Interesting experience, possibly a stim
I learned about a new "repetitive behavior" today. This was not the traditional rocking or normal stimming that I usually do. My brother had taken me on a hike today and I ended having a serious coughing fit on the way back. Something had fiercely irritated my throat so we stopped at a convenience store and he told me to get a drink. I bought a pretty decent sized bottle of of juice and started drinking. I felt much better but kept drinking. About half way through it my brother stopped me and told me to chill out. He said that I was doing "that repetitive thing" and I needed to settle down.
He had been watching me drink and rather than drinking like a normal person enjoying a drink, I had established a definite fast paced rhythm, of taking a swig, lowering my arm, taking a swig, lowering my arm, that was completely rhythmic and basically just looked like a robot. Once my brother pointed it out to me and told me to chill out, I actually stopped, took my time, and just started really enjoying my drink, actually tasting it and feeling it in my mouth. The difference was amazing. I now wonder if I was in stim mode from anxiety and unsettling that the coughing fit might have caused and now I also wonder how often I do this kind of stimming while eating and drinking without realizing it. I now recall that sometimes I eat the same way when I am anxious, just robotically and rhythmically eating without tasting or enjoying the food. Can anyone relate?
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"I'm bad and that's good. I'll never be good and that's not bad. There's no one I'd rather be than me."
Wreck It Ralph
