Why do you stim?

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I've done a lot of research since being diagnosed, and a pattern I've noticed among educational material is that it's never agreed upon the function stimming serves. In most cases, the air with which this is discussed is reminiscent of biologists conducting a study on animal behavior. I was incredulous at the fact that none of these people had entertained the thought of <I>asking</I> an autistic person -- or at least, I presume as much, being an autist who very clearly understands the purpose it fills in their life, and is quite capable of communicating it.

So I come to you all to ask if you understand the need for it as well as I do.

It's something that, if my impressions are correct, we all do under stress more than any other time. Well, after some self-examination I've determined that I do it to maintain a sense of self-control; in a world filled with triggers for sensory overload, uncomfortable social situations, and other things I deal with on a day-to-day basis, the worst thing is feeling that all these factors are outside of my control. Stimming helps ease my distress by exercising my control over the few things that faithfully respond to my will: the muscles I'll tense or stretch, the rings I'll twirl around my fingers (or open and shut, in the case of my compartmented poison ring), the shirt at which I'll pluck . . . you get the idea.

Does any of this sound familiar? What do you do when you stim, and why?

I don't consider nervous fidgitey habits to be true stims. I have those, but they are completely unrelated to my constant rocking and swaying, which is purely what the term 'stim' indicates - a self-stimulation mechanism that releases stress. My natural level of anxiety is constantly much higher than that of a NT person, probably partly due to the unconscious realization that I am always out of place and in immediate danger of violating some unspoken NT social rule without knowing it and bringing down the wrath of authority figures on my head.

Because of that naturally abnormally high anxiety level, the gentle soothing motion of rocking back and forth, or swaying side to side in an elliptical pattern keeps me from being overwhelmed by the constant barrage of sensory input that I'm incapable of fully processing adequately. It keeps me from becoming so nervous that I might actually suffer a psychotic break.

Hand flapping does the same thing to a lesser degree, which I can disguise somewhat by flipping my keys when out in public.

Fidgets like nail biting, hair twisting, etc. seem a different sort of phenomenon to me, more related to OCD. I have a tendency for instance, while standing and swaying, to shove my hands in my pants pockets and compulsively roll the seam inside my right pocket between my thumb and forefinger. I have worn holes in the right hand pocket of many pairs of pants doing this, but it does nothing to ease my stress, its just a compulsive habit. I don't consider that to be a stim.

I stim by default, and my stimming is unrelated to emotional states.

Do you categorize my stims as "nervous habits" because they aren't noticeable enough to count, or because you haven't had the same experience as I describe when stimming under stressful situations? If it's the former, you must understand that I've suppressed a LOT of my symptoms over the years -- that's why I was so convinced for most of my life that the two diagnoses I'd received. But after a crapload of research I started finding the traces of myself that I'd tried to cover up in order to fit in. Stimming was one of the things that made me see what the specialists had seen. They had been reduced to the point where they're barely noticeable things like rolling my head on my neck or fidgeting with my rings (I consider them to be less obtrusive stim toys), but they have always been incredibly loud in my mind. The use of these movements helps siphon off my discomfort, and I become agitated when I try and stop them in a way that I've never felt with any of my other compulsive habits.

If the latter, I suppose the mystery of why autistics stim remains unsolved!

What gets called 'stimming', in me, is actually three distinct types of behavior.

Firstly, there's fun stims, things I do because they feel good. My hair feels soft, so I twiddle it. A shiny thing looks interesting, so I stare at it and rock back and forth to make it gleam more. Simple as that.

Secondly, there are emotion stims. These are semi-voluntary stims that express certain emotions (kind of like laughing or crying). For example I have one type of handflapping I do when excited, and a noticeably different kind I do when I'm close to having a meltdown. I also make certain sounds when I'm feeling certain emotions.

Thirdly, I have self-regulatory stims. These help regulate my arousal level. In my case, mostly this type is represented by rocking.

The tricky thing is that a stim that serves one purpose for me could serve a completely different purpose for another autistic person. And it's hard to tell which is which unless you ask the person - and some autistics don't have the language or self-awareness to tell you the answer.

I'm working on a paper about this that I researcched in Aspie Quiz 2006. The results seems similar to what Ettina describes. One set of stims are not related to emotions, and are more for "fun", while another set has a consistent emotional relation in different people.

I stim by default and I think a lot of the time it could be just "stuck in set" perseveration because I repeat a movement over and over automatically without thinking about it.
I think sometimes it is to block things out or sensory integration, I automatically start humming when I am in a noisy situation.
Repetitive movements also give a sense of where "I" am and a sense of the boundaries between myself and my surroundings and I like that feeling of knowing where my body is.
I also think stimming may be connected to my internal rhythms such as breathing because of a feeling of having to consciously breath when not stimming, and stimming for me is always rhythmic.
Stimming can also block pain and uncomfortable feelings like being aware of uncomfortable clothes.

I stim because it feels right. It feels good.

I stim because it makes me feel better.

I stim because I'm emotional.

I stim to communicate

I stim when I'm hurrying (whenever I run up the stairs I handflap in a particular way)

I stim because its what I do. It's what my body says to do, and I could stop it, but it wouldn't be right to.



I'd not agree with "stim more when stressed than any other time". Excitement, happiness, those have stims too, not just fear and stress. I suspect that those are easier ones to supress though.

I stim when I am excited, happy, or in some cases, when I am scared. Stimming for me is like purring for a cat.

I don't know.

Because I can't help it, I suppose. Then, when I can, I often see no reason to stop.

I often stim just because it feels good. I'll bounce my wrists off my waist repeatedly because I like how it feels, same with the hand-flapping, hand shaking and rocking. When I'm very excited, anxious or frustrated those stims will come out as well, along with biting down on my index fingers which works like a pressure valve to siphon off some of the emotion that's going to explode in one way or another if I don't. I distinguish stimming from regular habits in that I'm consciously aware of my stimming and doing it deliberately, whereas my habits, such as playing with my eyebrows, are unconscious and I'm usually unaware that I'm doing them.

Why do I stim?

Just because. Habit. I do it automatically without thinking. Since I was little.

I stim because it feels nice. I stim more when I am anxious or stressed. I stim basically because I need to, I can't imagine not doing it.

I have only noticed myself hand-flapping under extreme distress/panic, I rock when very upset, but I have also noticed I do mildly rock at random times too, but it's barely perceptible and I don't know I'm doing it until it dawns on me.

I stim because it feels nice. I stim more when I am anxious or stressed. I stim basically because I need to, I can't imagine not doing it.

I have only noticed myself hand-flapping under extreme distress/panic, I rock when very upset, but I have also noticed I do mildly rock at random times too, but it's barely perceptible and I don't know I'm doing it until it dawns on me.