Voluntary Stimming: Is There Such a Thing?

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It can be voluntary, involuntary, or semi-voluntary. Some people think only one kind of this is the "One True Stimming". Some people are full of crap.

A lot of times I don't mean to start and it just happens - but I can definitely stop - I just don't want to. And if I zone out and go into my fantasy world, I definitely have to stim or my thoughts won't work. So if I stay out of my fantasy world and in the moment, which is really hard sometimes, I'm ok.

Nicky, your post reminded me of something.
I have an odd habit, I don't know if it's a stim, of touching pictures in catalogs and products on shelves if it's something I want but am not buying. In stores, if I like something, I have to take it off the shelf for a moment, then put it back. It's like I'm compiling a list in my head, through touch. I can't explain it better than that... And if I feel like something interrupted me or felt wrong, I'll start all over again with my list. My mom always laughs at me when I'm looking at catalogs, because I'll touch the pictures of what I want, and always end up starting over three or four times.

yeah, that is similar to my experience.. cept for me, it's just random things that i have to touch.. XD

Yes, exactly. I, however, rarely have the urge to touch another person. I'm into objects, surfaces and animals in this case. It's not so much anymore, but used to be extremely troublesome as a kid.

Maybe the best example of my stimming is when I'm reading a book. I don't even realize it until when it's already going on, but I rock back and forth. If I stop, I can't concentrate on the text the same way. Same is when I'm drawing something except in those cases it's not constant. I draw, repeat back and forth while thinking, stop, draw, back and forth...

Last edited by Keoren on 21 Nov 2007, 1:38 am, edited 1 time in total.

Wow..when I started reading, I started stimming (around age 5). I'd move my fingers really fast in front of my face - my parents were angry, my teachers were confused, my classmates teased me. Eventually, I learned how to move my hands away from my face while doing it so I could fold my arms and hide it. i don't always need to do it to read everything now, but I have to do it sometimes, and when making up a story in my head, I have to do it. The reason your post stuck out to me is because you said it also was when you read, and without it you "can't concentrate the same way" - that's exactly how I feel. if I stop stimming while reading, I can barely absorb the information. If I don't stim while I make up scenarios in my head, I actually can't make them up - the two behaviors are completely connected. I don't know why that is, but I can't do one without the other.

I do this same thing! Sometimes it is really odd stuff too, like sticking my pinky finger into the hole in the elevator door before it opens, or touching a hot pan to a certain spot on my wrist for just a fraction of a second. Or sometimes I need to poke a certain spot on my knee with the tip of a pen. My pants show the evidence of this unfortunately...I thought of just carrying around a sharp pointed stick for this purpose so I didn't ruin my nice clothes but thought that would be more disastrous and less socially acceptable. haha. But yeah, sometimes I just need to touch or poke something or someone in a certain spot, and sometimes even with a certain part of my body. Luckily this doesn't get too innapproriate and the urge is not overwhelming.

I also stare at my hands when I'm tired, observing them moving around above my head. I'm a big leg wiggler, I tap my teeth, chew gum, rub my long hair over my mouth and cheek, rock, stare, smell things, crack my joints, pick at my cuticles....i could go on.

Then there's hair pulling (trichotillomania) and skin picking, various muscle tics attributed to tourette's, some mild noises . . . Its sometimes hard to tell whats a stim, what's a tic, what's a compulsion, etc. It is especially difficult for an outside observer to understand the difference, even when you explain it to them.

I do this too! In stores I touch EVERYTHING! It isn't just stuff I want . ..I'm attracted to their textures, shapes, and colors. In catalogs I often play a game where I can "get" one thing on each page, and I pick it by tapping it with my finger. Sometimes the most fun are the pages where I really don't want any of the crap, but I have to make up a use for the item that I pick.