Stimming?

Post Reply New Topic

If I am walking (not moving hands when walking) and a person is near me or looking at me, I will get nervous and I will start touching my shirt's sleeves or area near where my hands are when i am walking. Also I hold my hands little bit bellow the chest when I hold something (e.g gloves). When I am doing these things, I feel myself much safer than not doing it. Are these things called stimming?

I believe so. I wasn't always familiar with the terminology either, what is called stimming to me was always called fidgeting but now I don't think they're the same thing. Whenever I talk to someone I'm always grabbing something and playing with it in my hand, running my hands thru my hair, pacing, putting my hat on and taking it off, picking something up and putting it down elsewhere, etc. I never really thought much about it, I don't think about it while I'm doing it. I'm pretty isolated, my family has known me my whole life so it isn't weird to them but I kind of wonder what I look like from outside perspective, probably like a weirdo.

Sounds like you have a social phobia, which is common to those of us who have AS because we know in our minds that we come off strange, so it's a coping mechanism. All stims are coping mechanisms. When you gain more confidence you'll stop stimming.