Seph wrote:
I have a few low level stims. I have a visual stim that basically involves following the lines of objects. I shake my hand, It isn't exactly like hand flapping but it's similiar. It's less obvious though.
Oh, wow. I never even thought of that. You know the road lines? Sitting in the passenger seat, I'll follow them, then quickly close my eyes as one line passes, then open them, and close again as another passes. I can do that for HOURS on end.
queerpuppy wrote:
Tactile things: I rub my arms a lot, my nose, my chin. I feel my facial hair a lot. I stretch my arms behind my back. I scratch myself. I rub my hair vigorously. I have a bus pass wallet made of the fabric bus seats are made of (moquette) and I rub that with my hands, or on my lips and nose. I rub my thighs. I rub things on my face. I don't remember when any of these started but some did develop in adulthood.
I have one that is definitely life-long - or at least there's photos of me doing it at about 18 months old. I chew the sh** out of the inside of my mouth and cheeks, which I know is pretty common in the general population, but I think it counts as a stim, too. It could count as self-harm (because I chew 'til I bleed sometimes, and it always hurts a bit) but I don't have any negative thoughts or emotions connected with it.
Motion: I rock gently but quickly side to side or back to front. I wriggle my toes quickly up and down. I bounce my knees up and down fast.
Visual: I focus on a little smear on my glasses, and move my head a little in circles or side to side to see the distortion of what I'm looking at. I close one eye then the other to see what each eye sees. I close my right eye if I want to concentrate.
Sound: I make a "pop" sound with my lips. I make a tutting with my tongue on the roof of my mouth. I crack my joints a lot.
Typing all this makes me realise how fidgety I am - I don't know how my partner tolerates it!
I focus on the smears on my glasses, too. That irritates even ME, though. I've never had any self-harm behavior, not that I can remember. I do "chew" the sides of my mouths, but never to the point of harm, or hurt. It's mostly... rubbing them with my teeth? Can't think of any other way to put it.
Ellytoad wrote:
Rocking, plus tons of other things like facial rubbing and tongue popping. It drives my mom nuts when I do in in front of her.
Yeah, the rocking makes my mom feel bad. She told me years ago, when I was around 10 or 12, that kids rock for self-soothing reasons, because they weren't held or shown love as children, so it always makes her feel bad. It makes her think she didn't "love" me enough, which she did. It's just something I do.
Though, I won't deny that it IS comforting. If I notice that I'm rocking and I try to stop myself, I start to feel awkward and just start rocking again.
25 May 2011, 3:14 pm
