Sudden Exclamations as a form of stimming?

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lordfakename
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04 Apr 2016, 5:11 pm

When I'm stressed, or overwhelmed by an unpleasant thought, I tend to make sudden noises or exclaim some bunch of words out loud. I usually only do this while alone, but rarely I do it around other people, or in the street. I can usually turn the moment into something else, but it takes concentration. If I'm walking, I will stop suddenly for a few seconds and just stare at the ground. I suppose this is all a kind of stimming? The noise and feeling of my own voice seems to drown out whatever else is going on, or whatever I'm thinking. It's sometimes embarrassing, but I guess not that bad.

Does anybody else do this, or something like it?



Darmok
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04 Apr 2016, 5:17 pm

Sounds like what's called "Tourette syndrome." Try looking that up and see if it sounds like what you do.

(There's a special forum here on WP for people with Tourette's and related conditions.)


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lordfakename
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04 Apr 2016, 5:19 pm

I don't think it's Tourette's, because like I said I can control it. It just seems to be what I naturally do when I'm alone and want to relieve stress



lordfakename
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04 Apr 2016, 5:33 pm

I should add that I am a very verbal person, and I often find it easier to think by talking through my thoughts, and I often just sing to myself. But when I feel stressed or anxious, it becomes this desire to block my thoughts or feelings by means of sound and the feeling of my throat. It is hard to explain. I can turn it into other things, like hand movements, or suppress it entirely, though that takes effort, and I'm not always ready.



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04 Apr 2016, 5:56 pm

Sounds totally like verbal stimming to me! My mom and daughter do that in various flavors. It's usually to balance in some way the stimulus coming in through their ears with whatever is going on in their heads. Sometimes the balance goes one way and they are super sound sensitive, sometimes they have to balance either lots of stimulus coming in or just a lot of internal stimulus by making sounds with their mouth. Sometimes those sounds are even words. It's more socially acceptable to sing or mutter or whatever, so that's what my mom does when she's out and about in the world.


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Riik
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04 Apr 2016, 5:58 pm

I do this too... I think it counts as stimming in that it stimulates the act of removing an unwanted thought from one's mind. Normally what I say is total nonsense like asking myself "what should I do..." even though I know full well what I want to do (and might be in the middle of it), or something like "I will destroy the world!"... basically, just whatever random phrase enters my mind at the time. Happens most when I have an embarrassing memory.

It's definitely not tourettes, though. Whilst it might be strongly impulsive, it's not completely unpreventable.


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lordfakename
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05 Apr 2016, 4:44 pm

Riik wrote:
I do this too... I think it counts as stimming in that it stimulates the act of removing an unwanted thought from one's mind. Normally what I say is total nonsense like asking myself "what should I do..." even though I know full well what I want to do (and might be in the middle of it), or something like "I will destroy the world!"... basically, just whatever random phrase enters my mind at the time. Happens most when I have an embarrassing memory.

It's definitely not tourettes, though. Whilst it might be strongly impulsive, it's not completely unpreventable.


That sounds just like me, and I'm so happy that I am not the only one!