Is it ok to stim heavily as a mature adult?

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If it doesn't hurt anyone else and you can find a way to survive life whether it's in front of people or not, then why not?

Tri-Doku? Sounds interesting...

Senath, thanks for the bit of conformation. That foot wiggle thing while trying to go to sleep is an actual valid stim and not just some odd thing that my adopted mother hated.

Boy, I learn more from this forum each day.

I'd say it depends on the stim. You don't want it to be too obvious in public, but by yourself, go for it. I have actually added stims on purpose since I started trying to figure out if I have AS and found them quite relaxing. The whole rocking thing is new to me but it is honestly one of the most relaxing things I have ever tried. I do it almost like a form of meditation and find that it helps relax me after a long, stressful day.

Not in public; in the privacy of your own home no problem there.

I do the knee-bouncing thing and sometimes I rock back and forth but I'd be horrified if someone caught me doing it in public. I think it's fine to do it at home. It helps me think better and it feels soothing. Probably burns calories too.

I don't suppress stimming. I do it in private and in public, nearly constantly. I stim during meetings while conversing with people on serious topics. I stim at my office while working on the computer. I stim, stim, stim, stim, stim, stim, stim. My stims are obvious autistic stims. I rock back and forth and do things with my hands. I stare at things, touch things to my face, and smell things. I continue to have serious conversations with people while stimming. They can think what they want, and what they will quickly realize is that obvious autistic behavior and intelligent back and forth conversation can coexist in harmony.

I had never really considered the "quirky behaviors" I have to be "stimming" (I had no idea until recently that I could even have Asperger's) and as such, I have never suppressed them, I just figured "screw everyone else, I'm going to do what I like, and if they can't handle it, shame on them."

I like to move. A lot. I cannot sit still for long -I was diagnosed with ADHD when I was young, but I never felt that fit, because I can focus, I just prefer to do so while moving.- I bounce my legs, shake my hands, tap my feet, if I hear something high-pitch, I shake my head violently (that's a reaction to mosquitoes and flies, as I have long hair which I use like a horse-tail but I do it year-round)

I constantly look at everything, other then people, not so much for patterns, but for color stimulation (I prefer "hectic" decorating, the more stuff I can look at, the better) and I am drawn to light, although it's very painful, as I'm excessively sensitive to light.

I have verbal tics, and make odd noises when stressed, and I LOVE to mimic things, especially animals or cartoons (I have an awesome pig, chicken, and duck going, and yesterday I got my BF and his dad laughing because I was mimicking a bird, and it kept responding in kind for about 5 min)

I touch myself a lot (non-sexually) and even hit myself occasionally when I'm stressed (slap on the thighs or something, nothing particularly harmful) I have 24 piercings, most of which I got spontaneously when I felt like hurting, and afterwords, I enjoy touching them to make them hurt (lasts anywhere from 3 mths to a year before they no longer hurt) I like to play with my hair, almost compulsively, and as a result, I haven't had it cut in years, and refer to it as my "security blanket".

I am addicted to strategy and puzzle games, and love figuring out how to make things out of what I already have, and reading interesting, educational articles, all of which really gets in the way of productivity.

If your stims aren't really "concerning" to most people (self-harm, for example, would be concerning) I'd say do what makes you feel good, anyone worth anything will understand that's just who you are. In work environments, it might be beneficial to let your employer know that you have some quirks (not necessarily telling that you have any diagnosis or anything) in case anyone else brings it up to them as a concern, but that would be purely related to what you find comfortable with them knowing.

I am an adult and I do heavily stim.

I am mostly able and very willing to suppress it in public. But already as I am walking home from work, I start to get a huge urge to stim. This might have something to do with the environment causing me to be overstimulated and anxious or just with the fact that my stimming free zone is already shimmering in the horizon. You just gotta keep it until you're there... And if in emergency at work, use the toilet.

I see stimming mostly as a harmless activity that does good, but to be honest some of my stimming is actually interfering, despite the fact that I might myself still very much enjoy it. This type of excessive stimming differs in its nature from most of my stimming, like hand flapping out of excitement. An example of my excessive stimming is to listen to music with the headphones on for several hours every day while just swaying my body and flapping my hands. This is of course prohibiting me from being productive and getting my daily things done. I know that the problem doesn’t lie in the stims itself, but is probably something in the nature of autism that makes you stim excessively and gravitate towards those inner realms that excessive stimming creates.

I have also noticed something about my stimming in relation to creativity. Stimming helps me to get into the “state”, but also while in the flow, like while playing music, painting, drawing or writing I get this irresistible urge to stim. And of course if you start to stim while playing or painting, you are not anymore playing or painting. So stimming enhances creativity in a way, but at the same time blocks it. The same way it helps me every day to cope with my life and overwhelming surroundings, but at the same time digs an even deeper moat around me and the surroundings.

The only danger I see from most stimming is social. I'd be careful and conscious about when you stim in public, but otherwise, do whatever works for you. That might mean stimming in public sometimes. It might not. In private, well, I don't think it's anyone else's business any more than, (other topics we're not allowed to discuss).

Had to read a little before I knew what stimming was.
Maybe the OP can add a short definition?

Anyway, I bought three d20 dice (Dungeons and Dragons accessory), which are basically little plastic stones that roll really well.
I'll roll them in my hand in two different patterns. I can suggest them, as of course they have numbers on them, which can be distracting/interesting as well (making patterns with them).

When I was at social skill training at the autism centre I was *so* surprised that the others there didn't know that tapping my foot and rolling the dice can be a relief.
They all quit after a few meetings, so I guess they had no actuall problems with their autism

I had to stop tapping my foot, because my mom got really angry about it.
But now that I live alone I'm going to be doing it again, and it feels GREAT

Auditory stims: I listen to music of my choice every second possible.

EDIT: Now that I've thought about it some more, I always twirl stuff I hold in my hands, I can't not do that

I've only recently begun to take inventory and it's a bit startling just how many twitches I have... As far as doing it in public versus private, I'd say I'm MORE prone to them in public. Burning off nervous energy, maybe.

* Knee bouncing. Rapidly. Often.
* Sort-of Tooth Grinding. (My canines, I grind them together, usually on the left side. Not audible.)
* Finger drumming. Rhythms. If there's nothing to drum on, I'll snap/clap/drum on my legs. Side weirdness -- Do kind of a one-hand clapping thing with this.
* Cold water on the forehead/back of neck. Pretty much every hand washing/trip to the bathroom.

Now there's a ton of things I restrain from to avoid weirding people out, nowadays. Smelling things, putting my cheek on cold surfaces, used to gnaw through pen caps regularly... Don't really talk to myself, anymore, though I do catch myself getting caught in a thought and starting to mouth/whisper to myself. Whispering to yourself is probably creepier than talking to yourself, huh?

Wow. Am I ever learning a lot from this thread. I always thought stimming was more wildly uncontrolled (slapping hand against thigh while staring blankly into space, etc). Reading here--man, do I ever. I've been tapping, drumming since I was a little kid. Squishing a bit of blanket between thumb, forefinger until finger goes cold. Talking to myself--big time. As a young child there were times, falling asleep, that the word 'orange' would zoom around my head until it lost all significance and actually gave me the willies to where I had to open my eyes to make it go away.

As to whether there's anything wrong with it--that would depend on the situation. Clearly, stimming while removing someone's gall bladder, or landing an A330 at Funchal with a 15kt crosswind--that might not be a good idea. Or, given there's already social nervousness for the most part, doing it in public and having people look at you as a result. Otherwise--who cares (assuming there's no self-harm of course)?

Some people have compared stimming to meditation.