How long have you done the same stim for?

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Since I was about 2 or 3, maybe even 1, I've been taking a nice string about the length of my arm, folded it in half, picked it up at the point where it's folded and waved it back and forth in front of me. I often make up fictional stories with it, one wave of the string per sentence. Often I also build buildings with it... one wave of the string per imagined item. And I create events with it... one wave of the string for each imagined event or object or subject or image or fact in the story. Yep, I still do it, but I don't dare get caught because I know my mother will yell at me!

I do 1 major thing, it is 'my stim' i dont do anything else obvious, since i was a child.

At night, as im getting ready to doze off I rock myself to sleep, side to side on my bed. Im about to turn 25 and I have done this since I was 3. I did it everynight, my whole life. Sometimes when little I would roll outa bed, as I must have even done this in my sleep, resulting in my parents having to put up railings. Sometimes I would hit my head on the wall, and that occured throughout the time I lived at home until collage. I woke my family up doin that many times. My parents knew I did it ever since I was little, but back then I was light enough so I could have my arm underneath me, but as i got heavyer i had to move it to the front.

In collage was the only time I went (aside from the occasional camping trip or sleep over as a kid) for a long time without rocking. It sucked sooooo bad, not being able to do this, as i had a roommate and was ashaimed of getting caught doing it by ppl, and during my teen years having to be more quiet about it, i was embarressed ppl knew i still did that. It took a long time adjusting to sleeping in collage, lucky i was able to live in the mountains, so i was surrounded by miles of adirondack forrest. I snowshoed in -27 degree weather, went to the summett of mountains in 8- degrees with high humidity, hiked to streams, lakes while raining, I did good work in collage, but since I could only go 'home' to sleep (i hated every roommate, they can distroy your collage career, drove me crazyyyy as im sure many of us would also have a major issue with that). I was in the best shape of my life. After collage (i only graduated with an associates, not the 4 year career degree I acheived deans list for every semester until the end...) I got kicked outa my house for good, no longer in school, no longer a dependent, which i understand, and as an adult, it was time to go. I lived with a friend for a mounth, on a cot or on the floor, still no stimming in my sleep. Then I moved in here about 2.4 years ago, and ever seince I absolutly CHERISH being able to do it, im totally free nobody lives anywhere near me (in the neghboorhood, compaired to everyone else). It truly is the greatest feeling in the world!

I've also only really ever done that one stim... the "string thing". But I don't ahve to do it when I'm really stimulated by other stuff... like disasters and joking with epople about disasters.

When I was very young, from 3 to 5, I used to ring my hands and hold up one limp wrist as I ran. There has only been two stims that have stuck with me, one being flapping my legs at random times, and also twiddling my fingers and needing to do something to keep my hands occupied. Some of my friend's had speculated during middle school and early high school that I flapped my legs to hide an errection!! ! LOL.

Woodsman, yeah, we covered this on another post: we both do the rolling thing and can't sleep if not able to. I too used to wake my family up, before age 10 doing this many times because I was banging my head against a wall as I did so. It still scares girls I've slept with.
The other stim is rocking back and forth, like back to front while sitting, when listening to classical music, playing chess, sometimes just when reading a book or thinking or even in conversation, though that one I pick up on and stop. I also drum incessantly on any and all surfaces at various times of day or even during conversation. I'm now a professional level percussionist because my mom made me take lessons with her friend in H.S. and now I love drumming, except that I still annoy people during movies, chess games, conversations etc. Those are my main stims and I've done as long as I've been conscious of my own existance.

crikey! i hate these threads... I always end up discovering that something I've always done that I thought nothing of ends up being a stim

I rock myself to sleep. I never thought anything of it. I rolled out of bed a couple of times as a kid (top bunk too ) but I didn't think it was "different" just what everyone did. Obviously not.

Other stims:
Before that I tap my fingers in opposition to each-other. (thumb to each finger.)
When standing I'll rock side to side sometimes. This is one I tend to supress though. Only under great stress or distraction will this one creep out of the wood work.

Those are the only stims I believe myself to have, and they have been with me for as long as I can remember.

Thank you, thank you, thank you! ever since I arrived at this site I wondered what stimming means; while I have most of the other traits I wasn't really sure about stimming. I'm 25 and I've done what you describe for so long, I can't remember when it started, but I remember my mother being worried about it when I was 5 years old or so. Sometimes I wonder how I can fall asleep despite the movements?!

"Before that I tap my fingers in opposition to each-other. (thumb to each finger.)"

Hey, I do that too... With music, like I'm playing my fingers.

I'm a bit unsure what "stimming" means. Is it something everybody does, or only people with a touch of autism?

If I do this, then my main ones are whistling and humming. I'm a compulsive whistler, and drove my wife crazy for a few months with renditions of a horrible song from my childhood. Most of the time, I'm not even aware of it. When I'm alone, I usually have some tuneless humming going on. Is this stimming?

Still rock back and forth and I'm 48 years old. And yes even NTs stim, rocking chairs are a multi-million dollar business.

I've picked my nails and the skin around them for as long as I can remember.

I've been wondering about stimming too. I pick the skin around my fingers, is that stimming? I have never rocked myself to sleep or anything like that. I sometimes get like involutary muscle movements. So say you know when you move your fingers and you can see the tendons in your forearm flex. I get that in different parts of my body sometimes lasting for a couple of minutes like muscle spasms (but only on a very small scale), is this any form of stimming? Or when I was 17 I used walk right along the edge of the curb on the pavement, everyone used to ask me why I did it and I couldn't say, just like some kind of routine, I didn't choose to do it, just used to sort of fall into it. Is that any form of stimming?

Also meltdowns - not sure what one is. I've had panic attacks etc, but get the impression thats not what they are. It's strange, but this has happened a few times - a girl I fancy has come on to me in a big way when we are alone. I suddenly can't handle it and have to run out of the room, usually offending them or making them think I'm not interested. This has happened a few times in my life, is that a meltdown? Complete inability to cope? Or emotional overload? or are they the same thing? Any hot blooded male would have jumped straight in, I'm straight and fancied these women, but couldn't handle it. I sort of prefer to take things slower. Takes long enough to actually kiss a girl, they virtually have to be blatant before I make a pass at them, sometimes they are not blatant enough and I miss the opportunity completely, only later everyone says "why didn't you kiss her?" and I realise I missed the boat.

No idea, but I do that too.


Oh, I never connected that to AS.

I've paced across the room and picked scabs off my fingers and feet compulsively as long as I can remember. Without the former, my mind doesn't seem to work as actively as I'd like it to (my thinking seems to cease or slow down without movement); the latter I do automatically, without being aware of it.

I remember hearing remarks about sniffing, picking my nose in public or/and eating the secretions from my nose (yes, disgusting, I know ) when I was something like 5 or 6 years old, so this must have been there all along as well.

It looks like I've also done all those small movements, like rubbing fingers/toes together etc., since childhood, only I never paid any attention to them until recently.

Last edited by ixochiyo_yohuallan on 12 Aug 2007, 12:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.

That's cause it's just a muscle spasm. Nothing to do with AS. If they become a problem, you might consider upping your calcium intake, as calcium deficiency can cause muscle spasms.

i dont know if this is really a stim but i press my fingers together hard over and over again. i also touch my ears alot

I do a similar thing witha scarf as people do with the string. I wave a scarf around like mad. I pretend I am in a world of fantasy where I can do anything. It feels great! I also pace around like a wolf. Infact many people have commented on this.