Tourettes tics vs stimming?

Post Reply New Topic

I was diagnosed with Tourette's when I was around 13 for tics like eye-twitching/blinking and throat-clearing. I'm medicated for that, but it's never been a huge issue. Recently, since I've started reading up on Asperger's and trying to determine if I have it (or if I should try to get a professional diagnosis), and I'm trying to figure out if I stim or not.

I've noticed lots of little habits that I've never really paid attention to. For example, I spend tons of time flexing the muscles in my fingers and rubbing my fingers together, but I usually do it without even noticing, so I couldn't really say why I do it. When I get anxious, I also scratch/dig my nails into my skin and bite my lips or the inside of my mouth, and on rare occasions when my depression is really bad, I've pulled my hair or bitten my hands (only ever in private, though) - and those are things I do because I feel like they help keep me calm. Does anyone know if those habits could be stimming? Or do they sound more like tics or something else?

I've been trying to figure out the same thing. I was diagnosed with Tourettes when I was really little, but Aspergers runs in the family too.

From what I gather, tics are something that you feel like you HAVE to do. And trying not too will just make them worse later. They are very unpleasant, I don't do them because I want to, and after a while it sometimes starts to hurt if I'm doing the same thing over and over, but I just cant stop. I roll my eyes, or squeeze various muscle groups, like right now it's my shoulders, so annoying, or I crinkle my nose. Things like that.

And then stims seem to be more like something that you do because you want to (consciously or not). They are something you do because it feels good, or because it comforts you. You can probably stop if you want too, but why would you? If what I'm doing is stimming, then these are more like twisting my hair around my fingers, or shaking my legs/feet, rocking back and forth or swaying. Others can include finger flicking, or even things like jumping up and down or flapping your hands.

That's just what I've gathered from everything I've read and by inspecting my own actions. I'm still not quite sure, but I hope this helps some