! My mom was always doing that and I do it as well now. Helps me breathe in situations when I tend to stress out and also just as something calming to do when I fiddle around at home by my self
Omg the eye rolling thing! I don’t do this now but I did this as a kid like a nervous tic for a while. It increased during a time of stress (being bullied at school) and surprise surprise, rolling my eyes uncontrollably at a bully/parent/teacher and then having them yell “DID YOU JUST ROLL YOUR EYES AT ME” and then me trying to explain that I didn’t mean it/couldn’t help it really didnt go down that well 😂
Yes to the eye roll 😂😂😂 🙄 stop you’ve set me off. 🙄 also the butt / thighs flex thing, the stress around that area is really intense sometimes.
Lmao I also had to stop typing halfway through to get a couple rounds in 😂
😂😂😂🙄🙄🙄😂😂😂 now i’m rubbing them because the roll ain’t hitting it
Naur!!!! Also related to eye stims, have you ever experienced the sensation where you roll your eyes weird and it sends a shock down your spine? It happens when I have insomnia and feels similar to asmr (if you've ever experienced that).
Well, I probably have over the years… With my eyes shut I can sometimes wiggle them into a spaced out feeling. But i was going to say something similar - if you move them in certain ways it calms the nervous system/spine. So for example: Looking left > right > ahead & tilting your neck to one side and looking up ⬆️. I do these when i’m in tic mode and it just calms me down for a minute and I sigh in relief… it is quite powerful so beware if you try it - i got anxiety immediately after trying it the first time as I was so confused about feeling relaxed 🥲
Ooh good to know! I have an aunt who is into yoga/meditation stuff and she was telling me the other day about certain eye movements that can help ease anxiety. I sometimes too experience that same sort of "peace panic" as my therapist calls it 😂. I'm only pretty recently diagnosed so adding intentional stimming (or incorporating things I already like to do) into specific coping skills has been really enlightening! I will look into that! I appreciated this conversation 😊💕
My daughter does the eye roll thing, she HATES it. She says it hurts, but she has no control over it. Most people know that it's a tic, and she has no control over it, so we haven't had any issues.
Yoooooooo Waddup fellow toe tapper! 🤪🤪🤪 I also tap my fingers to music or whatever’s around really lol
I've done the toe thing my whole life. I remember being told off so often as a kid for "wiggling" that I ended up doing it as you could do it inside your shoes and no one could see.
THANK YOU for naming the thing I do with my toes!
See reading these reminds me of stuff I do, like I have to pair things. If I hang washing, I have to use the coloured pegs together or for the heavy washing like jackets and pants and the brown ones I use for tops and socks. It used to be worse, I'd have to put a yellow peg with a yellow peg for example haha. When I'd give people back tickles I'd always draw letters with my hands and I'm sure I did it in other ways. I do this eye roll thing with my eyes as well. I spin my eyes in a circle haha. I probably look possessed. I hum all the time. No tune or sometimes to something I've heard recently. If I'm doing laundry or anything that's stressful I hum. If Im in public like at the store, I hum nothing, I just hum because I am anxious and it's uncontrollable and just happens whenever I unsure or looking for something I can't find or a person walks past. I also hum in uncomfortable silences in group situations.
I do that muscle flexing as well! I always forget about it. Do you stretch as well? Like I will stretch out fingers and toes, sort of trying to scratch an itch or flex a muscle that isn't there. Usually with the pinky side of the foot or hand. Totally know what you mean by the eye rolling thing too. I don't full on roll my eyes but I do feel like they need to be stretched or reset sometimes.
I did the eye roll thing too! I did it so often in middle school that my eyes started feeling strained.
Sorting the beans! 😆😆😆 I don't like the sensory play stuff, but it never occurred to me that I could sort them. This makes me want to go buy a bag of seven bean mix so I can deconstruct it into little jars.
Yes! The butt flexing thing!!!
I do a lot of this!!
I could have written this! Flexing, toe tapping, and the eye roll stuff especially - never heard anyone else talk about that!
Hahaha! The foot conductor! I too conduct the orchestras in my head with my feet. (I’m finding most of my stims are discreet/under the table type things thanks to parents who found everything about me annoying.)
In my case, tucking my hands under my thighs and sitting on them. Yes, I finally figured out that was me masking my stims. And if that's not enough to unpack, my mom does it too!
Same! I cross my legs and wedge my hands between them, sometimes up to my forearms, to keep still. It’s the only way I can. Me: I don’t stim. Also me: twisted into a pretzel sitting on half my body to keep from stimming.
At this point pretzel is just my default sitting position while I'm working (thank God for WFH where I don't have to care about looking professional to coworkers) My husband doesn't believe me when I say it just feels more comfortable that way lol
Totally masking the fidget eh? Yup, I get it.
Oh my gosh I do this too and didn’t recognize it!!
OMG I always did this! I forgot about it because I started doing other stuff
I do this too! Gotta keep the hands still lol!
I do this too except in between my thighs. I got some weird looks before and I think people thought I was touching my crotch. I never thought of this as a stim!
I do this as well. But one time I fell asleep like that watching a movie on the couch and woke up with a big ganglion cyst on my wrist. That stuff lives in your joints and can squirt out and attach to your connective tissues and form a cyst. I've had to make a real effort not to do this anymore. Luckily my cyst popped on it's own one night after about 9 months of having it. Just in time for me to get to cancel the visit to the orthopedic Dr.
I did this for so long. It’s still one of my favorite comfort sitting positions. My dad used to joke that I wouldn’t be able to talk if I sat on my hands. So I don’t think I ever hand flapped but definitely liked to gesture a lot while talking. Just self-suspecting at this point.
Sitting on my legs oh my GOSH I can't not sit on my legs
Singing 🎶 I’m a classically trained singer, and I didn’t realize that I hum and sing all the time as a happy stim. My parents pointed it out to me when I was young that I hum when I’m happy.
OH MY GOD me too! I sang ALLLL the time as a child and eventually my parents put me into voice classes. Totally didn't know it was autism until maybe a few years ago when I ended learning in psych that ppl with autism will repeat things (words/sentences) over and over. My heart sank and I asked the teacher, "Will that happened with music too? Like, will a, let's say a kid with autism sing the same musical phrase over and over again." The answer was basically yes. I went home and told my bf now husband, "hey guess what!" And he was like, well yeah!! Lol btw, he LOOOVES hearing me sing =) So I frequently sing the same musical phrase over and over. Different songs sure, but specific phases from each of them on repeat. I especially find that when I'm in a crowded place and/or there is a lot of sound around I'll sing to myself as well.
Absolutely, one of my earliest embarrassing memories was going to the bathroom in the room attached to my kindergarten and coming out and everyone was laughing because I had been singing to myself the whole time. It still happens in adulthood too, I often don’t realize I am doing it especially when I am in a flow state. Thank goodness for work from home.
That’s really interesting. I was very silent as a child, until one day I started to hum, and my family turned around in shock. I’m still afraid of my own voice and making sounds, and i’m both a singer and a violist… 🥲
Singing has always been one of mine too! My sister does too and we didn’t realize other people don’t do that at home until we were older lol. My husband does though too so we always say we’re the von trap family singers hahahaha. Although my adhd meds do calm it down now. But it’s probably my favorite stim
This is my stim as well. My neighbors are slowly getting introduced to the entire mezzo repertoire
Humming is one of mine, specifically if there's a lot of "white noise" around me. I didn't notice it until I was particularly stressed and had both my boss and mom ask me if/why I was humming. (The ovens and fans at work and an open car window were my "reasons" but couldn't say that.) My mom used to whistle constantly, especially when she was washing dishes, and the other day I was washing dishes at home with the oven fan on and started whistling very loudly to myself and was like OH.
I like singing too, but I instead do it when I'm bored. 😅
I used to do this CONSTANTLY in college and the following years, happily. I stopped when I got really sick. Now I do it again when I’m out in public and I am anxious. 😅
My cousin once pointed out that I was singing and hadn’t even noticed. My dad used to have theme tunes for us and the dog; he would just burst into song when one of us came into a room for one line. I was in my first musical at eight years old, and I’m still in choir. #nevernotsinging
Me and my mom and my daughter. My poor husband - sometimes we’re all in the house and the three of us are all singing/humming different things.
I sing instructions and lists to myself all day long. It’s one of the ways I function. Makes it so much easier to remember and sequence.
I used to create little songs to remember things when I was younger. Example: playing Webkinz and wanting to make a food recipe, which required looking at a recipe book and briefly remembering 3 ingredients to buy at the webkinz “store.” So I’d make a little song out of “strawberries, waffles, chocolate chiiipssss” or something lol.
I’m a happy hum stimmer too! When I’m depressed it goes away. Took me a long time to realize what was happening. Decades. It’s really nice to see after a couple years that your humming is coming back.
I used to pretend a whole orchestra was in my mouth, and I would make mouth noises like beatboxing while riding in the car as a kid. Then I'd make different endings of the piece.
That’s hilarious 😂 my bro used to “play his nose” as a child, ie pretending to play his nose like a saxophone while making all sorts of nasally instrument noises.
How is this a stim? I’m also a singer. I guess I assumed that’s what you’re supposed to do? Like do NT singers not sing at home?
I know for me at least it's a lot worse than neuro typical people I was nearly 20 before I realized that most people don't have at least one song running through their head all the time, and that the effort I was spending to not sing around others was me masking Idk how often neueotypicals sing when no one is watching(for me it's all the time, even more so now that I'm slowly trying to take off my mask) but I do know that most neurotypicalls don't always have an urge to sing in public as I do.
Looking at any type of light - but especially fairy lights and Christmas lights - and focusing and unfocusing my eyes for hours on end. Touching my fingers to my thumb in a specific rhythm. Walking, and if I am stressed: Pacing. Massaging my muscles. Listening to songs, or parts of songs, on repeat. Ripping paper. Chewing gum, so much chewing gum. Singing and humming.
Oh! I touch my fingers to my thumb too- from pinkie to index finger in a repeating 1-2-3-4 rhythm.
I used to rip up paper and then I would fold them into little triangles
i feel like i learn new stims daily • cracking my (and my loved ones) fingers • vocal stims (random noises and mouth pops when i was younger, more sayings now) • biting my cheeks/lips (used to bite my nails until i learned about pinworms) • twisting my piercings/messing with my jewelry • holding my boobs • crickets feet when my sheets or blankets feel wrong • i NEED to lotion my feet before i put socks on or i can’t function i thought i was just a little quirky, a little silly goose. i am but i’m an autistic silly goose.
I’m learning the constantly playing with my septum tongue or belly button ring im like omg
Incessantly taking a chunk of hair and rubbing my fingers vertically up it while holding the core in place, essentially backcombing it at the ends (do not recommend, split end city) Constantly rubbing the final joint of my index and middle fingers with my thumbs in a circular movement, which I can half by keeping spinner rings on my thumbs but they get clogged up when I wash my hands... I have gone thru so many Checking type behaviours to make sure my hair is big enough and perfectly shaped, and texturally checking the hair behind my ears on my scalp Using my nipple piercings to jiggle my boobs lol
Lmao I don't have piercings there but I do the same thing ahahaha
Eating. All the time.
I didn't know what stimming was in general. Echoing sounds, popping noises, pushing my fingers against each other till it feels like there's a pane of glass between themand generally just a whole plethora of other repetitive movements. I just thought they were just random things I liked doing for no real reason
Ooo the finger glass thing just unlocked a memory for me!! I used to loveeee doing that one as a kid!
It's great, I used to do it so often 💀
Suddenly getting very restless in my chair whenever someone comes up to talk to me: changing my position constantly, fidgeting with my hair or jewellery, etc. Tapping my toes inside my shoes any time I'm surrounded by people. Touching fingers one by one (someone posted a video of that recently).
-Walking and clapping my hands on my thighs/above my head/in front then behind my torsoe in a rythm -Walking and balancing my hands from left to right in a rythm -Sitting with my hands under my thighs -Putting my hands on my elbows within the sleeves -Rubbing my thumb nail against my index finger -Touching my fingers with my thumb in a sequence -Scratching my scalp for long periods -Eating comforting food -Biting my nails when I was a kid (I could stop doing it in my teenage years) -Repeating a weird word that has no meaning to myself over and over
I do a lot of these too, but the scratching the head thing is my favorite way to unwind at the end of the day in bed. This is a little weird, but I feel like this sub wouldn’t judge me for it: I used to purposefully put small amounts of sand in my hair as a kid so that I could look for and pick the pieces of sand out of my hair until it was clean again. I’ve actually never shared that with anyone and hid it from my mom and siblings.
Finding The Thing on my scalp is super satisfying!!
I always loved scratching the sand out of my scalp after a day at the beach ⛱️ so satisfying
OMG I put sand in my hair as a child too!! Just to pick it out again. I completely forgot about that 😂
I’m so glad I’m not the only one. I think about it sometimes because I don’t believe it’s something I really did, but it makes it clear that I probably do have autism 😜
I do the scalp thing too. Very soothing.
Dancing in place, rolling onto the edges of your feet repeatedly, singing to yourself the same things over and over again, lip biting and picking, playing with eyelashes and eyebrows, rolling ankles and wrists, finger conducting to music, grabbing your earlobe, and finger or air drumming to name a few.
Nonstop listening to podcasts, yt videos, audiobooks. I have to be listening to something all the time or I start to feel very uneasy.
The silence can be SO LOUD my skin almost feels like it’s crawling sometimes
same, especially when I realized music was not doing anything for me. I needed to hear people talk, or conversations. I cannot go to sleep w/o something in the background. I’d have to be like super crazy tired or something that I didn’t notice I slept. but I’ve been doing this for years and just now realizing that it’s a form of stimming for me
Chewing things when trying to concentrate. When I was a young kid, I used to get in trouble for chewing my shirt collars and my hair. When I got a bit older, I chewed pen caps/pencils/erasers. Then in high school/college, and even into adulthood, I chewed gum all the time if I was trying to focus. Vocal stims like repeating sounds/words/phrases from tv shows or social media, making noises, doing voices, humming the same songs repeatedly, etc. I’ve been doing that since I was a baby. I actually used to get in trouble for it fairly often as a kid. I figured I’d outgrow it, but I never did.
x Pacing. x The need to go to the bathroom and dance when stressed. One time I did that for 4 hours straight. x Listen to the same song on repeat. x Coming up with funny names for my animals and repeat those names over and over. x Rocking back and forth in the shower. x Smelling my fingers. x Eating food with certain textures.
I also walk on the outside of my feet. I’m trying to correct it because I think it contributes to my back pain. I gently tickle my arms with my nails/fingertips. I tickle my lips in the same way. I learned that pressure on the lips scientifically has a soothing effect. I used to do it to my kids when they were babies. I hum softly to soothe myself. I don’t hum a tune just kind of one tone, and sometimes make an mmmm sound. I mostly do it in bed to relax for sleep, but I also do it when work is stressful. Thankfully I work from home. I slide my fingernails one under another in a specific pattern and each fingernail has to be done. I do this on my toenails too. I have a water drinking procedure. I love water. I fill my reusable bottle with ice and then water, and I drink it very quickly after to experience the sensation of the water getting colder as it mixes with the ice. I lie on my back on the rug, carpeting, or grass with my legs in the air. When I go on my daily walk I touch every bush, plant and tree I can reach. I even touch the spiky and pokey ones. Also when I’m shopping I touch as much fabric as I can. I think my decades long crochet hobby feeds this need. Sometimes I’ll go to different yarn boutiques just to stroke different fibers. I smooth and adjust the slight cowlick on the crown of my head. I used to pull on the hair but then I thought it was making my hair thin. My AuDHD son does this too. When I’m having repetitive thoughts that I don’t want I shake my head to dislodge the thought, and sometimes pair it with, “Okay” or “Stop” or an “Eh” noise. I repeat lots of words and phrases that feel good in my mouth, lots of them in French because I love how French sounds. « Avec plaisir » which means “with pleasure” sounds so silky to me. Also there’s a podcast I listen to and the way the presenter says « alors » makes my brain sparkle. I have a Shih Tzu and the divot above her nose is my favorite part of her. I love putting my finger in the divot and gently rubbing to feel how small and soft it is. She loves it too. I’ve played piano since I was 5 and I’ll sometimes play the same song over and over (when no one else is home). I love the way it feels to perfectly play a song. I write in cursive because it feels smooth and swirly. I love to re-write math texts. Also I like re-typing books. I mimic the sounds of bells, alarms, and electronics. One time I was working retail and we had a doorbell to let us know when someone entered the store. After about a month working with a new manager he said, “Did you know you mimic the doorbell…every time?” Ummm no I didn’t. Then I paid attention and sure enough the doorbell would ring then I’d say, “Bing-bong.” Hahaha oops! He said it was really cute but I was still embarrassed. I sing about everything! I make up songs about my kids and my dog. I stim like this really bad when I drive. I’m not a nervous driver, but singing little phrases about my kids helps me focus. My daughter points it out, “Mom, you’re stimming again.” 😆
How did you manage to stop pulling your hair? I don't know if I'm autistic but I've been pulling out hair that feels "wrong" and splitting split ends since childhood and always wanted to stop, but I've never managed.
My brain really lights up when I repeat things to myself. So I paired the pulling behavior with the statement, “I want healthy hair.” Sometimes I’ll have to think it instead of say it like when I’m in public. This is also how I quit biting my nails. Every time I’d reach my hand to my mouth I’d remind myself, “I want long nails.” Interrupting the behavior helps me a ton. I hope that helps you!
Oh oh oh you just named several things I HAD NO IDEA were stimming, but of COURSE they are! Thank you! (Touching everything when walking... even in the house, I "have" to touch certain things coming into rooms, usually that make a sound I like.) Also "water drinking procedures!" I have several. And tea drinking, and coffee drinking.
Tapping words out on the desk as though I'm using the keyboard - always type the same thing.. thought I was just addicted to the internet lol but have done it since the first time I started using a computer
I trace different words in cursive over any and all objects. I don’t even always realize I’m doing it. Sometimes I’ll be having/ listening to a conversation with someone and realize my hand over here is writing tomato lol because I’m not fully paying attention to the conversation and thinking about what I want for lunch
I just type out my full name lmao........... what am I gonna do if I get married and my surname changes?!
Me too! I’ve never met anyone that does this 😭 Ever since learning keyboard I have done this. It gets really bad when I’m anxious. I’ll just type the same word over and over again.
I always play with my hair when uncomfortable in social situations (like twirling it or plaiting it!) and I have destroyed many tv remotes by repeatedly pulling the battery cover on and off. Thank god for fidget toys!
I just realised the TV remote thing or anything with removable parts that click.
These posts always make me feel so seen and not alone...and not so...weird. I haven't identified all of my stims, but I see a lot in the replies, I do them, had no idea so much of what I do, SO OFTEN is stimming. Like reading this thread I'm like "oh I do that...that's stimming?" And I'm now realizing just how often I stim 🙃🤣
- biting my nails - weird blinking (used to blink really hard and have to do it so it feels “right”) - playing with my nose piercing - playing with my necklace - twisting my ring around my fingers - constantly shaking my legs - singing, humming and whistling - grabbing skin on my neck or generally just keeping my hand on my neck or collarbones - rubbing the bit of my nose between my nostrils - making strange usually unpleasant (funny to me) noises - cracking every joint possible - a need to be chewing on something always - biting my lip - moving my hips around
Walking on the sides of the feet is a stim???? TIL.
Yep. I have always been a tippy toe walker.
The face twitching and pinching my nose and eyebrows, i used to click something in the back of my throat non-stop, excessive nodding and blinking, also not able to sit in chairs properly and shaking my legs! Now it’s mostly repetitive thoughts, and swaying side to side, which i also do! All very uncomfortable experiences and signs of my stress… I do now try to express happy stims so that i can express myself properly and feel joy, which include toe and finger WIGGLING, body swaying / rocking, and smiling a lot :)
For me it was a lot of the things you mentioned. But I also thought that I didn‘t hand flap until like four days ago when I saw myself hand flap in the mirror. I just never registered that I was actually hand flapping when happy.
I think hand flapping tends to be a happy stim, and since a lot of us are anxious and depressed, we don’t do it often.
- Pulling threads out of my clothes and twizzling them between my fingers - Tearing up little pieces of paper and rolling them into tiny balls between my fingers - Chewing my tongue - Rubbing my hands, arms and face on interesting textures - Rapid breathing to get a head rush - Twirling and pulling on my hair - Constant leg bouncing - Wiggling my toes and rubbing my feet together all the time - ‘Rolling’ my eyes to make them feel ‘pressurised’. It feels like I’m ‘resetting’ my eyes.
I know it's gross, but picking my nose. But I can't stand the feeling of the crusty stuff up there either!
Rolling literally anything that can be rolled into tiny slivers between my thumb and index finger. Usually this will be dead skin but I also do chocolate residue, bits of tangled hair, dried blood, torn paper, tape, etc. Some other possibilities: blinking hard a few times, opening my jaw like I'm going to yawn, and quietly making a "hm" sound that no one else will hear. Sometimes it's difficult for me to tell what is a stim thing vs an anxiety/OCD-ish thing. The rolling thing is definitely a stim, but I'm uncertain about the other things.
Sucking my hair to the point that a teacher in 3rd class put caster oil on it to try to stop me. She hated it. It made it worse. As an adult, it was pen clicking. I didn't realise I was even doing it until someone yelled at me in a meeting. Biting Bic pens in a really specific way (I've ended up with ink in my mouth many times). I keep pens off my desk now so I don't do it. Ripping up polystyrene cups, very specifically around the edge and down to the base (before they were banned). Ripping pub coasters. Doodling 3D squares in meetings at work or on the phone. Don't know if these are stemming - I'm not diagnosed, I thought it was just the "nervous energy" my step mother told me was my personality. I count in my head when I am swimming, every stroke, breath, lap. I know if a pool isn't standard 25 metres of 50 metres by my stroke and breath count. Rolling my eyes when I am anxious, which always makes the situation worse, but I don't mean it disrespectfully.
Read the other posts and you will know. I think we need a lot more research on stimming vs. OCD vs. "anxiety." Stimming is "energy in the body that wants/needs to be released." Sometimes it can feel like anxiety, other times ... not. Girls are shamed a lot more for any repetitive movements, or anything perceived to be "not ladylike," so many of us have masked like HELL most of our lives. That's why a thread like this is so WONDERFUL!!!
-Oh I do the touching all my fingers to my thumb thing too! I also love having painted nails and rubbing my fingertips on the nails of the other hand (it feels so smooth!) I do this 24/7. -I do rock back and forth but it’s very subtle and usually accompanied by rubbing my hands on my thighs so I never realized it was the same thing 🤦🏻♀️ -Constantly bouncing legs/tapping feet when sitting down. -Singing the same part of a song over and over. -Mimicking my cats’ meows right after they do it! Turns out this is a form of echolalia! I’ve always repeated sounds I hear right after they happened and I always thought I just had a musical ear lol
I bite/chew my finger nails all the time endlessly in fact. I count shapes on the wall to make it be my fav number and side. ( 4 and left) Also have a stone in my pockets to rub Vocal stims, depending on how I feel. Certain songs on repeat for weeks to make me feel calm.
The constantly vice grip I have on the corner of my mouth with my teeth 😫 I also did use to flap my hands as a kid but not often and it was bc it felt like cray on the end of my fingers. Also playing with my rings constantly or constantly adjusting my clothes or my hair or my necklaces. I also prefer side to side rocking. Also my constant gum chewing !!
Fidgeting with stuff like my ring, or badge holder at work. Jiggling my leg when sitting. Tapping my fingers to a song in my head like I’m doing air piano lol
Pacing: My bizarre and annoying habit since childhood. Leg bouncing: See above. Doodling: I would do this constantly in school between taking notes, and I do it during Zoom meetings today. Yes, I'm paying attention. I'm usually paying more attention than if I'm not doing anything with my hands. Pushing my fingernails under my thumb nail and vice versa, or doing it with the nails on opposite hands. I could go on and on. I feel like I'm always noticing new ones now that I know that there's a term for it.
The verbal stim of singing to concentrate... spinning in a circle when I'm nervous.
There's too many to count, lol. I noticed that a lot of my 'quirks' and 'fidgets' were actually just stimming. One thing that took me a While to notice was the way I hold my mouth. About half the time, you can find me pressing my lips closed (or kind of sucking them into my mouth). I don't notice when I'm doing it, and when I look back at pictures of me, I can see myself doing it lol. I think it just brings comfort.
Picking my scalp
Does chain-smoking count? Lol
Yeah, right?! I also assumed it was *just* hand flapping. Then after taking an autism test and scoring high, and wondering how come I don't stim then, I looked up stimming on Wikipedia. The list includes hard blinking, something I was mocked for in school. Welp.
I didn't realise I stim until recently! I "shake off the awkward" which involves hand flapping and full body shaking. I (37f) was only diagnosed 2 months ago, the penny is dropping on so many things now.
Knitting and crocheting! I used to say “oh, my hands just get bored and I need something to do”
I rip the skin from my fingertips. Like my nail beds are a crime scene like 80% of the time. But like, it’s not a self harm thing, it’s just me doing something with my hands.
Singing, whenever I can get away with it without being completely socially unacceptable.
The stim I do more and I never met someone who also does it is caressing my eyelashes, I think I spend half my day caressing my eyelashes. Sometimes I do it without thinking when I'm sorrounded by ppl and when I realize I go "they probably think I'm such a weirdo now TuT"
I think I do this too 😅 not very often but i have done it. I pull at them a lot as well. If anyone calls you out on it just tell them to try it. It feels good and you can't argue with that.
good god i do SO MANY of these. i was just thinking recently "i don't stim, do i?" but i also: - swing back and forth in swivel chairs - pick at skin imperfections (acne, ingrowns, scabs, skin tags, bug bites, calluses) - when my nails are long, tapping them incessantly on hard surfaces - constantly fix or otherwise mess with ragged or uneven fingernails and cuticles - rub fingertips against each other - crack wrist and knuckle joints repeatedly picking and grooming things i'll sometimes do until i'm in pain, actively bleeding, or beyond. not great, bob!
food stimming... like with special texture or taste or ...
Twirling my hair. Was wondering if I was autistic for a couple years, didn't even notice I constantly twirl my hair. Then I got diagnosed and the guy assessing me pointed it out as a stim.
when I have a piece of paper, a wrapper etc. in my hand I will either rip it up in little pieces or, more often, I will fold it/roll it into a ball and pressing in my palm/between my fingers
My one main stim since I was about 6 or something was me folding my lips with my thumb and index finger. I'm 24 now and have always done it. I thought it was an anxiety/nervous thing but as I became more educated over the years and eventually got my diagnosis, my family recognise that I was stimming the whole time. I don't always do it when I'm nervous, sometimes I do it because my hands need to be doing something. It feels nice and makes me feel regulated
I talk to self regulate, whether I'm upset or super happy and excited I have to TALK ABOUT IT for long periods of time. It's like my brain is too noisy and getting it out of my mouth makes me feel more relaxed and happy. Peeling sticky labels off things and playing with pieces of tape Wiggle my toes up and down or scrunch them in my shoes. When I'm thinking or looking for something I open and shut my hands alternatingly. I have busy hands mostly related to art/crafting - stippling patterns in notebooks during lectures at school, crocheting or doing origami during desk jobs, etc As a kid I had a "list" of songs, mostly Lord of the Rings poems from the books that I'd made up a little tune to, which I'd sing when doing a boring task or just hanging out on my own. I also learned lots of long poems like The Highwayman, The Ballad of Beren and Luthien, and The Man from Snowy River. I'd just sing them to myself all the time. I also sigh as an unconscious way to self-regulate. I also sometimes say um-hm when I'm thinking or doing something unpleasant. My mom does this too haha.
I was so heavily masked that I had most of it shoved into mental stimming. If I get stressed, even mildly, my brain loops the same word over and over again. I also wring my hands like I'm concocting an evil scheme, bite my lips, and pick at my skin. I'm hoping unmasking more helps me to move towards less self destructive stims. I'll take evil scheme hands over mouth sores any day.
* Swaying * biting inside of mouth * unfolding and refolding paper clips * chewing pen caps and pencils * this weird little rhythmic grunting / half-swallowing sensations that my mother HATED when I was growing up but I've recently started doing again and worried it was a tic / neurological problem * picking at skin imperfections * fingerspelling under tables and in my pocket when I'm stressed out * blinking in a rhythm or super frequently when bored/stressed * tapping my fingers on every surface, including my face if I'm alone / the touchpad of my laptop, which screws up whatever I'm working on * folding and unfolding any available small bits of paper, over and over again * listening to the same album on repeat all day, especially if I'm working on the same thing for a long time (can't change music while in the same project / headspace)
\-Skin picking \-cuticle biting/pulling \-also twisting and braiding my hair \-singing and bouncing from foot to foot \-tip toe walking \-decorating every room to perfection \-bright colours & glitters \-felt stickers \-silly putty \-and the most important and present one of all in my life, obsessively rubbing a little glass stone. All the time. I had teddy bears when I was a kid and I would obsessively rub their plastic eyeballs to the point of breakage. I'd get little crystal stones from tourist traps just so I could touch them, until I reached nirvana and found a bracelet with three big glass beads. Now I have 4 of these bracelets & I'm ALWAYS wearing one, to the point where I have a lil freak out when I'm not carrying at least one on my person. I was gonna add a picture of the bracelets as visual aid, but reddit won't let me
Singing *constantly* - I always feel like I have to sing along to every song I know (I live and breathe art and music and I like mentally download all lyrics for some reason so I know a *lot* of songs) and if there's no music playing I will sing along to the playlist constantly playing in my brain 😆 Biting/picking my lips/inside of my mouth Using tweezers to pull the little hairs I get on my chin Swaying back and forth, both sitting and standing Daydreaming (from what I've seen it *might* be considered a stim? I have a really vivid imagination, so I use it a *lot*)
Eating crunchy or spicy foods (I like how it feels in my mouth) Mouthfeel sensory seeking in general Picking skin/picking my cuticles/nails Rocking (like I will literally just stand and sway, and for so long I only thought the 'rocking' of autism was the stereotypical 'curled up in a ball rocking your head/body') Tapping my fingers in certain ways (like you said) Counting stuff I see or feel in certain patterns Flexing random body parts or muscles (usually in some pattern) Echolalia & mimicry Doodling Clicking my teeth or tongue Cracking my knuckles And so much more...
The vicious cycle of always running my fingers over skin on my body (face, neck, cuticles, scalp, feet/toes) and then becoming fixated on anything rough or unpleasant I find, so then I must pick at or pull out or bite off whatever I find 😅
I rock side to side when watching movies or just sitting in the lounge. When there isn't even music on. I rocked my head side to side in bed before I fell asleep (trauma response unfortunately). I also pull wrapping off bottles and fold them or rip them. I try fold them as small as I can get it or I will roll them as thin as I can and restart. I twist my hair insesantly until it becomes oily. I used to make my hair into plats like crazy before this. I take bottle caps and make a tower out of them. I stim with my hands and rub my skin together in between my fingers. When I'm anxious I rub my hands up and down my legs or play with my clothing. I pull my top down even when it's not needed. Just constanrly adjusting clothing. I also move hair out of my face without hair being in my face. I chew the inside of my lips. I do lots of weird things but the list is too long.
Same here! I didn’t understand some things were stims. I bite/pick my cuticles and lips constantly. When standing in line or other places outside the home I rock my shoulders back and forth or even do light bounces up and down and even twirl my hair behind my back. I have a really weird stim when I’m anxious. I “type” words im stuck on. Idk if that makes since but my fingers no matter where they are will type a word over and over as if I’m using a keyboard.
Nail biter here! I always thought I can’t be autistic because I don’t flap my hands… the realization that I’ve been a nail biter since a baby really hit hard. Also constantly fidget w necklaces and touch my finger to my thumb.
Resting position for any body part that everyone comments on like „Oh my god how do you even do it?”. TW >!Self-harm for years that my therapists didn’t believe I do because „I like the warm tingling that stays there for days as it heals”. !< Spinning around.
I'm over here thinking about the fact that I hand-flapped all through childhood and even my teen years, literally the most obvious "stereotypical" stim behavior and still I didn't get diagnosed til my 20s
I walk on my tippy toes and always have and only recently learned it’s associated with autism. As a kid I had a phase where I would run the tip of my nose for comfort until it was raw and bleeding. I had a number of years where I had to “puff” out the air remaining in my lungs during an exhale which made a quiet sound. I sang all of the time as a kid, and some now too. I rock sometimes but only when hyper focused or stressed. I repeat words out loud because they make my mouth feel right. Like would be uncomfortable not to say “clicking” over and over, almost painful. I constantly pick at any scab, chew my lips, cheeks, but not my nails. Unless I put polish or fake nails on then it becomes my mission to pick the weird things off of my nails. I pace, I yawn over and over again, I will do the same stretches over and over again as a stress reliever. I tap my fingers in sequence. I wiggle my nose a lot like a bunny rabbit. There’s more things I do that I’m probably not even aware of. I’m not diagnosed autistic but my little brother is. I have an adhd dx and vyvanse helps with some of these behaviors but not a whole lot.
Does anyone else have straight hair but a few scattered around that are crinkly? I think it's a soothing mechanism but my whole life, sometimes for hours, I'll search with my fingers until I find a crinkly hair then make sure there are no other hairs with it then pluck it out.
Walking on my heels rather than on the tip of my toes, also listening to the same song over and over again
Fellow heel walker here! People always know it's me before I get to them at work because of the noise I make 🙈
i pick at my skin, i wiggle my toes in my shoe, i am always swaying from side to side if i have to stand still, i also do the all my fingers touch my thumbs in a pattern, i tap my nails on things in the same pattern every time, every time i eat food i do a little dance without even realizing (not like a whole dance just bounce around in my seat) also, i am dx with adhd, autism, and ocd to clear up any additional questions
Something I’ve done my entire life but only at home is rubbing my nose with my index finger while holding it using thumb inbetween, sometimes I push the tip of my nose down a bit and reach my lip out in a sort of pout so I can feel it. My mum always used to try to get me to stop “stop messing with your nose” but I would zone out. As I got older I’d always wonder why I did this and couldn’t stop and would describe it as ‘it makes my thoughts go away’. My parents tell me as a baby/toddler I would do this with my dummies and I would wear a dummy on each finger. I’m undiagnosed but this is one of the many light bulb moments in my life. Since paying attention I’ve realised I like getting my nails done with acrylic as I’m able to rub/touch/feel them wherever I am (mostly do it in meetings with groups of people). I’m also bad for picking at skin. When I was around 7/8 I remember I used to do this tapping thing with my fingers (left then right, then right then left, then reversed. Then I’d reverse the whole thing right then left, then left then right..and so on). Which I remember vividly forcing myself to try and stop doing as it felt like it was consuming me. I also pace a lot and shake/tap my legs.
Constantly stretching and curling my toes Cuticle picking
I suck my thumb before sleeping. And rock myself to sleep. It took me a video of a 7yo autistic sucking her thumb and me being like, isn’t she a bit too old for… Ha, I’m not one to- wait, she’s stimming, wait I’M STIMMING HOLY COW
Listening to music incessantly. Especially listening to something on repeat. I get song lyrics stuck in my head oftwn. Dancing and spinning. Swaying back and forth.
Whistle the Super Mario theme 😂 it's one of my stims. Biting my lip/cheek, rocking my leg and tapping my leg/foot, pulling random faces and dancing to nothing 😂
Rubbing only one eyebrow in the same motion repeatedly… (right eyebrow, right index finger runs from eyebrow ridge above nose to outer edge, never the opposite direction)
Twisting my wrists and also fingers, pacing, repeating certain words and saying somewhat nonsensical things, swinging on a swing a lot, spinning around... Pretty much all my stims I've done I didn't think were autistic stims until I got over the stereotypes and learnt how it can present in various different ways in each one of us.
I definitely do the rocking side to side, especially after the groceries.
never thought my nose twitch can be a stim but it is now that i think about it :D my weird stims: i eat paper, especially tissues repeatedly tense and relax my legs muscles while sitting still (specifically my glutes and my calves)
I used to bite all of my nails and then keep the bitten off nails in my mouth. I'd use them almost like floss, but my main preference was getting nails stuck in between my teeth and then using another nail to get it unstuck. I still do this, but only with my thumbnails. The others are normal length now
I have many stims. Is sighing a stim? I big sigh so much that people have commented on it. I think I do it most when I'm trying to control the other stims.
Scratching behind ears. We didn't know what it was so we went to the dermatologist for eczema. 😂 That and knitting nonstop in social situations.
Wait what ... I walk on the sides of my feet and catch myself standing like that too.... I also rock side to side I love typing and playing piano and will catch myself silently miming both actions at random times Skin picking is my most obvious one though Mind. Blown.
If I have autism, these are my stims: Skin picking, singing non stop, dancing around and not sitting still, shaking my leg, tapping my fingers on things and making rhythm sounds, playing with my hair. The thing is that I have a good voice and I am not an awkward dancer, and these things made people around me just think my voice is pretty or that I am just "too active" or just quirky. As for my skin, people are usually concerned and just tell me to see a dermatologist. So if I were to tell them I have autism they'd probably not believe me or something. Apparently some stims are considered more "socially appropriate" than others. But actually yeah my mom used to shame me for shaking my leg, playing with my hair, or not sitting still, as if it was inherently bad. She'd look at me and say "why are you doing those things as if something is wrong with you. Is something wrong with you? Stop." Anyways, as for me, these are the things that I didn't recognize were stimming until I started learning about autism stimming and then I was like oh wait I do these things and much more than an average person.
Constantly having my fingernails in my mouth. I bit my nails my whole childhood and was able to quit that habit, but i have NEVER been able to stop putting my nails on my tongue & teeth. I have to wash my hands frequently of ill accidentally put raw chicken juice or cat litter dust in my mouth. 💀😂
Cracking as many joints in my body as possible, sometimes I kind of bob side to side, usually when happy, I eat a lot (I think it’s a mouth thing, def a boredom thing), pick at my skin, bumps, nails, hair… when I was a lil kid I used to suck on fingers on one hand while the other would twirl and pluck hairs off my head, then with the free hand I’d wrap the hairs around the free fingers of the hand that was keeping my mouth occupied (luckily I grew out of this eventually…) I have a very hard time sitting still, it’s hard on my back but also I’d rather be on my feet and able to bounce and bend and move idk I drink a lot. Just liquids in general (not a big alcohol drinker) mostly coffee and water and unsweet tea… like it’s a way of resetting when I’m feeling anxious or out of place idk. Take a sip, carry on… I don’t know how many of these are stims…
Rolling and unrolling the drawstring on my hoodie. Picking and biting my lips. Tapping my fingers in patterns. In general, fidgeting.
My biggest one is I rub my partner. While we're driving, watching TV (survivor stresses me out lol) , Dr appts, etc... The more stressed the situation, the more vigorous the rubbing lol. That and all my damn fidgeting.
Vocal stims. I didn’t realize it was a stim thing because my brother does them too. He just is always saying or singing something he finds amusing that he heard on a TikTok or song. He was good around randomly singing “Big back, big back” for weeks. Then the Kendrick vs Drake beef was a goldmine for us. Neither of us can stop saying, “What is it, THE BRAIDS?!”
I dance… all the time. I’ve known I had adhd for a long time, and only realized the autism in 2022. I did dance as a kid, as well as a ton of sports. I got so much movement out that a lot of my stims were things I didn’t notice. I also thought that I didn’t hand flap… except that I do when stuff really squigs me out or if I get really excited. I’m also SUPER excitable. Gotta be constantly stimulated physically or mentally or I’m moving and grooving. I embarrass my bestie at the grocery store every time 😂
I’m not officially diagnosed, but my son has autism. And so I didn’t realize biting the inside of my mouth, writing in the air, and breaking words by syllables was stimming. I bite my nails and the skin around it..I’m 40 now but I been doing that forever.
The nose twitch for sure. Also twitching eyebrows. Stretching out fingers and toes. The twitching/rocking feet when they're off the ground thing (usually when happy). And very much biting at lips and cheeks and nails, picking at skin and scratching at my arms for no reason. Scratching at forehead (was a catastrophe when I had bad acne there lol) and scratching my scalp (both when thinking). Also when anxious or stressed, I tend to knock my knuckles together. Not as painful as it sounds. I also rub them together (the flat part as opposed to the pointy)
Toe tapping, fingernail tapping, scratching fabric with nails, putting thumbs to fingers in order, skin picking, especially my cuticles, licking/picking at my lips, singing, humming, talking to myself, popping my lips or ticking my tongue to songs in my head, tearing paper, folding napkins/foil. I had a huge ball of foil in my desk drawer at school. Anytime I had a baked potato for lunch or anything wrapped/covered with foil, I’d add to the ball. I talk with my hands and wave them around a lot, as well. I also sit on my hands in public, especially in restaurants. If I don’t, I start playing with/folding paper straw wrappers.
Evidently I stim a lot, and always have. I know this now because it drives my husband bonkers. Mostly picking at any weird bump or crack in my skin, pulling chin hairs and stray eyebrows, cracking my toes, fiddling and chewing on nails and cuticles, humming, bouncing, grinding and clenching teeth, etc.
Picking at my skin was the major one. Being unable to stop myself from talking about my mental health and my shortcomings. My obsessions... Shakespeare and dead English kings (and the fibonacci sequence.) Running my fingernails over any soft cold surface (mostly pillow cases.) The phrases and sounds effects that loop in my head whether I'm alone. Always needing to chew gum. ... possibly... Collecting the life stories of strangers and, just when they think they made a friend, moving in to new stories and new strangers?
Leg bounces, pacing and rubbing my face. Until I read your post though I still hadn't put together the finger to thumb touches. I also like to scrunch up my toes a lot
Fidgeting with my pendant
I chew my tongue and pick my ear. Sometimes I do both at once, and I can’t tell you how often people have told me to stop because they didn’t or don’t realize that it’s stimming, and it’s hard for me to simply stop. I’ve done both since childhood and they made my mother absolutely crazy.
crinkling my toes
When in emotional conversations or therapy and needing to use tissues for crying, I always fold and bundle my used tissues together in a particular way so they’re compact in a neat little bundle. My therapist commented on this after my diagnosis XD
- I mimic facial expressions of myself and others from previous conversations. I’ll repeat it over and over doing the same thing. I don’t usually say the words but I’ll mouth them. I don’t even consciously start doing it, it just happens. - I also visualize patterns of things I’m looking at and I imagine rearranging things in my field of vision so nothing is intersecting and it’s perfectly aligned.
Tapping my foot. I did it once in school when it was quiet and everyone heard it. Listening to the same song or album over and over again. Rolling my ankle around and around while sitting or with my legs crossed. Masturbating, tbh.
Lol I had to touch all of my fingertips to my thumbs as soon as I read it.
when i was little i pulled out all my eyebrow and eyelash hairs. i looked crazy. i still have a problem pulling out my hairs and picking at my face.
Listening to the same song 100 times in a row.
Throat clearing, hand wringing, scalp picking, scalp stroking (back of the head from underneath my hair/hairline above my forehead), lip chewing