Does touching hair count as stimming?

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Sometimes it feels relaxing but sometimes it just feels like it's a dissipation of inner energy. Like if I don't do it, I will have a seizure because of mental pressure build-up.

The more I need to supress the urge 'out there', the longer I give in to it at home. It's a fairly easily formula. I've get accused of feeling guilty when I do it therefore I must have done something to feel guilty about - it's one thing when a parent makes those accusations and another when a spouse does. I do it because a) I have the overwhelming urge b) it relieves the anxiety of forcing myself to not do it c) because I like to. It's my hair damn it. If I want to play with it, I will - I'm not hurting anybody nor myself. As a kid i used to suck on my hair but by my teens I found it kinda gross. I'm actually rather fond of those rare bored moments becasue I will microbraid my entire head then braid each individual braid and just keep braiding until I have a big, whole head braid - undo it all and start over. (I have been told this all qualifies as hair 'twirling' by a psych...)

Whether thats AS, ADD or - as suggested - 'just a fidget' is kind of irrelevent. It's fairly common. And probably the reason my hair has always been long despite the sensory nightmare hair brushing was as a kid.

I am a male almost in my thirties and I never knew people might consider twirling your hair as socially unacceptable for males... If my hands do not have anything to do I will be twirling and touching my long hair sometimes without realizing I´m doing it, other times I´m totally playing with my hair doing it all consciously and get great kicks out of it whether in public or not. I might be more aware of it from now on but no one has never really told me I shouldn´t be doing it.

Even know I just realized as I stopped typing and started to read what I had typed my hand was instantly twirling my hair. From behind my right ear as usually.

Come to think of it - I don't twirl my hair or chew on it any more, but I do run my fingers through it.

I never could get the hang of braiding.

[b]

http://autism.wikia.com/wiki/Stimming

It's about a lot more than simply full-body movements.

This is far too brief an explanation of stimming, and it doesn't really support what you're saying. In addition to "bleeding off excess excitement" it says "In some cases, it helps with thinking or concentration." Which isn't about anxiety at all. The previous paragraph also suggests a hypothesis that it has a function related to sensory input.

As for body movements - fingers and hair are part of the body. The DSM-IV criteria says:



That is, stereotypy covers a lot of territory.

Here's a not nearly exhaustive list of stims that actually includes twirling hair:

http://www.tsbvi.edu/seehear/archive/ma ... html#Chart

I play with my hair CONSTANTLY. My parents and husband are always reminding me that I'm doing it.I either get large pieces and go in and out between my fingers, or really fine pieces and go under my nails. I try to remind myself not to do it when I'm in public, but I just can't seem to stop. I've done it my whole life.Even when I was little, I used to play with my parents' hair, and sometimes my husband even catches me trying to twirl his hair. I do the same thing with different fabrics...I especially love twirling fringe and getting small pieces of it under my nails. I don't know how to stop, even when I want to. It just feels so good.

I completely disagree with the person who said only major body movements count as stimming. What about vocal stims?
You're taking the term "body movement" far too literally. Rocking is a body movement, but so is blinking, shivering, leg bouncing etc.

Great post!