Strange, soothing repetitive behaviors?

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I'm curious if girls here have anything like this, and if so, what specifically?

My father rocks. I rock when I'm trying to focus but struggling (it happened a lot when I was sitting in lectures in college and my friends would tease... until I stopped going that is).

So here it is: tape. I guess I have a tactile fascination with sticky things. As a child, I used to "stick on things", which meant rolling a piece of tape around in my fingers, passing it from one finger to the next. I'd do this for hours, it would always calm me down.

Today, I often keep tape in my bag or in my pocket so I have access to it in an emergency.

I've never heard of anyone with this particular issue, despite all my internet searches.

Anybody else find comfort in strange behaviors like this?

I rock side-to-side (not back-and-forth). I used to spin in circles if I had to stand too long, even in high school. I knit because it's soothing and socially acceptable

I have always done this! As far back as I can remember I've sought sticky things to fidget with. Tape, sticky lint rollers, that rubber cement stuff you find on packaging...I catch myself peeling labels from gatorade bottles and "sticking to them". And it does tend to make me feel better and calmer, I tend to space out while doing this. Indescribably glad to find someone who does this same thing.

I love the sticky feeling of tape, though I don't use it as a calming tool. More often I'll flick my middle fingernail off the underside of my thumbnail.

I used to click pens, but when it became clear that it was disturbing to people I started wagging pens back and forth or tapping the other hand with the pen instead. I do rock sometimes, but only when I'm alone; rather than 'comforting,' I would say that it feels 'comfortable,' as if that's what my body wants to do naturally.

I like having ice cubes with me whenever I go out. Also I rock whenever stressed out. These things help me when I get overwhelmed

I run my fingernails across my lower lip. If the skin on the side of my thumb is rough, that will do too. I honestly don't have the faintest clue why I do it, but it's comforting nonetheless.

I play with my rings, specifically, I turn them over and over and over. If I don't have any rings on, or take one off that I have had on for a long time it takes me weeks to stop searching for it to turn when I need something to do. It has always been like that, I have always worn rings. Now that I am married it makes it easier, I always have a ring on to turn!

I've rocked myself from side to side and back and forth (depending if I'm sitting or laying down) for as long as I can remember. I do it alone or in public, I just don't care what others think of it. I find it soothing. I also play solitaire or Yahtzee by myself. I particularly like Yahtzee, rolling the dice over and over is very calming for me. Lastly I like to rub my feet together, almost like wringing ones hands.

that sounds very much like what i do. as a baby, i discovered taking apart the edges of the carpet, and keeping a handful of it hidden in my bed, where, to go to sleep, it was my trusty thumb and brushing the rough glued part of the carpet yarn around my lips. now, i make my own 'yarn' by buying the batting usually sewn into baby quilts, which i cut into long strips. i handspin the strips into yarn, which curls into tight loops. at that stage, i tie them together, and dribble FrayCheck (its a product for sewers to stop frizzling in buttonholes, hems and such) over all the yarn, soaking it in it. when it dries, its nice and scratchy, i can wind the yarn around my fingers, hold it tightly or brush it around my lips when im tense, tired, etc. been doing variations of this for almost 40 years (im 51), and it helps a lot.

a service dog is better, but my Anja died last year, and i havent been able to replace her, so i've been much tenser since then.

Standing on one foot, constant manual stimulation, wearing my winter coat indoors or out-of-season. Making animal noises.

hm, thats interesting about you and your coat. our son used to be an incredible pain in the patooki about wearing his parka when it would get cold here in Kansas, then not want to take it off when the weather got warm. his current clothing screwup is insisting on wearing longsleeved dark buttoned shirts, black cowboy hat (at least we live in the right area those are common!^_^) and black jeans and shoes. and no, he isnt a goth, emo or whatever the current reason kids wear dark clothes....he's 20, and doesnt socalise with anyone outside the county library or the producers of a Shakespeare play tht is going to be put on soon, where he is to be a busker wandering through the crowd, doing physical Keatonesq comedy skits. i really worry about him having heatstroke from all that dark clothing soaking up the heat.