Hand flapping.

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Hang in there... Been there, done that, got the hospital bills. It helps to keep a firm hold on your thoughts and ask yourself whether they are really realistic, or whether you are putting an overly negative spin on them; it fights what depression does to your brain at least a little.

And, yes, I flap my hands. It's something I do only when I've got a lot of energy--it can be a good feeling or a bad feeling (usually good), but it's always a high-energy situation. It can be me trying to get words out properly, or trying to think about something, or, yes, just expressing happiness.

I did this a lot when I was a kid - eventually I got called a bird by my elementary-school classmates (Although it was generally more in the not-nice sense)

I still do it sometimes these days, although less of it is when I run around.

Yes.

Now that I think about it... Yes. I never thought it was odd though... (I also clap/squeal)

I used to flap my hands when in public but it was out of anxiety and not happiness.

I do alot of pacing and rocking out of anxiety.

I started doing this again because I had unconsciously tried to not do it all the time

I do it fairly often


oooh, the next time you're rocking back and forth, and someone asks what you're doing, just say you're "rocking out"

thank you aspie otaku for the inspiration

My dad does this. He's usually very calm and level-headed but when he gets excited about something he'll chatter all excitedly, giggle, bounce about in his chair and flap his hands! I find it so sweet and charming that he has that childlike level of excitement over something that has caught his interest.

Same as when we are out together and he sees something fascinating, he'll come bounding over shouting "come and see this! you've got to see this!", grab my arm and drag me there and then spend ages excitedly explaining to me what it is and how it works, while bouncing about like a big kid!

And just about everything my 3 year old nephew (his grandson) does sets him off too! I hear him on the phone telling me how the pair of them went and did something fun today, and I think my dad enjoyed it even more than my nephew did.

It's so nice to see someone getting so much pleasure out of such simple little things in life.

I'm the other way though, if I'm excited or happy about something my muscles stiffen and my body goes rigid, anyone else get that?

I explain most of my stims by calling them "fidgeting". That's a word most people will understand, and it's pretty much what a stim is to begin with. It helps NTs not to be too weirded out by the way I move when I'm not paying close attention to the way I'm moving.

Ill keep that in mind!

haha that's epic!

ColdEyesWarmHeart wrote:

Some people don't understand this, thank you!

And yes, when excited I will flap my hands, shake my legs, or will "dance" or something like this.

^^I flap my hands when I'm about to get on the computer every Thursday because that is when they air a new episode of Naruto Shippuden every week on Animecrazy.net! When I find out is a filler the flapping comes to a hault.

Last edited by AspieOtaku on 29 Nov 2012, 2:40 am, edited 1 time in total.

Yes, I do this hand flapping stim too. Sometimes I realize I am doing it, and other times I do it automatically. I have noticed that sometimes I am engaged in deep thoughts about my interests while I am stimming.

I suppose my "flapping" takes various forms due to societal pressures as a young (supposedly "NT") female to "stop acting so damn weird." Taxing business, that acting "normal" is. D:

When anxious, I tend to wring my hands and stim in less noticeable ways; playing with clothes, hair, drumming my fingers and hands on things are the usual suspects.

I forced myself to stop stimming due to excitement unless I'm in the company of people that have come to expect it, but when I do it comes in the form of "dancing," rocking on my heels, clapping, etc. I talk with my hands A LOT. In fact, many an item has fallen casualty to my hand-talking and poor depth perception. Haha.

Recently, I have decided to be less ashamed of how I innately react to stimuli and have allowed myself the freedom to do what feels right.

Yeah, people look at me like I'm a bit odd now, but I try to look at my own satisfaction and comfort as more important than the labels and stigmas that have been forced on me from a young age. It's so freeing to do what feels natural and stop restricting my behaviors so rigidly!

Yes!