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C2V
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26 Oct 2016, 6:13 pm

Curious if this happens to others - at the moment I am very isolated and don't see other people much.
That, unfortunately, seems to translate into greater stress when I do. And this weird new - thing - maybe stim? Seems to have shown up when I get into interactions with people that I find awkward or stressful or some kind of unpleasant (which is pretty much all of them). It's a tendency to hum to myself, but without any kind of tune at all, just the sounds. I've actually caught myself doing it which means I do it without realising. It's getting me some weird looks and I suppose I can understand why.
Do weird impromptu stims just turn up? I haven't always done this. Maybe it will just go away, if I get more used to dealing with people again? It's a bit embarrassing.


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Exuvian
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26 Oct 2016, 10:37 pm

I know what you mean by greater stress around people after being isolated for a while. It's important to "log some time" (if you're able) around others to maintain a better level of skill/comfort, just as it's important to have time away too.

Humming is not too uncommon of a stim. If it's causing issues for you, could you re-channel or repackage it? By repackage, I mean maybe try a tune instead of randomness. It may still not work for all settings, but people generally seem to ignore someone lightly humming a tune rather than random sounds.

Or re-channeling may be an option if it works for you to direct it from sound to physical movement. For example, no one seems to care much about someone bouncing their leg or twirling their hair (though more acceptable for girls, I guess).

Other options; if there's some small scented object you could bring to smell that makes you feel more calm, or even chewing gum to get the physical, taste and senses of smell.

Someone else may have better ideas, but maybe something here might help. 8)



EzraS
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27 Oct 2016, 1:23 pm

I've always done a lot of humming sounds as a stim.



StarTrekker
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27 Oct 2016, 3:30 pm

I've had stims appear and disappear my entire life. I think it's pretty common as we grow to exchange one stim for another. I started the tuneless humming thing about a year or so ago myself, I find the "white noise" effect to be quite calming. Perhaps wearing a single earbud which plays white noise would be a more subtle way to go about it.


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