Rolling things in between fingers. Is this a stim?

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Roo95
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11 Oct 2017, 5:14 pm

Hello, I've done these things ever since I was a young child and always wondered are they stims or just simply habits.
I do this alot almost every day. I love to twist up the corner of my right sleeve of my t shirt and Roll it between my fingers. I do it so much it creates holes and rips in my sleeve. I feel very calm when doing it. Sometimes I do it intentionally, and sometimes people have pointed out that I'm doing it and I didn't realise I was. I do it when driving, when I'm in group conversations were I feel extremely nervous, When I'm watching a movie and so on. I also love to twist up the end of my sock and roll it between my toes when I'm at home sitting down. The pressure feels relaxing. Another thing I do is rubbing my tongue along the back of a certain tooth in my mouth constantly until my tongue starts to hurt from the rubbing some times. I also had these work trousers that had rectangle flaps over the pockets on my lower leg and one corner stuck up a bit, I would walk so as my arms swung the palm of my hand would stroke across this corner repeatedly. I would also roll it up and rub it across the palm of my hand. Are these stims or just habits?



snollygoster
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12 Oct 2017, 8:23 am

Oh yeah, it's a nice stim! Sometimes when my hair is longer I will roll a lock of hair between my fingers, because it helps me focus and it feels nice.

And oral stims like the one you described are very common, I use a chewable pennant from this link to do just that.
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Embla
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12 Oct 2017, 9:32 am

Yes.
I like fiddling with small objects like that too. If not my shirt, it's a hair-band, a pebble or anything else in the right size.
I ruined a lot of sleeves as well.



Zaarin
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12 Oct 2017, 11:29 am

Definitely. I use a worry stone (made of jade, because jade is hard and I'm a klutz ;) ); it's helped a lot. Before the worry stone I used a plastic 20-sided die.


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AardvarkGoodSwimmer
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12 Oct 2017, 12:13 pm

I sometimes stim while driving with a soft towel I keep in the front seat of my car.

And like any stim, one of the main purposes is to help maintain concentration.



EzraS
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12 Oct 2017, 1:40 pm

It's not so much what someone does, it's why they're doing it that matters more.



Glflegolas
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12 Oct 2017, 6:53 pm

Without asking, it's rather hard to tell whether certain stims are actually stims or just fidgeting.


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Roo95
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14 Oct 2017, 4:14 am

snollygoster wrote:
Oh yeah, it's a nice stim! Sometimes when my hair is longer I will roll a lock of hair between my fingers, because it helps me focus and it feels nice.

And oral stims like the one you described are very common, I use a chewable pennant from this link to do just that.
Stimtastic
Rubbing my tongue along the pointed tim is satisfying, yet gentle!


I used to do that with my hair also when it was long, it does feel good. I will check that website out. Will save me from rubbing my tongue on My teeth so much until it becomes painful



Roo95
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14 Oct 2017, 4:16 am

Embla wrote:
Yes.
I like fiddling with small objects like that too. If not my shirt, it's a hair-band, a pebble or anything else in the right size.
I ruined a lot of sleeves as well.


I also like to fiddle with small objects, like if im out walking in the woods I love to hold a small stick or a bit of grass for example



Roo95
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14 Oct 2017, 4:21 am

AardvarkGoodSwimmer wrote:
I sometimes stim while driving with a soft towel I keep in the front seat of my car.

And like any stim, one of the main purposes is to help maintain concentration.


Now im understanding why I do these things from your post. I twist and roll my sleeve when driving but I do it alot more when I have friends in the car. It does help me stay focused when im talking to them while concentrating on the road, especially with my music on at the same time. Particularly helps when we are going on long journeys like the 6 hour drive to west Devon last week for my camping trip.



Roo95
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14 Oct 2017, 4:30 am

EzraS wrote:
It's not so much what someone does, it's why they're doing it that matters more.


I do it a lot especially when im extremely overwhelmed in crowds, when im at work in a group conversation where I feel nervous, when driving as I just realised these stims or habit's have been helping me focus on the road with all the distractions of friends in the car. I do it when talking to people and it seems to help me concentrate on what they are saying. I do these things and rock when I'm extremely distressed. ( I never rock, only when distressed). I do them when concentrating and when watching movies and videos. These stims or habits relax Me and help me be calm almost as if I'm hypnotized. I never thought of them as stims until now.



AardvarkGoodSwimmer
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19 Oct 2017, 3:15 pm

Roo95 wrote:
Now im understanding why I do these things from your post. I twist and roll my sleeve when driving but I do it alot more when I have friends in the car. It does help me stay focused when im talking to them while concentrating on the road, especially with my music on at the same time. . .

You're welcome. :D I'm glad you found my post helpful.

And if you see poker players, such as on ESPN, they also sometimes stim. And I think for the same reason of helping to maintain concentration.



Insania2016
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19 Oct 2017, 6:43 pm

I rub my fingers as if I had something there. I also rub my hands. If I feel like pretending I'm not autistic I use a fidget cube as a ruse.



Romansky123
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20 Oct 2017, 2:04 am

Yes


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