Stimming

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I realize I am doing it and sometimes I don't realize it. I get embarrassed about my stims. When I am stressed out and having anxiety or overwhelmed, I may not be aware of it.

i somtimes get the feeling of wanting to shake my arms and hands around, or tap my arm against the side of my body, or when im in a chair or on the edge of somthing like a seat, i just rock quietly.
i do other things but they are complicated to rite

twirling round is the best. I stim quite a lot when I come to think of it. I do this thing where I stand on one foot and sort of flap the other foot just from the ankle. It feels good when I do it but it looks a bit odd, though It doesn't draw any attention to me.

I just realized I was stimming while reading this thread. It happens so naturally that I don't always realize I'm doing it.

My stim is so minor I wonder if it counts. Only my family notice it and have commented. But, I do it quite a bit and without thinking so I guess it must be.

I wiggle my toes, each foot alternately, and if I'm laid in bed I might alternate the wiggle with my fingers as well. Often, I realise I've synchronised the wiggle with the ticking of the clock, or with the sound of my heartbeat on the pillow.

Does stimming have to be something that you don't realize you're doing, or can you do it deliberately? Just wondering.

Anyway, I had a really bad anxiety attack mixed with an extreme meltdown (I think), after the crying was done with I started talking to myself as I usually do when I'm anxious and alone and realized a bit after the talking started that I was sitting cross legged on my bed rocking back and forth in a rapid pace. It got me tired fast and it calmed me down. Is that stimming or am I strange?

I was a thumb sucker since I was born until I was about 12 years old. It took a lot of effort on my part to kick this habit. I managed to learn to fall asleep without sucking my thumb, but when I would wake up my thumb was in my mouth. I finally stopped but I just noticed about a couple weeks ago that sometimes I make a fist with my thumb inside. Most of the time I don't know I'm doing it, but I catch myself doing it whether I'm nervous or not. I used to thumb suck whenever I felt like it, not necessarily when I was nervous but it was a very calming thing to do. I think it's funny because I'm pretty sure I tuck my finger in to make it feel like I still suck my thumb LOL Here's a picture of me on Halloween, I'm the Bride of Frankenstein, obviously.

I'm not really very aware of my stimming behaviors.

I'm not sure if these are stimming....
I grind my teeth, a lot.
I also move my tounge on a few specific teeth all the time.
I comb my hair with my fingers very frequently, people have even commented to me on this one.
Give me a pen that clicks, and I will drive others crazy clicking it.

I also have been thinking about how very much I smoke cigarettes (3 packs a day), maybe this is somehow related to the inner urge to stim.

When I was a kid, I was a spinner. I loved going in circles, all the time. I see videos on youtube of autistic children spinning round and round obsessively... that was ME! And that started at an early age. my mom tells me about how when I was in my hanging baby swing, a "johnny jump up" they called it, I would get the thing wound up and pick my feet up and let it spin me. I was under a year old. Most babies just bounce up and down in those things.

There could be other things I do, that I'm completely unaware of. Most of my time is spent alone, so people really don't get to observe me enough to point those sort of things out to me.

I know.
What triggers it is being conscious.