Stimming (Kind of embarassing)

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So...

I have had really embarrasssing moments thanks to stimming. Whenver I get to excited I put my hands close together resting my arms somewhere (my lap or a table i standing I just old my hands somewhere near my chest) and start moving my fingers a lot (not really flapping my hands, just the fingers like in a scratching motion but every finger independently) and when I'm really excited I do the same thing but holding my hands against my face.

The thing is, this has led to a few really embarrassing moments, since this is not inconspicous at all.

How do I explain stimming to people around me?

Is there something similar to stimming that NTs do so I can use as an example?

I would say that pacing up and down to help you concentrate is similar to stimming.

Something about putting your body in action in some kind of repetitive way frees your mind to think.

You could retrain yourself to fiddle with keys in your pocket for a stim thats more socially acceptable.

Having to explain it is a pain in the ass. I just say I was spacing out or it's a nervous habit.

Yeah there are a lot of NT's that fidget. It can be all sorts of different things. Sometimes, some of their fidgets are indistinguishable from an aspie stimming, but they're the more common fidgets, not something like rocking back and forth.

Here's a list of things I've seen NT's do, what is described as fidgeting:

1. Play/pull their hair
2. Bounce or shake their leg back and forth
3. Silently drum their fingers or palms on the table
4. Rub their upperchest/neck back and forth over and over
5. Stroke their beard repeatedly for a long period of time
6. Pace around aimlessly, (especially while on the phone)
7. Nod their heads (when listening to music, and sometimes when not)
8. Stomp their feet lightly while seated

That's about all I can think of at the moment. All those things above are what's considered normal fidgets, but I have never seen an NT do a sort of fidget that resembles a classic aspie stim, such as hand flapping, rocking back and forth or side to side, opening and closing hands repeatedly, shaking hands, etc.

I stroke my beard, fold my arms, tap my fingers or foot and scratch the back of my neck all the time.

Would just call it a 'nervous habit'.
NT's actually have a lot of what they call 'nervous tics'.
Was discussed by NT's on another forum i'm on.
Everyone knows im autistic so to them my stimming
is just me 'acting autistic' and does not get much attention at school anymore.

put some headphones on and pretend you are listening to music. if someone asks you about your finger movements, just say it is a good song. i use that to explain a lot. piano music perhaps (if they ask).

it helps if they are headphones that you can take one out if you need to talk to people.

this may not always be acceptable (it can be rude to have headphones on when interacting with people). it depends on your situation.

These things I do either because I'm uncomfortable or agitated.

I cannot believe I found this post. When I started reading as a child and got really into the stories, I developed this exact behavior. It started with my face and obviously it caused a ton of concern. My mom has never gotten over it and views me as defective for life, and believes I have Asperger's. As I aged, I learned how to hide it by crossing my arms and hiding my hands, much like you suggest. But I still do it in my mid 20s, although I doubt anyone notices me being more than fidgety. I just had neuropsych testing done and they told me I did not meet the criteria for any autism spectrum diagnosis, although I did display certain features of it. They think the stimming was anxiety-related and didn't show much of an interest. It's been such a hard thing for me to deal with because I've never heard of someone else doing this - most stimming behaviors I see are the flapping etc., or just general nervous habits. I've never seen anyone look as odd as I did, and it's embarrassing to think about, especially because it bothers my mom so much. Have you heard of others with this stimming behavior? I'm trying to figure out if it would even be possible to display it without being on the autism spectrum in some way.