Do you NOT KNOW you are stimming?

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Today I was moving my legs in/out in/out my older sister looked at me and asked "What are you doing that for?!" (with a strange look) I said oh I don't know and stopped. I also while talking some times will move my ring around on my finger which also bothers her. I don't know why I do this. I thought stimming was to relax over anxiety or stressful situations. Sitting around the house or talking to family = stimming??? Like books I've read it is a release so perhaps those situations are internally stressful and I don't know. I'm not for sure on this.

Sometimes this happens with me; especially with rocking.

I stim all the time without realizing it. This is why I didn't even realize I was stimming when I first read about it. I was like, oh I have no idea. I think I tap my fingers and fidget a bit.

And then I looked up videos and was "oh my god, I do this all the time."

My therapist asked me what my finger flicking (a stim) was directly after she told me she didn't think I had Asperger's. OH THE IRONY. I also didn't realize I was doing it until she asked.

I pick at skin/nails, twirl hair, and "mutter" at the back of my throat (like I'm vocalizing my thoughts). I try to remain aware so I don't do it in front of others, but it still happens.

If I am in private, I do it all the time, without thinking about it.

In public, I have trained myself to be aware of such things, so I don't stim. The one exception is that if I'm really bored or tense, I tend to shake my leg. I sometimes find myself doing that in public without realizing it.

It might take me a few minutes to notice it.

Sometimes.

Always. Drumming. Fingers.
People sometimes comment on it when I'm unaware of doing it. Stuff like "what are you playing now?", which throws me completely until I realise what they're on about.

Happens to me all the time. Other times I'm very aware of it.

I chewed my fingers to the point of having calluses on every knuckle, and yet I couldn't work out what was causing the calluses. I was completely oblivious to chewing my fingers, because I did it when I was absorbed in something else. One day, while looking intently at the computer screen, I suddenly realised I had a finger in my mouth and was chomping away ... but for years before that I was mystified.

Yes, it happens quite often, especially when rocking.

When the stim begins I am not aware but once I become aware I can make it stop.

I have a lot of repetitive motions but I tend to switch them up so often that Im not sure if they are stimming.

But when I'm stressed or focusing on a subject in a particular way, I like to pace. That is a constant. Talking to me while I'm pacing isnt likely to get you much in return.

That's probably one reason why I like to hike. Pacing in a straight line.

Huh? What? Was I stimming? Who's watching?

I make complex movements with the whole body without noticing it. It is everything but smooth and I like to think of it as an aspie body language