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Stims... I need an explanation...

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shopaholic
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12 Sep 2007, 5:53 am

I have posted this before in another thread but am posting it again because it seems relevant here.

I use a floppy leather bookmark (I have several; my original one I used as a child disintegrated many years ago).

I twitl it in my fingers & flap it repeatedly across the pages of whatever book, magazine or newspaper I am reading. Obviously I don't do it in front of other people as it would drive them crazy!

I do it because I love the sound it makes - often I experiment with pushing the pages tightly together or leaving a hollow space between them to change the sounds.

I also like the comfort of holding it between my fingers, & will often carry it around the house with me even when I am not using it. I also find the "strobe" effect helps me concentrate on what I am reading. (Must be bad for my eyes though!)

It is most definitely a comfort object as well as a stim.

When I told the psychologists about this they immediately said this type of behaviour was "unique to AS" and had I ever thought that I may have it? (Up to that point I had not considered the possibility.)



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06 Oct 2007, 3:32 pm

MysteryFan3 wrote:
And some people chew gum...a lot. I'm a six-pack a week guy, myself. If you don't have a stim, it could be a nervous twitch from being anxious. It burns off excess adrenaline so you don't overreact. "Stim" is short for sensory stimulation. It's the repetition of an action that causes a desired physical feeling. I have a spot on top of my head that I like to tap because it feels good. I also like to tap my temples with a ruler because it makes an interesting "pop". Those are stims. I also chew gum a lot and twitch my foot but that's anxiety.


I do always hit a plastic ruler against my computing desk. I like that noise it makes. Or lying it flat on the desk and raise one end and hold the other end down, then let the raised end drop down again.


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06 Oct 2007, 9:37 pm

sinsboldly wrote:
I was stimming when I was reading this topic on the home page. I am stimming now. I like to put one foot with the arch up but the toes flat and shake the thigh. . making the whole leg bounce. I can do it so the rest of my body doesn't shake and can do it under the table or desk and it comforts.

Is this the most common form of stimming? I do exactly this, almost exclusively with my right leg but right now it's my left leg that's bouncing. Also, when reading text, I drag my mouse over the text to highlight it in different patterns. Not to keep myself focused on a particular spot in the page, I just will highlight a random area of text, move the mous around to highlight different spots, etc.


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