Stimming Q

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So as a part of my ASD journey (awaiting Diagnosis, but think I am on the spectrum), I have been (near obsessively) combing through my life history, current and past behaviors, etc., and examining it through the newer lens.

One thing I am curious about, having never viewed things in this light until very recently, is stimming. From what I can read, virtually everyone does "Stimming" to a certain extent, but people who are on the spectrum do it either in a very specific way or in a way that is more pronounced.

In my experience I notice that I tend to bounce my right leg up and down very often (it happens daily, has happened almost daily my entire life, and often lasts for a long time). I also tend to "tap my feet" within my shoes, almost perpetually have songs stuck in my head (something I am not sure fits the qualifications for stimming), and when I am exceptionally upset I will flick/shake my right hand (this isn't as common as the others, but does occur when I am under a lot of stress without fail). In reflection, a lot of this behavior happens to occur on the right side of my body, so I do not know if that is meaningful.

I used to do drumming of my fingers a lot in school, but when I realized I could get away with doing it more by associating it with actual drumming practice, it transitioned to just idly drumming out a beat (which in most cases is the same one, though not always).

So my question is if this seems less like NT stimming and more akin to what would be common for those on the spectrum, and, as a follow up, just to be curious what stimming other people do.

I have done all the ones you suggested in the past and had great difficulty in preventing myself from doing them, and was soo concious about being told off for doing them and getting into trouble both in school, college and the workplace. It took me 30 years of trying to finally get rid of all stimms and that is when the real trouble started when I have hit quite a few hard hitting burnouts. So do not stop stimming.
I did not know they were called stimms. I did not realize why I needed to do them. They were usually automatic where I did not realize that I was doing them until I was told off, and it took soo much mental effort over years on my behalf to train myself not to do them! I would conquor one, and then another would form!

But do not stop stimming. It is dangerous for your mental health to stop stimming. Yes, if needed disguise your stimms so they are more hidden to others, but do not stop stimming.

Those do sound like stims, although it's hard to tell where the line is between NT stimming and ASD stimming. Frequency? Unusual movements? It might be another one of those things that's on a spectrum.

I agree that stimming is good for your mental health and that you shouldn't stop them altogether. I was diagnosed as an adult but learned to hide my stims because I saw TV shows that showed people rocking, etc. and they were portrayed as having something wrong with them. I learned to do more subtle stims, like bobbing my knee, moving my feet or toes, touching my fingers together, doodling, or twisting my hair.

I hadn't thought about music in my head being a stim!! I have had that all my life too, like having my personal soundtrack. I even wake up to music (this morning was the Pet Shop Boys). I have a list of songs that I like to play over and over again (definitely a stim) because they just set my nerves to tingling.

“Everyone” does have that. It’s part of being human .

I think those can count as stims, especially if you do them a lot.

The stims I currently do a lot are a hand shaking thing that I do with both my hands, swaying from side-to-side, a bouncing thing, and I make certain noises to vocal stim.

Around other people I'm careful to stick to acceptable stims like leg rocking or pacing. If I'm alone I also flap my hands and maybe rock or sway if I'm listening to music.

I rub a silky piece of material that I call my tickle because I have had one since I was a very young child and I have never grown out of doing it.

I also talk to myself a lot and always have.

PN I am not sure if these count as stims or not...when it comes to labels/diagnoses I have never found one that actually fits me. I just seem to be plain outright weird, never met anyone with the same inclinations as me, anywhere. If the medical profession wants to diagnose me they would need to create a completely new category...I just don't fit any of the existing labels.

I can drum my fingers but I consider that a normal behaviour because NTs do it all the time.