Stimming

I love stimming the most my chewing, I have a chewy bracelet and one for my lanyard it helps me calm down 

I’ve found one of my Stims is rolling a cigarette, unfortunately not socially acceptable anymore and very expensive, but how do you give up a Stim and addiction? I’ve tried unsuccessfully 

I tend to hum, talk to myself or wiggle about. I do weird stuff all the time in public, I don't care

I agree there's a wide range. And as Number said below/above where these behaviours sit in the continuum of "normality" depends on others' viewpoint. And like I said above/below we need to identify with however we feel comfortable.

Here are a couple of related links - both in case they're of any help / interest to you, and also for the benefit of others who might visit this thread over time looking for more information about stimming:

NAS - Stimming

Leicestershire Partnership NHS - Stimming and autism (which I found much more helpful and informative than the NAS resource).

Mine include:

• When concentrating, sitting at my computer desk, I jog both legs up and down, rapidly.
• When sitting on the settee with my legs crossed, I jog my hanging ankle incessantly (much to my partner's annoyance).
• When listening to music when wearing headphones during a walk, I often have an urge to move my hands in time with the beat. I try not to do it if anyone's around, but sometimes still do it anyway.
• When using my iPad, I constantly detach the magnetically-attached Apple Pencil (only very slightly) and then let it click back into place. I hardly ever use it for its intended purpose, but I get plenty of value just from this!

Since being diagnosed, I've been experimenting with various different stim toys. From comparing online and social media reviews of various products against how I got on with them myself, I soon realised that finding the best stim / fidget toy is a deeply personal thing. Everything about it has to be "just right", including type, size, weight, texture, colour, build quality, noise level, and fluidity of movement.

My current favourite is the Stimagz Series II - Quiet. I also have one of these on order - I think of it as being like an infinity cube (which I have and like), but on steroids: Kubo (the campaign has now ended, but I expect they'll be available online in due course).

Stimming is a tricky one for me. When I am in a 'happy space' (which, during relentless burnout, shutdowns and meltdowns is not very often) I shake my hands, arms and generally wiggle my whole body in a kind of happy dance of sorts.
Frustration/uncomfortable stimming; leg bopping (I have to force myself to stop because it actually upsets my stomach!), trichotillomania (hair pulling) which is technically a harmful stim, or even worse, stim suppression (body goes into freeze).  

Fidget toys can help me deal with stressful environments/scenarios (doctors appointments, telephone calls, difficult conversations, etc).

Teaching yourself that it's OK to stim after decades of supressing the instinct (for safety reasons) is very challenging too! 

I don't much like the word either. But I do think it's very helpful to have such a word, in order to be better able to explain to non-autistic people why we might display some of the wide range of potential stimming behaviours, and the important benefits that we get from them.

Hi! Although I agree with out_of_touch ,  I’ll still acknowledge that I may be a bit more physical than many others around me when expressing extreme emotions. For positive feelings it’s also a lot of hand flapping, maybe jumping or silly dancing when I’m alone. When feeling frustrated or uncomfortable, I unfortunately tend to use harmful behaviours like scratching the back of my hand, pulling and twirling my hair a lot, chewing on the inside of my cheek and when entering an overload, it can even go as far as hitting myself or a wall. Afterwards I usually feel very stupid for doing so and not being able to regulate differently, but I am trying to implement strategies like controlled hand movements and swaying/rocking back and forth to avoid the harmful ones.

Well, normal(ish), some of the time, for some of us, perhaps......depending on the perspective of others.

I completely understand! There's a lot to take in when this all starts coming to light in adult hood. We find our own way to identify and relate with things. Whatever we feel comfortable with. I wish you the best of luck. It's quiet here at the moment but there can be useful moments of insight and experience,  especially if you search through the archives!

I appreciate your insight. I am new to the appropriate lingo and ways to communicate. I am learning and understanding more about who I am and looking for people to share this journey with as I learn how to express myself more authentically. I just ask for grace and compassion as I continually unpack. Much Gratitude to you!

I personally don't like to label such behaviours as this. I don't like the word and I don't like labelling what are perfectly normal ways to express enjoyment or soothe stress.

Just one perspective!