Do you still "stim"?

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So I have to ask this...

Are people who are NT relatively more sedentary? I see plenty of people shaking their leg or just doing nervous things like twisting hair, etc. I doubt that it generally counts as "stimming."

Yup. I drum with my fingers incessantly, stretch my forearm tendons, roll my head like I'm listening to music, and if I have my hair in a plait I thrash it from side to side non stop. I also flick my tongue against my lip ring so my piercings clash and make insectile clicks....

I have a question. Does anyone do this more when *happy*??

I remember once I was dancing at a disco, and I kept realizing I was stimming non stop. I was flicking at the coil in my lip repeatedly, and doing it so intensely it looked like I had Tourettes. I stopped when I realized I was doing it, but immediately started unconsciously.

You think handflapping is bad, you should see the one I recently started doing unconsciously.

I stick my tongue out so the metal stud is outside my mouth, and flick it from side to side repeatedly so it clashes on my lip ring and makes that insectile clicking. It looks MORONIC. I manage to not do that in public though...at least I don't think I do...O_O

That's when I do the swaying thing, usually, when I'm feeling really good. I also pace more when I'm excited or happy or thinking deeply about something. It's like I just have to get up and move.

Regards,

Patricia

I like rocking.

I constantly stim, it's not tooooo noticable though

I rock back and forward all the time

I'd like to ask a question, if I may, since it may be somewhat off-topic.

Background...

I've always done little fidgety things with my hands. When I was a kid I was always twirling my hair, to the point that my parents would tell me to stop. I don't do it anymore since I now wear my hair as a buzz cut, but I often find my hand reaching for my hair to twirl; of course, there's nothing there to twirl.

Recently I've noticed that I sometimes tap my left hand fingers rhythmically on top of my left thumb. Other times I've found myself making a fist with the thumb on the inside (how you're NOT supposed to make a fist!). Yet still other times I find myself twirling my keys in a very specific, repeated pattern.

I also pace a lot.

I tend to do these things when I'm bored, don't have anything to focus on, or feel agitated. Most of the time I don't realize I'm doing it (except for pacing).

Question...

Could this be stimming? If so, then yes, I still do it. *Deftly brings thread back on topic*

Yep. I don't hand flap, but I do what I guess is hand twisting. I rotate both hands left and right at the wrist. My husband calls it the helicopter.
I also make my kneecaps "dance"
finger flicking
a lot of repetitive stuff like rubbing my knuckles on my pants or my forehead when I'm upset
rocking back and forth I do a lot
repeating songs or words in my head
I visually stim sometimes as well. I catch myself with my fingers in front of my face on occasion, especially if theres light and shadows.
Mirrors catch my attention
sometimes I wave my hands or fingers quickly but don't keep doing it, almost like a stim but not quite as long as my usual stims.
I bounce my head back and forth sometimes like I'm listening to music, only I'm not.

Constantly.

Yes, I stim constantly.

Yes, I still do. It's how I lull myself to sleep often.

I do this funky thing with my mouth, where it's like I"m forcing air out between my teeth and it makes this weird sound. Most people can't do it at all, but it's hard to tell because it's so near my ears to begin with that it sounds way different than it does to someone on the outside. I used to do it constantly, rarely do anymore.

I think there are others, but I have trouble recognizing them a lot of times, and when I have, I've usually thought of them as functions of anxiety disorders.

Not sure if I ever stimmed, but if nail biting is stimming, then YES all the time still.

Nooooo! Grow it back like it was in your avatar. It's cute

On topic: What does the hand flapping look like? Like waving - not from side to side but up and down??

Stimming. Now I have a name for it. Before joining this site, all I knew to call it was figiting. It is something I have done all my life, and I cannot seem to not do, other than when I am mentally exhausted, and my parents made certain that there was a lot of shame associated with it, in my mind. Family members point it out when I do it, and often let me know how embarrassed it makes them feel when I do it around them, when we are in public. I have tried very hard to stop it, and I manage to get it down to one thing, but never zero. I am always looking for socially acceptable ways to stim, and it just doesn't seem to exist. I try to do it with my hands in my pocket, but I am told, that is a bad habit also. One should not walk in a store with one's hand's in one's pockets. People assume you are hiding something, and I am, just not what they think I am hiding. On one of the court TV programs, the judge will reprimand men standing before her with their hands in their pockets saying, "Take your hands out of pockets!" My wife suggests that I carry around a small rubber ball in my pocket, so I can bounce it on the floor, which is not real useful in carpeted rooms, or squeeze it with hand, but rubber balls make your pocket bulge. It's an ongoing conflict for me, that I have no solution for.

Please forgive my ignorance. I am not sure what people on this thread are referring to when they talk about flapping.

I've got a stim of wrapping bits of string around my fingers really tight repeatedly, I like the feel of things digging in my fingers for some reason, I think it's the pressure that I like I'm not sure.