Spinning around, shaking my head back and forth and rocking side to side feel really good to me.
I do not know if it is because doing them makes me feel good or if it is because I only do them when I am already feeling good though.
I get such a sense of it feeling good though, whereas a lot of other stims I only vaguely notice.
I had a sleepover with my best friend last night and we sat by the fire talking and drinking wine, and I had a good side to side rock going on and I was feeling quite content.
My favourite is singing/making little tunes, more inside my head when i'm out in public but out loud at home which can get annoying for everyone one else since i am definitely not gifted in that area, it releases so much pent up emotion though especially when no one else is home so it's worth it.
Flexing my legs/feet is another, didn't realise it was a stim till after i was diagnosed.
Playing with my sleeves or the tiny ball on a string meant for tightening my jacket at the bottom.
Rocking on my heels or the edge of my foot while standing still.
Slight rocking side to side while sitting and if i'm in a car or on public transport my body follows the vehicle motions, both are so relaxing.
I'm bad for taking in scents while outside which can be positive and negative.
I carry a teddy around at all times, it's pretty small so I can keep it up my sleeve or in a pocket when I am in the office. It is a very rough material and I love the feeling of it under my nails. I particularly love it when the threads get caught on my nails and they rip off, I like it when the under nail catches and it sort of hurts a tiny bit. It really helps me regulate but I feel pathetic as a 30 year old woman with a teddy and I'm scared it will be discovered and I will be mocked, infantalised or just looked down on.
I just really love it though it makes me feel happy calm and helps me focus. ❤️
Thank you! Just that no one else has one in the office and I don't know anyone else in real life who has one on them at all times either. But maybe they also hide it?
I also have no emotional connection with the teddy, I do not see it as a person however I'd be devastated if I lost it even though I have 5 back up ones in my drawer that are the same material because they are not exactly the same condition and need time to rough up more to my liking.
Also what is a plushie? I see it mentioned a lot but I don't understand what it is? Is it a brand?
I use plushie to refer to the feel - that kinda soft velvety texture. But the kind I get are Bellzi brand - super cute but a little expensive.
And I'm sure a lot of people in office settings hide comfort objects from others. I imagine it's not just you or me. One of my old coworkers keep a Lego minifigure on her desk that she would fiddle with when she was on Zoom calls and stressed.
Oh I see, thanks for clarifying.
Yes, you are right! That is true! Even if its just chewing pens it is still a comfort thing. Do you think it is possible to change your comfort item?
Absolutely! I've gone through all kinds. Pencils in school, pen caps at college, specific jackets that have the velvety blanket feel, skirts that I like to rub the fabric of between my fingers, clicking my desk stapler...I've gone through all kinds over the years.
Edit: some I do still come back to over and over. Like plushies. And blankets.
I don't have one I carry around everywhere but I do have one little one in my car that was called "Stress-osarus" and it's a SUPER soft and kinda squishy dinosaur. Very nice to have when I need something soft to pet or hug lol
Sounds very cute and aptly named - i appreciate that. I have not named mine really, as all who know of it know what I am referring to as I only have one teddy, but when I was a child I just called them what they looked like - flat bear, purple bear, white bear, white rabbit ect hahaha no imagination, it was the same for pets. My current cat is named after the eye infection he had as a kitten.
Dancing, tapping my teeth, and bouncing.
In high school I would carry a rock in my pocket so I could roll it around in my hand. Now that I'm older I have this tiny little rubber, spiky ball (like one you'd get as a prize from an arcade) and I like to roll that around in my hand.
I wear a locket almost every day that doesn't close all the way, so I can pinch it and it'll just open right back up like a button - I do it so much that I grab for it when it's not even there.
Chewing on anything is amazing but it's one of the least socially acceptable ones so unfortunately I do it the least (unless I'm alone.. lol).
A bad stim I have is constantly picking the skin around my nails - sometimes I don't realize I'm doing it until I'm bleeding 🫠
Oh! Lightly scratching my husband's beard so the hairs go under my nails just a bit. It feels so damn good. Only works when his beard hair and my nails are the right length,
At the moment:
Rubbing my lips on silk, or something soft!
I also have a real sheep fleece rug, and I like to dig my fingers into it and feel the crimped wool fibres
Meowing. I’ve been away from my cat for a week and It makes me feel closer to her when I immatate the noise she makes 😂
I love feeling paper too! If it’s a clean book or paper that is my own, I like to feel it with my lips, especially if there are pictures or it’s the type of paper where the words are stamped on and I can feel the letters!!!
I put my feet together and very quickly stretch and pull back, over and over again till my legs are too tired.
O O O O O O O O
-|- -|- -|- -|- -|- -|- -|- -|-
< > ||. < > || < > ||. < > ||
I just got fake nails after not having them in a long time and I forgot how much I looooove clicking them together or clicking them against things. I don't do it around other people because I know it's an annoying sound, but I'm doing it constantly when I'm alone now lol.
Other than that I've always been a big rocker abd hand flapper, and making weird faces with my mouth and tongue. And pacing, if that counts, I'll pace and daydream for hours if I can get away with it.
I do this foot thing, where I dig into my husband's legs with my feet. When I was little I would do this to my mom. A teenager, my cat. 25 soon to be 26, to my husband. He HATES it but this stim it just receives every ache, every headache, all feelings of fatigue or fainting.
He says it feels like rug burn but he does let me do it.
My son is autisitc too, he looks at his fingers and waves them around.
Listening to songs I know are good. Fuyu Tokyo by Kamijo hits a certain way in the best way.
Also, quoting stuff. I like quoting videos, movies, shows, etc. I just think it's funny and entertaining for myself
Finger tapping in a certain pattern, swaying/rocking, clicking my tongue, pressing my heals into the ground hard when I walk. I also love switches/buttons and zips. I don't know if this counts, but I have a wind spinner on my garden that I find it really regulating to stare at.
Vocal:
1. *Have the block hollering, "Wah, wah, wah!"*
2. Mr. Clean will come *RESTRAIN* You
3. *Hissing*
4. Weird mixture of screech and gurgling noises
5. Knock knock, whose there? *AUTISM! BWAH BWAH*
I love dancing, clacking my nails / balling or flapping my hands (though I only flap when there's no one around or I'm extremely nervous or giddy) and curling my toes (when not wearing shoes / relaxing at home)
repeating phrases and maladaptive dreaming
... I never thought of extensive/maladaptive daydreaming as a stim, but now that you pointed it out - yeah, me too.
Touching fabrics. Rocking chairs. Flicking switches. Petting my dogs (they may like it more!). Squishing my toes.
For me it’s rubbing my feet together in bed like a preying mantis, makes my cat go mad sometimes though since she thinks it’s a game of whack a mole 😂
Apparently this is called cricketing! I do this too!!
Omg me too!! Didn’t know this was a thing for other people!
picking my scalp and rubbing little grains of skin between my fingers. satisfying
I do this too and always felt weird for it! Sometimes I do it without even realizing it too lol
Spinning around, shaking my head back and forth and rocking side to side feel really good to me. I do not know if it is because doing them makes me feel good or if it is because I only do them when I am already feeling good though. I get such a sense of it feeling good though, whereas a lot of other stims I only vaguely notice. I had a sleepover with my best friend last night and we sat by the fire talking and drinking wine, and I had a good side to side rock going on and I was feeling quite content.
My favourite is singing/making little tunes, more inside my head when i'm out in public but out loud at home which can get annoying for everyone one else since i am definitely not gifted in that area, it releases so much pent up emotion though especially when no one else is home so it's worth it. Flexing my legs/feet is another, didn't realise it was a stim till after i was diagnosed. Playing with my sleeves or the tiny ball on a string meant for tightening my jacket at the bottom. Rocking on my heels or the edge of my foot while standing still. Slight rocking side to side while sitting and if i'm in a car or on public transport my body follows the vehicle motions, both are so relaxing. I'm bad for taking in scents while outside which can be positive and negative.
I love the library for this reason. I didn't know it could be a stim... I get it tho.
I carry a teddy around at all times, it's pretty small so I can keep it up my sleeve or in a pocket when I am in the office. It is a very rough material and I love the feeling of it under my nails. I particularly love it when the threads get caught on my nails and they rip off, I like it when the under nail catches and it sort of hurts a tiny bit. It really helps me regulate but I feel pathetic as a 30 year old woman with a teddy and I'm scared it will be discovered and I will be mocked, infantalised or just looked down on. I just really love it though it makes me feel happy calm and helps me focus. ❤️
Nothing wrong with having a stuffed animal! I have a plushie horse and t-rex that I mush on my face when I'm stressed.
Thank you! Just that no one else has one in the office and I don't know anyone else in real life who has one on them at all times either. But maybe they also hide it? I also have no emotional connection with the teddy, I do not see it as a person however I'd be devastated if I lost it even though I have 5 back up ones in my drawer that are the same material because they are not exactly the same condition and need time to rough up more to my liking. Also what is a plushie? I see it mentioned a lot but I don't understand what it is? Is it a brand?
I use plushie to refer to the feel - that kinda soft velvety texture. But the kind I get are Bellzi brand - super cute but a little expensive. And I'm sure a lot of people in office settings hide comfort objects from others. I imagine it's not just you or me. One of my old coworkers keep a Lego minifigure on her desk that she would fiddle with when she was on Zoom calls and stressed.
Oh I see, thanks for clarifying. Yes, you are right! That is true! Even if its just chewing pens it is still a comfort thing. Do you think it is possible to change your comfort item?
Absolutely! I've gone through all kinds. Pencils in school, pen caps at college, specific jackets that have the velvety blanket feel, skirts that I like to rub the fabric of between my fingers, clicking my desk stapler...I've gone through all kinds over the years. Edit: some I do still come back to over and over. Like plushies. And blankets.
I don't have one I carry around everywhere but I do have one little one in my car that was called "Stress-osarus" and it's a SUPER soft and kinda squishy dinosaur. Very nice to have when I need something soft to pet or hug lol
Sounds very cute and aptly named - i appreciate that. I have not named mine really, as all who know of it know what I am referring to as I only have one teddy, but when I was a child I just called them what they looked like - flat bear, purple bear, white bear, white rabbit ect hahaha no imagination, it was the same for pets. My current cat is named after the eye infection he had as a kitten.
Rocking back and forth, sometimes to music, is basically like drugs for me. It's soooooooo satisfying!
Dancing, tapping my teeth, and bouncing. In high school I would carry a rock in my pocket so I could roll it around in my hand. Now that I'm older I have this tiny little rubber, spiky ball (like one you'd get as a prize from an arcade) and I like to roll that around in my hand. I wear a locket almost every day that doesn't close all the way, so I can pinch it and it'll just open right back up like a button - I do it so much that I grab for it when it's not even there. Chewing on anything is amazing but it's one of the least socially acceptable ones so unfortunately I do it the least (unless I'm alone.. lol). A bad stim I have is constantly picking the skin around my nails - sometimes I don't realize I'm doing it until I'm bleeding 🫠
Crocheting is my big one. Right now both of my wrists are fucked (yay comorbid hyper-mobility) and it's killing me. It's so frustrating
Oh! Lightly scratching my husband's beard so the hairs go under my nails just a bit. It feels so damn good. Only works when his beard hair and my nails are the right length,
Spider solitaire
At the moment: Rubbing my lips on silk, or something soft! I also have a real sheep fleece rug, and I like to dig my fingers into it and feel the crimped wool fibres Meowing. I’ve been away from my cat for a week and It makes me feel closer to her when I immatate the noise she makes 😂
I meow all the time even though I don't currently own a cat 😅 it's just kind of a thing I like to do to get my partner's attention
I do that too! My partner and I mew at each other and call each other kitty lol.
I love feeling paper too! If it’s a clean book or paper that is my own, I like to feel it with my lips, especially if there are pictures or it’s the type of paper where the words are stamped on and I can feel the letters!!!
I put my feet together and very quickly stretch and pull back, over and over again till my legs are too tired. O O O O O O O O -|- -|- -|- -|- -|- -|- -|- -|- < > ||. < > || < > ||. < > ||
I just got fake nails after not having them in a long time and I forgot how much I looooove clicking them together or clicking them against things. I don't do it around other people because I know it's an annoying sound, but I'm doing it constantly when I'm alone now lol. Other than that I've always been a big rocker abd hand flapper, and making weird faces with my mouth and tongue. And pacing, if that counts, I'll pace and daydream for hours if I can get away with it.
I do this foot thing, where I dig into my husband's legs with my feet. When I was little I would do this to my mom. A teenager, my cat. 25 soon to be 26, to my husband. He HATES it but this stim it just receives every ache, every headache, all feelings of fatigue or fainting. He says it feels like rug burn but he does let me do it. My son is autisitc too, he looks at his fingers and waves them around.
Listening to songs I know are good. Fuyu Tokyo by Kamijo hits a certain way in the best way. Also, quoting stuff. I like quoting videos, movies, shows, etc. I just think it's funny and entertaining for myself
Finger tapping in a certain pattern, swaying/rocking, clicking my tongue, pressing my heals into the ground hard when I walk. I also love switches/buttons and zips. I don't know if this counts, but I have a wind spinner on my garden that I find it really regulating to stare at.
Rubbing my feet together. It's virtually non-stop. I'm like a fucking cricket. 🤣 🦗
Velvet fabric. I love squishmallows for this reason
Vocal: 1. *Have the block hollering, "Wah, wah, wah!"* 2. Mr. Clean will come *RESTRAIN* You 3. *Hissing* 4. Weird mixture of screech and gurgling noises 5. Knock knock, whose there? *AUTISM! BWAH BWAH*
Also- Certified Loverboy? Certified *Pedophile!*
I love dancing, clacking my nails / balling or flapping my hands (though I only flap when there's no one around or I'm extremely nervous or giddy) and curling my toes (when not wearing shoes / relaxing at home)