Rocking habit needs to stop.. but how?

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I need genuine advice on a problem I'm having.

People suffer from all sorts of addictions. Most are chemical addictions but in my case it's a compulsive habit. I'm 28 now and have been rocking back and forth on my bed very often.. up to hours a day since I was 3, introducing the playing of music while I do when I was 13 or so. The music intensified my rocking and It's now destroying my body. It needs to stop.

People say that the weaning method would be applicable here but I can stop rocking when, for example, I'm in another country no problem as I have no resources that allow me to rock. But If I have the luxury of having a nearby bed accessible for this (of the kind that make rocking permissible) I have this uncontrollable impulse to do it.

What is the advisable method to get over this impulse/addiction? I have hip bursitis, my shoulders are starting to act up (probably shoulder bursitis) and also arthritis in my joints from this terrible habit that I can't seem to shake. I'm a big man rocking should be a thing of my past now, right?!

All thoughts are appreciated, and form one autist to another, I hope for your due respect. I need to get over this.

Rocking is a common form of Stimming behavior for those of us on the spectrum. Stimming is a form of repetitive movement. I'm not the best at explaining but I think Stimming is the word for what's going on. Stimming can be a calming/relaxing behavior for us. Perhaps you can try swapping the rocking for another stim like playing with something in your hand or tapping your foot. It would likely be a process thou. Hopefully someone else will post.

Just out of interest, if you had a rocking chair would you be able to rock without the need to use the joints that you are getting issues with? It is just a thought.

There is a school of thought that views stimming as something that is linked to the vestibular system and helps give a sense of position and place - hence is calming. This sense of position and place is something that we may have more difficulty with than NT's

I have never rocked but pace a lot and fiddle with things - I like the range of fidget gadgets that you can buy on Amazon these days. This is my current favourite:

The fidgit spinners were out for kids and I knew if I had one I would not put it down, so I resisted the temptation! I can ever so easily spend hours, days and even months and years with things like that! Ence why I stay away from them!! ! As spinning them would get me into trouble!

I dislike spinners

The device pictured above fits in the palm of my hand and is very discreet - unless I am too enthusiastic with the buttons that make clicking noises then people aren't really aware that I am using it. I often use it during meetings at work, in fact I was using it earlier this morning

So firstly I think you should let go of the notion that this isn’t “age appropriate” behaviour. That’s just rubbish in my view.

I think your best bet, as others have mentioned, is to find an alternate behaviour that scratches the same itch.

The fact that you need a bed to rock seems quite extreme. Is there a gentler form of rocking that will do?

You could also consider properly preparing for a rocking session by warming up and stretching. That will make it less likely that you pick up injuries.

I have a rocking chair, pace, and go outside for walks alternatively, but because I've been dependent on rocking laying down on bed and moving side to side for almost my entire life, it's the first thing that impulsively comes to mind when I need to stim.

The problem with my $3000 rocking chair is that my feet don't reach the ground when stationary which means it strains my knees as the weight of my feet pull down creating this tremendous soreness. I suppose I have to wait for COVID-19 to end so I can go out and buy something a little better for me.

And the problem with walking is that sometimes my hip bursitis acts up, and walking up inevitable stairs exacerbates the issue twofold. I fear that my hip bursitis will reach a point where walking will no longer be doable.

I found it easy to transition to a new stim when I was forced to end an old stim.

I wonder what would happen if you tried sleeping on a hammock. Or you might try a weighted blanket.

How is it ruining your body?

It's destroying my body by how hard I do it; how hard I squeeze my hands together; how hard I push my leg on a slant to give me the momentum I need to be virtually perpendicular to the floor; how hard my shoulders take the brunt of impact when I'm perpendicular, the list goes on. My fear of never being able to walk from the hip bursitis is increasing as even a simple walk today proved too much for my hip to handle. The walk up 3 flights of stairs to get back home was excruciating.

Rocking = Stimming.

I had done a video about stimming on my YouTube channel start of last year and I like to share the video to see if anyone is interested in what I knew about stimming in the beginning of 2019.

My oldest sister is over 60 now and has "rocked" on the edge of her mattress ever since she was a child, usually to music with headphones on. I have no idea if she's autistic (never really thought about it honestly) but is an amazing writer and photographer, reads voraciously, was bullied in school, is underemployed. She is obsessive about Christmas and a collector to the nth degree. Won't use the phone, has meltdowns, uses baby talk sometimes, can't handle stress at all. She is also my favorite sister, with a huge heart, and she always had my back growing up and took me in when I was really screwing up.

Do you think she might have aspergers? Should I bring this up with her? I am undiagnosed and want to lead in explaining about my issues, but I think it's probably wrong to turn this into something about me. (I can't relate to anyone and sound sincere on a personal level, except in how it relates to me, without a lot of effort and watching my words). Advice or thoughts? I also don't have the reasoning to distinguish intent or origins on a personal level as to what else might be wrong. Thanks

I asked my sister about the rocking. She says she doesn't do it for hours on end like she used to. Does it regularly now to music, no more than 30 minutes a week though, and on an upholstered chair rather than on her bed. A few minutes here and there, as a sort of meditation so stress doesn't build up like it used to. And the people in her life now are more understanding so that helps too.
She had no solution except to talk to someone, and to slowly reduce the amount of time you spend rocking. Using the chair will help because upholstery is too fat to grip tightly, and you can't get the range of motion. She did say she has bone spurs along her spine but doesn't know if it's caused by rocking or not.
Good luck.

I rock back and forth when intensely focused or very emotional--mostly in private. I also tend to wave my arms around. In public, I can usually substitute smaller, more discreet actions with my fingers. Maybe you also could gradually minimize the size of your movements?

I surprised you didn't say anything about ASD to her. Do you think she wouldn't want to know?