Taking on new stims?

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As far as I know, I've never been a "hand flapper." Lately I've been finding myself doing something that I would definitely relate to flapping. It's more of a rapid wrist-flick really. Here's how I would best describe it: Arms down at my sides, one hand would rapidly twist or flick as if I had a bracelet that was stuck too high up on my arm, and I was trying to shake it loose to fall down to my wrist. Now, I've been wearing bracelets for as long as I can remember, so I know this motion well, as I have done it frequently, even when the bracelets weren't stuck. Now I realize that I'm doing it even without the bracelets.

I don't know if this is an old stim that I've simply had for years without noticing, or something new. Is it possible to take on new stims for no apparent reason? Do we somehow randomly find a new movement or fixation that our brain attaches to and gets stimulation from? I mean, I've only recently realized how much I love staring at the glitter ball I now keep on my desk at work, but that's a visual thing. This is a physical movement, so do you think there's a difference? If I one day started shaking my head, and my brain decided that it likes that and wants more of it, would I start stimming that way, too? How does this work?

I think it's possible to take on new stims, but it's even more likely that you've had it without noticing it, or that it has just "bumped up" in intensity. It is also possible to sort of train yourself into a particular kind of stim, crazy as it sounds. (Too bad it's harder to train yourself out of one: I have a skin picking one, also, I run my fingers through each other quickly.) Maybe it's your situation, maybe with increased stress, you find that this happens. It could have been happening before, but the severity has only come out when you are under much stress? I hope that was of help.

This has happened to me, too. I never used to flap or rock but I seem to have subconciously aquired those behaviours in place of more destructive stims. For example, even since I was a child I used my thumb to rub the skin between two of my fingers, to the extent that the skin there was hard and thick like the sole of a foot. Since I started flapping, the skin rubbing has stopped. So although flapping still isn't exactly ideal, at least I have feeling in my fingers now.