Anybody else find themselves TAPPING tables /work surfaces?

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Constantly. Tapping tables, pencils, clicking ball point pens repeatedly, tapping my feet, chewing my lips, you name it. I'm not even aware of I'm doing it sometimes then someone says it's annoying...

Just thought I'd check why I'm doing a lot of finger tapping these days , it's apparantly driving my wife nuts ! !



I'm unbelievably stressed these days due to the upcoming wedding of my daughter SO... I just used the search option and found this thread which describes my behaviour perfectly !

Lo and behold , the thread was started by myself SEVEN years ago /)

Is there anybody thereeeeeeeeeeee !?

Yes, it's probably my favorite way to stim. As a musician I like to practice mostly organ and piano pieces over and over in a semiconscious kind of way. I have had to stop doing this around clients but some of them understand that it helps me think while I go through their documentation for taxes. Once in a blue moon someone will notice what I'm practicing and say "that's Bach's invention no. 4", which leaves me beaming. I tap things, click pens, fidget with the buttons on my shirt, and generally mess with small objects all the time. It really helps when I'm dealing with sensory issues, most of all when I'm waiting for a client on the days I go to my kiosk at walmart, and it's too damned bright and loud.

Stimming is a life saver, which is something that NT's don't seem to realize. They often find it very irritating and I must keep it in check when I'm dealing with someone I don't know or someone who doesn't like my stimming.

Yes I used to do this all the time and I would get yelled at because it was annoying so I stopped. Now though, I will take my thumb and one other finger and tap those on the table.

Generally like so:

I tap/drum my fingers against tables too. And sometimes other surfaces.

And sometimes I click pens. And I fidget with things in a way that is almost like that too. I often have my asthma medication in my pocket and when I get lost in daydreams or other thoughts I'll put my hand in my pocket, grab the inhaler and drag the cap off the mouth piece and click it on again, and off again and on again. And so on.

I tap on knees, wrists, and ankles.

If I swallow a vitamin or aspirin, for some reason, tapping it in my teeth helps me to remember how many I have taken.

Also, this has been used as a form of biofeedback -- increasing or decreasing the number of taps -- in order to establish a habit.

Oh yeah - tapping is one of my stims.

I'm doing theis crazy tapping things more and more these day it drives my wife bonkers

Why do I do it , anyone ?

Years ago I used to do it constantly. I probably still do it a little bit here and there, but so seldom I really don't even remember the last time I did it.

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No for supporting trump. Because doing so is deplorable.

I used to do so compulsively, and always to the same fairly simple rhythm. It was getting me into trouble at school so over the course of what feels like months or years (this was when I was a child so might have been weeks as everything felt longer then) managed to cut it down to just one or two taps when the urge got too uncontrolable. I still get overwhelming urges to give things a tap or two if the surface looks especially satisfying, at least it's not a compulsion to tap a rhythm for several minutes at a time any more. I also click pens far too much, and computer mice.

Sometimes. My use of desk or table surfaces is more for swiping away nonexistent dust in front of me (when I amn't rearranging the items to parallel and perpendicular positions). I swipe while talking to others. The cool temperature and smooth surface keeps me focused for some weird reason. If I stop swiping in mid-sentence, I forget my thoughts.