Peoples reactions to your stimming

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Does anyone have people complain or get worried about your stimming, or specific things that you do to stim?

When some of my family members notice me stimming in general they ask if I am having anxiety, and will insist I only stim when I have anxiety, which isn't true. No matter how many times I tell them "No," they still ask me that, it sometimes gets irritating.

People also make fun of me for swaying from side-to-side, which I do without noticing, and say it distracts them or that I am being hyperactive. I probably do it more when I am feeling hyperactive (I have ADHD), but I only sway very slightly and not really fast at all.

They tell me to stop tapping or bouncing my leg.

You have mentioned something. I used to sway when I was a young child until I was told not to as I became an older child. (I would stim in other ways instead that annoyed teachers in school and others so I had to learn to stim in hidden ways instead).
I had completely forgotton about this form of stimming. I did not know it was stimming until you have just mentioned it!

My mother used to say I looked ret*d because of my stims, and she was embarrassed to take me in public. Just about every stim that I do has been criticised by her, over time. In fact she still makes sarcastic comments or backhanded jabs about them even though we don't live together.

My flatmate in Uni told me at the end of our first year that she thought I was very weird. She pointed out a few stims and made me feel very ashamed because I didn't know she had seen any of it, or that it bothered her. She also said her first impression of me was that I was a haughty snob, because I didn't make eye contact when we were introduced. I still ruminate about it now, 34 years later.

I don't know what the general public thinks but I've given up trying to hide my stims. I took Risperidone because some of my stims were considered self-harm. My doctor agreed that stimming itself was a healthy outlet, but mine had become dangerous. The medicine did help curb some of my impulses but I had to quit because of the negative side effects. Now I just stay home and I'm grateful for the privacy of Covid.

Echolalia is equally problematic for me. I'm sure people that's even more bizarre.

I will write something relating to this on a new thread, but basically I have gone through most of my life with the fear of being discovered, and part of this stems around hidden stims. The other part stems around masking.

As far as rocking, which I do; They don't like it, and I couldn't care less, or give a damn. I don't do it to torment you, I sometimes don't even know I'm doing it, and yeah. I really don't care.

With leg shaking, I kinda don't do that as much anymore. I used to when I was younger. But again, it is what it is.

I don't care, and I'm not doing it to upset people, so I don't know.

My stims are usually whole-bodied and are too inconspicuous enough to be noticed.


If my stims are noticeable -- usually fiddling with my hair or fingers and rocking hard enough...
No one bats an eye. If they do, they'd leave me alone.
If not and they just stare, I'd stare at them back.

Depending how rude they are, I'd be rude at them too.

Only a few ever fully remarked about me fiddling stuff.

The last time was at college -- some student I forgot, simply say I just do 'that'.
Implying I'm shy or quiet and not rowdy or being humble or something.
While I simply looked at this person for a second, shruged, said nothing and just looked back down, continuing what I was doing it. And left me alone with it.


And the last time I went and be full out noticeable -- rocking on a chair, no less -- was on a weekly meeting, in a guise of trying to make myself awake.
Of course it came to an end around half way the meeting and told me to walk around instead.

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The people who matter don't care, and those that care don't matter.

I am unsure if this is a stim or not but I tend to keep it away from the general public as it can tend to look a bit odd, although I have done it around partners or people I have lived with in the past:

I basically rub a silky peice of material that I long ago (as a very very young child) named my 'tickle'.

I rub it between my fingers, i rub it against my arm, neck, face, leg, foot, shoulders etc.

I don't just do it when I am anxious, I will do it when I am sat at my desk thinking, I will rub the lining of coat when I am out walking if I don't have a tickle with me, I won't go to sleep without one most nights (I was worse when I was younger and would search the whole house for it at night time if i could not find it) and so on and so forth.

I don't know if I have any or any other stims as I am not sure if something counts as a stim or not.