What causes an increase in stimming ?

Post Reply New Topic

For some time I have been stimming more than what was considered normal for me. In the past I would only stim in very exciting or very stressful/anxious moments. Days or weeks could pass between it. Now I do it often and several times a day. What could cause this and has this happened to your kids or yourself?

Before the increase I only had finger and hand stims, hair (eyebrows) pulling only rarely, and nail biting.
Now I stim with my hands , fingers, and arms, sometimes all together. I also wiggle my fingers in front of my face and tap my face with my hands. I pace more often, too.

Im considered high functioning.

More stress than usual in your life maybe?

More stress or constant sensory input increases stimming for me, along with recent changes.

I stim heavily in general though.

More stress. I stim AFTER a stressful situation. Subconsciously I don't know if I'm inadvertently ridding myself of the stress I experienced. I was in a stressful situation this week and I was walking back to work I stimmed a lot while thinking about the situation I was just in. A big stim for me is taking my extended fingers and making undulating waves like a continuous repetitive sine wave over and over when I walk. My thumbs aren't generally involved, just my fingers.

Emotional demands and social expectations. Aggressive behavior, cities, street junkies (no offense junkies), unwanted attention.
Stims are clicking joints, brushing away backhand flicks, trippy finger twiddles, flicking thumbs against index finger, rubbing face, repeating syllables and phrases.

The emotional stress of trying to surpress stimming can probably add to the urge to stim.

Yes, definitely stress, and agree both during and after.

Another thing, I would say, though, is simply having to sit still. I can be in a situation that I am totally focused on something, and maybe even enjoying myself, but if I'm having to sit more or less still while doing it, I'll probably be stimming with my hands or fiddling with an object the whole time. I tend to think it's not ADHD or anything, because even though I'm stimming or fidgeting, I'm still not having any trouble staying focused.

In high school, I was in a play (the play was called Our Town) where I had to be a dead person, which involved sitting completely still for the entire third act of the play unless I had a line to speak - no stimming or fidgeting allowed. That, for me, was quite a challenge.

More stress and anxiety = more stimming for me.