What do you stim with?

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Just a curiousty thread, really. What do you stim with?

Personally, I twirl and knot a strand of my hair. If I have string I'll use that instead, but I usually don't.

My hair, fingers, clothes, glasses, fingernails, toes ... anything else to hand!

Sometimes I just rock in my chiar, pace around or just sit idle in thought.

I do not have objects I contend to like some have defined. Usually any persistant pattern of OCD behaviour I have challenged. Such as exreme perfectionism and psycho-motor tics (long time ago). I just change patterns of behaviour by reformulating there considerations while active in the psyche.

I don't think this is a 'tic' because it's voluntary, but I like to crack my jaw and neck incessantly. And my fingers, wrists and knuckles. Those are sort of annoying to other people though, so I try not to do them a lot in public or when my family is around.

At home when nobody is around sometimes I chew my collar if I'm wearing a T-shirt. Also, occasionally I will stretch out because I'm quite flexible, and not stretching for a while makes me yearn for a good stretch. This also includes stretching while sitting in lecture that go for waaay too long.

And uh, this one is kinda embarrassing. I've only heard one other AS person on a forum who did this, so... I also like to smell things, which includes the oil that accumulates on my scalp, earwax, and toenails which I chew off beforehand.

*Runs off before everyone starts gagging cos those ones are icky...*

*Runs in again, says 'I only do those when nobody is looking! I'm quite clean and hygenic the rest of the time!'*

*Runs out*

I stim with objects, anything that is small enough to fit between my fingers. Just today, I was stimming with the plastic badge that they gave me when visiting my mother in the clinic she's currently in. I just twirl it, bend it, whatever. I do the same with bottles of soda, whatever, feeling them and whatever. Under stress, I usually start to deform these objects. When not in stress, I just have my hands moving a bit. I tend to have my hands grabbing something in many occasions. I even do this in public, though very few have ever said anything about it, though I assumed quite a few thought it may have been an odd behavior of sorts.

I guess talking to myself might be a stim, too. Like, under stress, I have a compulsive desire to do it. This, I don't do in public, for it looks way too strange. A little strange, I don't mind. Way too strange, I do mind.

- Ray M -

Sitting in idle thought? Now, I didn't know that was stimming behavior. I guess it could be. If that's true, then I'm more or less stimming a large part of the day. I sit in idle thought, concentrating heavily on a variety of things.

- Ray M -

I put my hands into fists, with the thumbs inside the fist and pull on my thumbs. It is good because it takes the place of flapping and I can do it in my pockets without anyone knowing.

I've got cell phones, rubber bands, headphone cords, and even the egg timer a bit.

I'm constantly drumming, or rocking/swaying/moving, leg shaking... something is always moving...

when I'm upset, anxious, nervous, I start to wring my hands, pull on my fingers, pinch, pull at or rub clothing...things like that. I used to self injure, but I don't really do that much anymore.

I don't know if this counts as stim.... but when I get really excited about something, I rub my hands together or clap before I notice I'm doing it, or sometimes my fingers start wiggling like they are playing air piano....I also notice I breathe faster and more shallow and make humming noises

hmm.. i twirl my hair. i bite the skin on the inside of my mouth. i bite my lips. i bite my cuticles. i shake my right leg.

not all at the same time - but those are the things I do.

I rock, bounce my leg, chew the inside of my lip, drum my fingers in the air while my arms hang at my side or when in the company of strangers, rub a quartz stone I keep in my pocket.

Its gotten quite smooth actually

I do the exact same thing! lol! I have lots of different stim categories, really. One constant is that, when I'm getting really upset/anxious/overwhelmed and am about to have a breakdown to release the tension, I start doing something repetitive with my hands. It depends what it is. Sometimes I'll do the fist thing described above, sometimes I'll wring my hands (I do this when I'm really bad), sometimes I'll stroke something over-and-over, sometimes I'll rub my arms (also when I'm really bad), sometimes I'll dig my fingernails into my hand, and sometimes I'll tap some object on a desk. When I'm in the middle of a breakdown, I rock. I also rock unconsciously when I'm really tired. (I find that I become more autistic at night.) I have some stims that aren't for sensory overload, though. I just do them all the time. One is talking to myself and the other is walking on my toes. The toe walking is really what convinced my mom that I had Asperger's because it's so unusual.
-OddDuckNash99-

I twirl my rings around, and if I'm concentrating on something I lick my lips a lot.

If I had my way, I would still act as I did as a kid, swinging legs, and legs up lying chest down on the floor, etc....

I guess the only real proper "stim" I do is a kind of rocking, or rubbing/petting, it is bearly perceptable. I don't even pace anymore. Talking to ones self holds some promise. If all goes well, I might talk to myself on my next job in hindi. I wonder how people would react to THAT!

Steve

Anything small that makes a clickey noise when you use it. Like a stapler or pen. I chew on pens and pencils also. (Go though a pack in a month)