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Can you "control" stimming? Does this count?

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Ellytoad
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22 Apr 2011, 11:44 pm

I can control it in theory, but the need to stim is like having an itch. You can only go so long...



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23 Apr 2011, 2:00 am

Not when it's needed, like in really stressful environments.When I'm in a supermarket and the noise, lights and crowd is messing with my head and I just feel like I could lose control I stim a lot. I'm not sure if I could stop it because my mind is completely different to what I'm usually like. If I did stop I'd probably just be in a worse state.
If I'm sitting with a group of people I may be able to control it but probably wouldn't. I'm stimming for a reason. Actually I've stopped suppressing my stimming, even when I walk through town and do my hand shaking stim. When I'm at home I love stimming and will step it up a notch.


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23 Apr 2011, 2:55 am

Avengilante wrote:
Yup. I don't really try to control it. Subverting it only increases my stress level. I had many people ask me over the years if I was autistic because of the constant motion, long before I'd heard of AS much less been diagnosed. I think most were kidding, but I always kind of figured I probably was, to some degree. Surprise, surprise.


Oh, yeah, suppressing causes stress and anxiety, although it doesn't matter because I can't focus on not doing it for very long before something else gets my attention.



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23 Apr 2011, 3:15 am

I have very little control over whether I stim or not. I can sometimes force myself to stop, but I just end up doing another.

For example, two weeks ago I forced myself to stop rubbing my thumb on my ring finger, and ended up pulling on my shirt instead.


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LisaPizza
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24 Apr 2011, 1:22 pm

I can control it when people are around, but I've also found some ways to modify it so that it doesn't appear I am doing anything unusual. One of mine is shaking my hands, it seems to satisfy it if I vigorously put on hand lotion.

Another one is tugging at my hair, when it first started I would tug from the top of my forehead which resulted in what looked like a receding hairline. I wasn't able to control it so I re-directed it so that I pulled from the back of my neck where it is less noticeable.



eatingcereal
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24 Apr 2011, 8:27 pm

bumble wrote:
I can either suppress it or hid it in public most of the time. Now and then I will slip and forget and have to stop myself though lol. Once I get home I then tend to overcompensate and go on a stimming spree lol. One stim I could get away with and which I don't do much at the moment was chewing my pen lid. There was usually nothing left of them by the time I had finished with them lol. Also nail biting is an acceptable stim.

Agreed, it is easier for me to suppress it in public because I'm more conscious of my actions. I don't do the pen lids as much now, but nail biting is the worst for me. I can't remember a time I let them grow long enough to warrant a nail clipper. The worst is when I have to sit myself down and stay immobile, like watching television, reading a book, or doing homework. After that, it's game over for my nails.