Does anyone stim by shaking their head?

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L_Holmes
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21 Nov 2014, 2:26 am

I have never done this up to this point (at least not that I know of). But about a month ago I started doing it because my hair is getting long, and I like the way my hair feels when I shake my head. I started doing it pretty often just for that reason.

But now I've just started doing it whenever, even if I'm wearing a hat which totally covers my hair. I was at work and somebody asked me a question, and my answer was a "yes", but I guess I was shaking my head without realizing it. He acted kind of confused, and when I asked him what I said, he said, "I was just kinda confused, you said 'yes' but you were shaking your head." And I just responded with something like, "...Oh. I just do that sometimes without realizing it." Then he said it's ok, his cousin does the same thing. I asked him what his cousin was like and he said he was really weird, and that he was a "ret*d genius" because he was really good at certain types of problem solving, but seems not to have much common sense. I was wondering if he might be an Aspie, but he didn't really say anything else about him, other than him just being "really weird".

Anyway, I was wondering how common of a stim this might be.


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LokiofSassgard
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21 Nov 2014, 8:17 am

I do vigorously sometimes when my anxiety bothers me. I don't know if it's considered a stim, but... yeah.


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scribbler99
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21 Nov 2014, 12:40 pm

I do. If I'm stressed, my main way of stimming is to vigorously turn my head, ususally to the right. It looks like a kind of twitch or tick, I suppose. For a long time, I was pressurised not to do it, which, frankly, made the anxiety worse.



auntblabby
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23 Nov 2014, 3:40 am

when stressed or tired I will do something that resembles wailing wall davening, IOW rocking my head back and forth along with upper body.



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23 Nov 2014, 6:31 am

I used to do it a lot as a child. Still do very occasional mini -ones


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QuiversWhiskers
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23 Nov 2014, 10:20 pm

I do, sometimes, mostly when I have a ponytail and am really happy like giddy with my husband.

I also do this thing where I press my fingers or the thumb sides of my hands to my forehead or cupped around my eye sockets and use them to move my head side-to-side quickly, so my head feels sort of weightless while doing it, like my head is being rocked. I am usually on my back lying down when I do this. When I am overstimulated and happy, I rock the whole upper body side-to-side while lying on my back, along with my head. Sometimes at night while trying to go to sleep when I am anxious, I jerk my head sharply to the right, though not in quick succession like the previous I wrote about. My eyes are usually closed while doing any of this. It's not just a vestibular thing either because at night when trying to go to sleep, I like the sound it makes in my ears; I do that a lot: rolling my head side to side to alternate the ambient sound or rocking to alternate the ambient sound and listen to the air static or the humming of electrical devices "phase".

Another thing is that I forcefully shake my hands back and forth at my face without touching my face, with my eyes shut while lying on my back.



auntblabby
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23 Nov 2014, 10:22 pm

QuiversWhiskers wrote:
...I like the sound it makes in my ears; I do that a lot: rolling my head side to side to alternate the ambient sound or rocking to alternate the ambient sound and listen to the air static or the humming of electrical devices "phase".

:o :idea:



QuiversWhiskers
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23 Nov 2014, 10:25 pm

The ponytail thing is to both feel and hear the hair slapping at the sides of my head, too.



auntblabby
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23 Nov 2014, 10:26 pm

QuiversWhiskers wrote:
The ponytail thing is to both feel and hear the hair slapping at the sides of my head, too.

unfortunately, my hair is no longer thick enough for my hair to slap the sides of me head. :|



QuiversWhiskers
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23 Nov 2014, 10:29 pm

That's unfortunate. That would drive me crazy I think, to have a ponytail and be unable to feel it.

Edited to correct "able" to "unable". Trouble typing on this touchscreen tonight and the auto-corrector for spelling is reacting poorly. :)



Last edited by QuiversWhiskers on 23 Nov 2014, 10:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.

auntblabby
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23 Nov 2014, 10:30 pm

QuiversWhiskers wrote:
That's unfortunate. That would drive me crazy I think, to have a ponytail and be able to feel it.

you mean you WANT to feel it, or DON'T want to feel it?



QuiversWhiskers
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23 Nov 2014, 10:36 pm

Want to feel it. Sorry, noticed the mistake and edited it before seeing your reply.



auntblabby
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23 Nov 2014, 10:37 pm

QuiversWhiskers wrote:
Want to feel it. Sorry, noticed the mistake and edited it before seeing your reply.

so that means you presently cannot feel your pony tail?



EzraS
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23 Nov 2014, 10:46 pm

Don't know if it's a stim or nervous tic, but I turn my head to look over my shoulder a lot.



QuiversWhiskers
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23 Nov 2014, 10:56 pm

auntblabby wrote:
QuiversWhiskers wrote:
Want to feel it. Sorry, noticed the mistake and edited it before seeing your reply.

so that means you presently cannot feel your pony tail?


I can feel mine. You said your hair is too thin for you to feel yours, so I said that might drive me crazy, if it were me who couldn't feel it.



auntblabby
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23 Nov 2014, 10:57 pm

QuiversWhiskers wrote:
auntblabby wrote:
QuiversWhiskers wrote:
Want to feel it. Sorry, noticed the mistake and edited it before seeing your reply.

so that means you presently cannot feel your pony tail?


I can feel mine. You said your hair is too thin for you to feel yours, so I said that might drive me crazy, if it were me who couldn't feel it.

ah, :oops: I am dense today, increasingly dense as I turn grayer. :pale: