Stimming questions...

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When does stimming happen for most people? And would rocking, hand flapping, tapping hands together, making anoying sounds over and over again or playing with an object in the same way for a while count as stimming? What would make some one stop these behaviors?

It relaxes me, but a lot of the time I have no reason for doing it. It happens when I'm stressed out a lot more, but still comes around even when I'm not.

Yes, no doubt. Realizing when one is doing it, I suppose; just being more conscious.

Many answers here: http://insideperspectives.wordpress.com ... /stimming/

I do it for no reason, I do it when bored or stressed out or anxious. I do it when excited or trying to keep focused. It gets hard to control when I am getting stressed out or having anxiety. I also don't even realize I am doing it. I can catch myself and then stop. I find it embarrassing when I am around people, especially family so I try and stop and not do it around them. I will sit on my hands or tense my body if it's s hard to control. I also think my habits I had back then were actually stims. No matter how many times my mother told me to stop, I still did it. I have always outgrown them and develop new ones. I think one I have never outgrown was twisting my hands or ringing them. I have always jumped up and down too and paced and I still put things in my mouth and smell things. I don't know if all of these are stims.

I go through periods where I do it all the time and then through periods where I don't do it often.

All day long. Different triggers. Sometimes it's just because I'm awake. How to stop? Working w/ hands does busy the fingers. I macramé hammock harnesses for a living.

It can happen any time for me. I don't have a lot of the larger movements some people do, but I probably don't go 15 minutes without some kind of movement that could be seen as a stim. Right now, I am playing with a Slinky I keep by my bed. Later, I will probably wind my crank type flashlight or wiggle my foot or leg. For the most part, what I do looks like fidgeting to the outside observer, so I see little reason to stop.

Rocking when im upset or angry, i jump and flap slightly when im happy or nervous, especially around popping balloons!
I shake my head alot which is what alot of people notice more as i do this at random times but again more when im stressed

Is it still stimming if you are aware that your doing it?

I usually start stimming when I'm nervous and alone. All of those behaviours that you described would definitely be classified as stimming. I think it's hard for some people to stop stimming. I just control myself and try not to do it around other people at least.

I stim with my favorite object when I'm not doing anything. It is very soothing, especially when I become stressed. But, if I become too stressed, I sometimes stimm until my lips bleed. I have been stimming with objects all of my life, but it is much more often now that I'm retired.

My most obvious stim is rocking, most of the others are "accepted" things like jiggling my knee, tapping fingers, snapping my fingers.

I mostly rock when I'm in bed trying to sleep and when I'm eating, for some reason. I don't really know why, but I've noticed that the rocking get's more pronounced when I'm starting to feel full or if my appetite wasn't that good to begin with. I don't think I do this when I'm eating with others, at least not very pronounced.

Yes, if you're unaware or cannot control it then it's a tic.

Everyone is different and people stim for all sorts of reasons. Anxiety is probably a major trigger for most people though.

Yes those are all stims.

Depends on the trigger, if it's stress then you need to identify the stressor and eliminate it. You can also learn to substitute an obvious stim for a less obvious stim.

Is it stimming if the person knows that they are doing it??

What about pacing around the room while listening to music?

If the stimming is worse because of a stressor, removing the stressor or removing the person from the situation can help but if the stimming is just randomly happening then you might not be able to stop it
I'm aware of it when I do it, so yes I think it is still stimming if your aware