Does this count as stimming?

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This is bugging me, even though I'm sure it will seem like the most inane quibble ever.

If I pick at the ends of my fingers just under the fingernail for specific reasons (it makes them smell different and I can drop a bit of skin I pull off, the latter being really pleasant for me and really disgusting to other people), can I still call it a stim? Also, if I have a whole bunch of seemingly incomprehensible behaviors that I do with my hands that are really all for the purpose of creating hangnails that I can rub up against my palm or a specific spot on one finger, is picking at my fingers a stim, or just the actual act of rubbing them against my palm? (And this is why I can't have nice hands. Or a nice bottom lip for that matter. Or a nice spot-on-my-face-that-I've-turned-discolored-and-cracked.)

Also, is it a stim if I do it to ascertain the shape of my body? And is it a stim if I'm doing a favor to inanimate objects by performing their stims on them for them because they can't move to do it for themselves? (And is it a stim if I imagine something doing so when I can't, including because I can't reach the object or because it doesn't really exist?)

Yes, yes, yes, and maybe.

My second question did not take a yes or no answer, as it set two alternatives up and asked which was correct. The set of possible answers includes both, neither, the first one and the second one. Also, as you gave four answers, I am inclined to be confused, as I asked five questions, and cannot determine which was left out.

Thank you, though, because I really appreciate your actually answering at all with something other than "God, you're stupid and disgusting."

Thank you so much! It means more than I bet you know that you answered my question.

Dandelion,

Anything that we do to ourselves, to manipulate our senses, repeatedly, can be classified as a stim. Usually if you can imagine the act and very quickly restrain yourself from doing it, and you are not feeling compelled to do it, then it wouldn't necessarily be a "stim" But most of us have our stims as manner to make ourselves feel better, and to provide comfort. So, with what you described, I would join JM in saying they are stims.

Additionally, if someone is going to pass judgement on a particular stim, they either are probably not NAT or have never really looked at themselves and their behaviors. While some stims may be more socially acceptable than others, most simply involve us interacting with our bodies in a way that helps us.

Sounds a little bit like dermatillomania... I mean, the skin thing... But then, that in an autistic person might be a stim as well, who knows? It'll definitely change the way you handle it, or whether you address it at all. If it's hurting you, of course, you need to address it. Other than that, probably harmless.

Thanks!

Callista, it definitely isn't dermatillomania; I aim to get a specific texture and stop when I get it, whereas dermatillomania is an impulse-control thing. And no, it doesn't hurt (actually it does, but it's less painful than, say, a sip of soda), so no worries.

davethenat, might I ask what NAT is?