Define stim?

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How would you truly define what is meant by stimming? Why do people stim?

There is an explanation in wikipedia.

When I get stressed in particular, I might lock myself into a room so no-one disturbs me, and rock and hum. If too much is going on in my head, I find this allows me to focus - to drown out the 'noise' until my emotions or bad feelings settle down. I deliberately focus on the physical sensation of rocking and the humming, when I do it, reinforces the focus.
I think it does for my whole mind what white noise does when it is otherwise too quiet - it smooths out the peaks of what would otherwise be too much sensory stimulation (white noise makes loud noises less noticeable). Or to put it another way, it drowns out the confusing roar with something in my control.

When I don't rock or click my fingers it's like I float away. The stimming keeps me attached to the moment so I can mentally move forward.

The original, clinical definition of a stim is "A full body movement that relieves autistic anxieties." FULL BODY would include rocking, swaying, hand flapping, toe walking, etc.

Some have expanded their definition to include small, fidgety repetitive habits, like nail biting, finger drumming, hair twisting, and so on, but these behaviors, while they may be borne out of anxiety, do not do anything to release or relieve autistic anxiety. They belong more in the category of obsessive tics or twitches.

Autistic anxiety comes from constant sensory hyperstimulation as a result of too many sensory neuro receptors in the brain. The brain is constantly overstimulated by the pressure of processing too much sensory input, and the stim motion, like rocking a baby to sleep, is to soothe and comfort.

This video explains what true autistic stimming is:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUG7wlZmrfs[/youtube]

Not to be rude, but I think there a lot of aspies who have made up things they call stimming.
It is not a nervous habit like leg/foot tapping and biting fingernails etc. Those things are from anxiety.