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Joe90
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10 Sep 2011, 9:52 am

I've never been a stimmer, but I've had one habit for as long as I can remember which I'm not sure if it is clasified as stimming or not. It comes worse if I'm stressed.
When there's a brightly-coloured light or object near me, and a blank wall, I keep looking at the brightly coloured light or object and then looking at the blank wall to see it's opposite colour (I hope I've explained it right). Or if there's a long straight object, I keep moving my eyes along it then looking just underneath it or above it to make it look twice as long as it is (again, using a blank wall). And I do this when I'm watching telly aswell - the logo of the television make which is just below or above the screen keeps on distracting me, and I have to keep on looking at it then ''moving'' it onto the wall to see it's opposite colour. And if I try not to do it, I get an irritating twinge in my toes and stomach as though my brain desperately wants me to do it, so I have to. This is why it is easier for me to watch films in the dark, so that nothing else around distracts me.

Is this stimming? Does anyone else experience this, or is it just me?


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The_Perfect_Storm
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10 Sep 2011, 12:01 pm

I don't know what stimming is. Sounds like OCD. A compulsion. I used to get those when I was younger. Not any more.



theWanderer
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10 Sep 2011, 12:18 pm

It sounds to me like a sort of visual stimming. I mean, it sounds like you're seeking a certain sort of visual stimulation. And when I don't stim if I need to, I get that same sort of twitchy feeling. So my guess would be it is just your own individual stim. And it isn't as if stimming is all one thing, anyway.


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League_Girl
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10 Sep 2011, 12:34 pm

It sounds like something autistic people do. They like to stare at objects or moving objects.



Thom_Fuleri
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10 Sep 2011, 5:41 pm

I am often distracted by moving objects. This causes problems occasionally!

Stimming for me includes teeth grinding, foot tapping and (when stressed) I play with my hair. It's especially relaxing when it gets quite long or when freshly shaved (mmm, frizzy...)

Joe90, that sounds more like a sort of OCD, which is also pretty common in aspies. I get irritated by empty plug sockets left switched on, coat hangers the wrong way round in the wardrobe and spelling errors.



Verdandi
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10 Sep 2011, 5:44 pm

Thom_Fuleri wrote:
Joe90, that sounds more like a sort of OCD, which is also pretty common in aspies. I get irritated by empty plug sockets left switched on, coat hangers the wrong way round in the wardrobe and spelling errors.


Do these cause you significant anxiety? Joe90 didn't describe any anxiety, just a need for the contrast, which doesn't sound very OCDish.



littlelily613
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10 Sep 2011, 6:19 pm

theWanderer wrote:
It sounds to me like a sort of visual stimming.


That was what I was going to say. I've heard of people doing this before, and it being referred to as stimming. That being said, it would only be stimming if it is something you do over and over. If you do it once at a time, I think it would just be curiousity.


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10 Sep 2011, 8:26 pm

Joe90 wrote:
I've never been a stimmer, but I've had one habit for as long as I can remember which I'm not sure if it is clasified as stimming or not. It comes worse if I'm stressed.
When there's a brightly-coloured light or object near me, and a blank wall, I keep looking at the brightly coloured light or object and then looking at the blank wall to see it's opposite colour (I hope I've explained it right). Or if there's a long straight object, I keep moving my eyes along it then looking just underneath it or above it to make it look twice as long as it is (again, using a blank wall). And I do this when I'm watching telly aswell - the logo of the television make which is just below or above the screen keeps on distracting me, and I have to keep on looking at it then ''moving'' it onto the wall to see it's opposite colour. And if I try not to do it, I get an irritating twinge in my toes and stomach as though my brain desperately wants me to do it, so I have to. This is why it is easier for me to watch films in the dark, so that nothing else around distracts me.

Is this stimming? Does anyone else experience this, or is it just me?

Sensory seeking maybe.
Stimming is something you do that is repetitive and takes a while to notice or is done to ease stress.
When I'm in a stressfull environment or under stress for some reason or another I'd seek out something like that, but on the days when I'm not stressed out I would call it sensory seeking/ becoming distracted / concentration problems.


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Joe90
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11 Sep 2011, 9:11 am

I tend to do this more when I'm relaxed in a familar environment, but the more anxious I am inside about other things, the more I do it. I do it a lot when I'm in my room, or sitting on the bus. I don't think to do it when I'm out and about, unless sometimes when I'm waiting in a queue for ages or something. I can't do it when there's a lot of people about and too much going on, because the environment needs to be still.

On my computer desk at home, I've got a globe, and my eye keeps catching the brightly-coloured countries (the countries on my globe are in different colours), like Australia because it's in yellow, and parts of Europe because some are in orange, which shows up brighter against blue and peach.
On the bus the bars that connect from the back of seats to the ceiling are bright yellow, with a button on each of them what you press when you want to get off, and the buttons are bright red, which keep distracting me, especially against the yellow, and I keep staring at them then ''moving'' them onto the cab where the driver sits, to see their opposite colour. I often repeatively do this 4 times. Don't ask why it's 4 times.


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