This post comes from curiosity and the nagging feeling I can't be the only person like this. It's also a bit unfocused. Also might be wrong forum. The post is just a bunch of thoughts on "stimming, habits, quirks and gestures", as mentioned above.
Anyway, I find I have habits with weird timelines. I've had a habit of tracing or scratching words from or related to my thoughts onto my limbs. I think this turned into a tendency to trace words I'm speaking of when I'm seated onto the table in front me while in conversation. I think I occasionally write them in the air too, which only happened in the past few years. It's not that I think this is particularly unusual- people write on themselves all of the time. I just don't use a pen because I don't like the feel of it. There are other examples I can't think of off hand.
Some habits seem to be based on location. Many times in my life I've been a nail biter, but now it's come back where I only bite my nails while sitting at my desk (usually doing art) and occasionally in the car.
A couple years ago I randomly decided I should use gestures when speaking. Before then, I never used gestures. But after the decision, I started using them almost automatically. They were different though, and seem rather unique to myself. In fact, they seem a lot more for myself than other people.
A gesture giving the sides of a box or frame was used literally to describe an art canvas I required, but the same gesture came to be used more abstractly, half the time in a way only vaguely connecting to conversation. A hand winding in the shape of a snake seems to show anything art related.
I've got a couple gestures, like a hand rapidly twitching side to side, which basically mean "uh" "um", and "I'm not sure what to say". When I gesture I don't know what a lot of them mean (if anything) and I doubt other people do either. These are just a couple observations based on vague memory.
Some quirks don't seem to be built in, but rather brought to life from the outside. I remember seeing on tv - America's Next Top Model maybe - in high heels. For some reason I imitated that, and since then I would walk on my toes because I felt really comfortable that way.
Other things are based on visual things. The many mirrors on the walls of the living room especially seem to bring out this whole visual movements thing. I love doing my gestures (not conversational ones) and movements (terrible dancing bouncing and figure eights) in front of mirrors. I'll put my fingers or toes in front of me and make them part of the pattern of a bookshelf.
And so on. I guess my point was something like "stims" and habits and everything in between isn't just fixed common things out of a textbook (ex hand flapping your whole life). I wanted to see or show how they come and go and come about. Partially I'm not sure I want to post but not doing so seems wasteful. So, what do you think? Anybody relate to anything I described (which wasn't even an exhaustive list)? Anybody have observations to add?
25 Aug 2011, 5:12 pm
