What type of stim do you like and why is it a stim for you ?

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What type of stim do you like and why is it a stim for you ?

(I think that sensory-seeking or avoidance types, hypo and hyper sensibilities, and sensory profiles are importants tools for an autistic person. Knowing what depletes your batteries fast or charge it is very useful. Using stims to feel well is not something I've been activily adviced from most of the professional that I've met, and I find it sad.
I create this topic so people can share the sensory-seeking behaviour that recharge their battery of make them feel well, them being socially acceptable or not.)



I begin : I like walking fast or doing acceleration-heavy sports like martial arts, though I'm not very good at them. I think I have some proprioceptive hyposensibility which lead me to love acceleration. I like driving too.

The problem with that is that when I'm in a bad pass and in a bout of depression, I have less energy to bear the social cost of moving into the public space where I must control my appearance, so I move less and loose the mental health benefit of my personal "stimming by moving".

Rocking chairs and backyard swings are my tools with which to "stim".

I like to tap repetitively on things, whether it be my desk, my legs, tapping with my foot, or sometimes if I’m being discrete I just tap my thumb onto my index finger in sets of even numbers to calm down my thinking. I also twirl my feet in circles if I’m laying down if I’m overwhelmed or don’t feel well.

I am not sure if it is a stim or anything else but i Pick on the skin near my nails and also lips. When i was a child i used to scratch the corners of tables and desks because i liked the texture also.

Oh, that's a nice idea, I may try that. Do you use them while working or reading too or just for resting ?




I used to do a lot of tapping in classes and in hindsight I think I've annoyed quite a lot of people with it .

During classes, I also used writing as a way to stim I think, writing inordinate amounts of notes, personal comments, verbatim quotes from various people speaking in the class. Some teacher asked me if I were writing the transcript of everything they said. It helped me with stress but in hindsight too, must have looked very strange .




I do the picking thing. My lips are a mess and I'm tring to find something to avoid damaging the surronding of my nails.

I plan to buy some spinner ring and rubber bracelet with nice texture to replace my picking stimmings. I've found things I'd like on the site Stimtastic (I'm not affiliated with this site, I precise.).

Reading or working through the laptop.

I once took a Zoom meeting while in the backyard swing (a canopied glider, actually), and someone got upset that my video feed was making her feel seasick.

Well, I'll try doing the reading and working like that too.

(I'm sure the "Zoom in a rocking-chair" is bound to become a thing in the autistic community, you're just ahead of your time )

I like hitting myself on my head [open handed]

I saw I schizo guy doing it way too hard [with knuckles] and felt for him, so I guess took it over lol.

To wake yourself ? How is it energizing or agreeable to you ? (That's a real question)




Sorry I don't get the joke (btw I don't think schizophreny is something funny, no more than cancer or autism for example.)

I prefer to just stim at home. I rock back and forth while squatting, or twitch my leg while lying down. Been doing it for as long as I can remember. If you catch me doing it, it usually means I'm feeling fine and in a comfortable situation.

I'm never sure which of the things I do are stims and which aren't. They don't seem particularly related to how much stress I'm under. I chew the inside of my mouth, wriggle my toes, drink a lot of tea, chew gum, use a vaping pen rather more than I need to for the nicotine alone, and I mess about on a computer for hours and hours. Sometimes the computer thing seems to have a rational purpose, but even when I've run out of practical ideas I keep messing with it, trying to think of something more I can do with it. There's no particular pressure on me to stop doing those things, so I can't tell whether they're compulsions or not. Apart from the mouth-chewing. I'd rather I didn't do that but I can't seem to stop.

As for why they're stims for me, assuming they are stims, I've no idea. I just found myself doing them or there are other non-stim-related reasons such as tobacco cessation (vaping), something to challenge my brain (computing), reducing an anxiety that the circulation might not be getting to my toes (toe-wriggling), and hoping that drinking plenty of fluids will help to keep my blood clean (tea drinking). Still no idea why I chew the inside of my mouth. I used to bite my fingernails when I was a child, but for some reason I stopped when I grew older.

My legs, always stimming, otherwise lighter or something in my hand or else my fingers and hands do weird things .. I have lil' quirks when I eat.

My favourite form of stimming involves swimming(gliding through the water repeatedly). Second to that, would involve music.

Just found WP, and I've only known I had AS a few years ago so I'm still trying to make sense of things. I'm not entirely sure what the lingo 'stim' in this context means but I'll give it a go.
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My most notable 'stim' is studying something, most apparently demostrated by when I'm idly handling this one metal pen I really like. I'll flip it around and manipulate it to get a feel for its inertia as a whole or mass distribution across its features, run my fingers over its shapes and textures, feel the compression of the spring, the click as the nib extends and retracts, the different ways I can hold it, etc etc. Of course, as someone with far-too-strict 'no-harm' directives I avoid disturbing others as much as possible so no audible clicking or tapping it against stuff. I also prefer sensing it spatially and tactilely rather than visually, which works out just fine.

My 'studying' isn't just locked to physical entities, though. Metaphysics is also a target.

Awhile back I used to spend hours and hours on public transit every day so I would close my eyes and just think about random things, puzzle them out the similarly as I would a physical object. I'd just figure out how they are, how they work and how they interact with other things. Got so used to it I would even close my eyes and vacate my senses while standing for the bus in inclimate weather. Sometimes I'd even fall asleep doing that, standing up, on the bus or subway.

Don't know why it works. My brain just seems wired for it. Even when I'm dead tired from staying up too long and still can't sleep, I find myself gravitating towards academically oriented media. It just feels good and relaxing. Maybe it's because it lacks the noise of social and visual stuff; allows me to mentally hug something simple, safe and certain.

Reading might also be a 'stim' for me. Turns off parts of my brain as I focus and zone into the material, which is usually anything but contemporary fiction and non-fiction. Usually fantasy and sci-fi. It's helped me through a lot of tough times, probably the number one reason I'm still around.

^^^ I’m totally with you on reading. It’s saved me innumerous times.

A very warm welcome to WP to you.