That nasty need-to-stim feeling...

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What's it like for you when you're reaching overload and the urge to stim grows and grows inside you? I feel it in my middle, sort of in my chest cavity and down along to my tummy, like there's a horrible unbearable tingling going on and it's like I want to scream and shout and hit myself. I don't do those things, I feel the urge to but I don't because I've learned not to.

Does it feel like this to you? Like some kind of crazy tingling swarming feeling inside? Or does this differ from person to person?

Well, when I am reaching overload I do get a similar feeling inside. It's not an urge to stim though, it's an urge to meltdown. Then my vision gets blinky and I know I'm really on the edge.
I only really notice my stimming once I'm already doing it, or when I've stopped and I realize I didn't know I was stimming until I'm not doing it anymore. Stimming is my way of being able to concentrate or acclimate to my surroundings.

If I'm not stimming I get a "butterflies in my tummy" kind of feeling. Similar to the feeling I get when I go on a swing or when I'm on an amusement park ride that drops from a great height, or an elevator Sometimes I get a tingling feeling like I have to run really fast to make it go away
Probably similar to what you are describing.
But I don't only stim when I'm reaching overload, I stim when I'm relaxed as well

I don't get that.
I can't really describe what I feel when it comes to a need-to-stim feeling... I don't know if I feel anything or not.

I experience it as a strong craving, like what you might feel if you were on a diet and faced with a slice of cake, or quitting smoking and offered a cigarette.

I also feel a mix of shame for doing something so weird, and exasperation with myself for being unable to stop. Then I feel anxiety hoping that nobody will notice. If anyone notices and makes a comment, I feel like I want the earth to swallow me right there.

iv been conscious of my stimming for a long time, since i was a 4-5. if i was getting punished or felt anxious or confronted, id rub my fingers and toes together secretly in my pocket or something. I became completely conscious of it, but i had no idea why i was doing it. i just knew that it helped me feel a little more calm. iv never been annoyed by it though, i understand that its a mechanism to help me feel better

I get a feeling like I'm being tied down, and suffocated type thing. A little like when I try to diet, too. I just can't do it. Like I can't diet, I can't not stim.

It feels like pressure is building up and my eyes are going to explode... O_o

A lot of the times when there is to much going on, I go into overload. I always fidget a lot with my hands and fingers. Is fidgeting with hands are fingers considered stimming? What all is considered stimming? Is it normal for people with Asperger's Syndrome to fidget with their hands and fingers a lot?

Hm... I don't notice when I start stimming, most of the time. Someone else needs to point it out to me. My most common stims are rocking, shaking my leg, cheek biting, and lip biting. I notice that I'm more likely to stim when feeling particularly distressed, but I usually don't feel the urge to start stimming, per say. That said, if I don't stim AND get overwhelmed, then it's as you all have described.

i always used to drum my fingers to a beat as well. i have a personal obession with music, so i always thought that was just me being bored, it was only recently that i figured it might be a stim

I shake my legs, drum my fingers, hyperventilate, blink excessively and sometimes walk around in circles like dogs lol (which I don't in public )

I also get the urge to beat myself up but don't

I don't stim, and if I do I never have the urge to do it when I'm out. I never even think of wanting to do it outside, nor do I accidentally do it where I shouldn't. However, my only ''stim'' (not sure if it is a stim or not) is having to shout out the names of the people I am obsessed with. For example, if I was to be obsessed with a man called Peter, I would keep saying, ''Peter!'' a lot in the house, in different tones of voices (not so much shouting, just saying it a lot). It's not like Tourette's, because I never say it out in public at all - only in my house or at a relatives house who I am close to and who is used to me. I also don't do it when I'm on my own - only when there is family around to hear it.

So I suppose my answer to this question is a no.

I had to post again on this thread because I had said I didn't get a feeling when I need to stim. I guess this thread made me more conscious of my stimming, because I noticed immediately that I actually do have an urge to stim. I was really happy and excited about something last night, and until I put my hands in the air and flapped them really fast, the feeling wouldn't go away. I was always just doing it (stimming) subconsciously before, and had never really noticed the urge...but now I have been noticing it and I'd describe it as an anxiety or nervous energy that is built up. Stimming is the way I release that energy so it isn't bothersome.