Stimming: Why/how do you do it?

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I do it because it gives me satisfaction, it's also unconscious when I'm anxious, and also increases in speed and duration when I'm anxious so perhaps it's a reaction to stress too, or is my attempt at balancing or relieving the stress. I just can't imagine ever not doing it, as I always have done it and it's so normal for me and just part of who I am. I was probably almost an adult before I realised not everyone does it.

I rock back and forth and side to side (sitting or standing). When I get *really* upset or am in a lot of pain I get into a fetal position, hands on my head eyes closed rocking and humming. It helps me feel better, a comfort thing.

I also bounce my leg up n down absentmindedly. I've been told when I'm lost in my own world I stick out my tongue. I'm not sure what else I do, since I didn't even think about the really upset rocking as stimming... It's just something I do, completely normal for me, and no one has made comment on it except my mom, who would tell me to knock it off because I'd wake her up (wee hours of the morning)

edit: Does having to touch fabrics, especially in a clothing or fabric store count as stimming? I love snuggling super soft fabrics <3

I do the leg shake/knee up & down thing all the time.
Tap whatever song is stuck in my head with my fingers (usually in car)
Bite nails.
Wiggle toes
Roll my tongue

I am undiagnosed to this point and I was thinking in my head that I can't remember any sort of stimming in my childhood. But now I wonder if the constant ear flipping was a stim? Especially in classroom social situations I would flip the top rim of my ear inside out over and over. I also dug my index finger nail into the knuckle of my thumb till it would bleed.

Also, now I bounce my leg all the time, but I think I remember most of my age group doing this throughout childhood on up, so I always thought it was because more and more people of our generation have to be constantly "going."

Also, I am at 34 now.

I never even knew what the phrase "stimming" meant until a gew years ago.Funny you would be doing this stuff your whole life and be so uninformed.
Tap fingers
Crack knuckles
Wiggle toes
Bounce leg
Snap fingers
Used to nail bite
Pace
Play with my hair
Sway or rock back and forth
Tap feet
When standing I sometimes twist and swing my arms
If I'm stressed really bad I'll squeeze my arm or dig in with finger nails,unbearable stress has me hitting myself or the worst,head banging.I have also bitten myself.

One of my friends with some sort of mental illness would jump up & down & flap & say "YAYY" whenever he grew excited... to me, it seemed like an uninhibited way of expressing joy. I have taken up this activity, and it just feels so good to do it... and it is not uncommon for my friends to witness this (even though they have no idea I might have AS).

I do quite a few different things but there's one thing I just realised might be a stim. I sometimes sit down on my bed, rock back and forth while playing the guitar (often the same song over and over and over again). It makes me calm. Would that be considered a stim?

i flap my fingers, pace back and forth, flap a pen or a handkerchief or a sock, twist pages between my fingers.
i do it because it's the only thing that soothes me. i'm hyper, nervous, general anxiety, rage attacks, anything you can think about. and i need to calm down desperately, and this is the only way i can calm down. it also helps me concentrate.

I developed my stimming to the point of a dance over the years. An immeasurable source of pleasure for myself it is. Helps me find things I forget the location of and helps me find emotions I never thought I had. A thing of beauty from my point of view. I know an aspie duo, where she is a flamenco dancer and he is a tourette's flamenco guitar player. Seeing them improvise is a great source of appreciation for the human spirit. Nothing to be ashamed of. Simply a method of self expression.

I flap or shake my hands when I'm agitated or excited, and have developed calluses along both index fingers from biting them when I get in a rage. I've also recently started an odd one where I'll tap surfaces or objects with my fingers to see how they feel. The tops of the lab tables in my biology and chemistry classes are made of some really smooth plasticky substance that is so smooth it's almost soft, and I like to rub the palm of my hand over it just to feel it.