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Sheep1991
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28 Mar 2013, 4:11 pm

Hi I am new to the forums. I joined because I badly wanted an opinion or an answer to a question. I have a compulsion to push myself off walls while listening to my ipod everytime I come into my room. I can't stop. Its compulsive. Its not harmful. I go from one side of the room to the wall of the other side of the room listening to my ipod. Usually I am not aware I'm doing this and I go far into my thoughts and fantasies. I cannot do it without my ipod. It eats up a lot of my time and I cannot complete any task because I feel I have to do that. If I say I'm going to start my homework at a certain time I will usually start it two hours or more after the time I said because I spent so much time pushing myself off the walls. I tried CBT and managed to stop it for 50 days and then I broke. I tried medication and it did work and stopped it completely but I couldn't handle not doing it. I've been doing it since I was about 15. Is this part of Aspergers?Is it stimming?Is it OCD or another mental disorder?Does anyone else do this?I would appreciate some advice.



AardvarkGoodSwimmer
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28 Mar 2013, 6:22 pm

I think it's probably stimming and it's probably healthy and functional.

I sometimes stim by squeezing and twisting a soft T-shirt as I envision sports or action movies, and sometimes I make sounds of fighting or sports grunts. And I'm a college graduate and former retail manager. (course at work I stim less and am far less obvious!)

And sometimes I'll have writing sessions in which I stim, write, bounce to the bathroom and talk to myself in the mirror, and the entire session is very productive.



AardvarkGoodSwimmer
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28 Mar 2013, 8:31 pm

As far as school work, midway through my college career, I discovered that, even though I wake up relatively late, I am a morning lark with most of my energy when I wake up. So, I start early and quit early and live to fight another day. I've also developed methods such as qiuckly reviewing class notes immediately after a class as I'm waiting for the next class to start. This also helps with socializing, in that if someone wants to socialize I'm usually happy to socialize, but because I have something to do I don't try too hard. And I don't do this in a showy way like I'm a super nerd. I'm pretty much just matter-of-fact about it.

Anyway, these are some methods which work for me. Maybe other people have additional methods.

And, Welcome to Wrong Planet! :D



Jensen
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29 Mar 2013, 4:42 am

What´s that about stimming? Most people do it, regardless of their personality. It is a way of getting rid of exessive energy.

My neighbour sucks in air and chew it when concentrated (Im sure he isn´t aware :)), Several of my friends have uneasy feet, clicks with pens and more, and they are not particularly "spergian" (well, a few of them might have a couple of traits).
I myself repeatedly draw my right thumb over the fingertips when thinking or nervous, and compulsively pace in circles, sometimes talking to myself, when waiting for bus or train.

When is it connected to Aspergers in particular? Is it the expression, the intensity or the frequency of stimming, that makes it different from normal stimming?



Last edited by Jensen on 29 Mar 2013, 6:49 am, edited 3 times in total.

Greb
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29 Mar 2013, 5:12 am

First: don't think that it has to be Asperger OR OCD. Classification is just medical stuff: it is needed by doctors to face diagnosis in a way than can be handled, filed and communicated. But autism spectrum is better described as a kind of 'continuum'.

Stimming is very typical, and you shouldn't be worried by it unless it damages your daily life.

In case it damages your daily life, the best strategy is to look for some trick to cope with it and that minimizes this damage. For now, I would suggest to ask some friend to keep your iPod for some time (perhaps you'll have to give it up definitely).


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goldfish21
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29 Mar 2013, 6:22 am

Sounds very OCD to me, but could also be stimming or both.

Try CBT again?


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